Category: White Privilege

White people are so uncomfortable talking about race, that even using the word “white” in a conversation ignites a defensive and visceral reaction. And no, reverse racism isn’t a thing, in case that’s where you are headed next.

I am writing this piece after a conversation with an acquaintance of mine who inquired about my recent trip to Kansas. My response included the word “white” in reference to both the demographics as well as the lack of diversity. And this followed suit:

“I’m not trying to start a fight, I just never understand why people point out skin color. If I described a place as a ‘black people everywhere’ I would be construed as a racist. So I should point out skin color when talking?  “I was talking to this black guy today” or “some asshole asian cut me off in traffic today”.  I just don’t understand how it adds to the discussion.”

If you understand privilege, you accept that there are places you cannot be and language you cannot use. It also means acknowledging you benefit off a system designed to maintain barriers to racial equality. While I am not arguing against other factions of intersecting oppressions, I am arguing that as a white person race, is not a factor and that merit alone did not get us where we are today. That truth is so fundamentally abstract to most, that even the slightest inclination of suggesting that the power of privilege has significantly contributed to one’s economic position, is viewed as both outlandish and insulting. The exhaustive and circular conversation usually ends with, “why does everything have to be political with you, it’s not always about race”. And you know what, he isn’t wrong, it’s not always about race, because he gets to CHOOSE when it is.

Short of asking him to open a history textbook or read primary documents, I will attempt to scratch the surface of his temperament. First, we must begin by confronting the definitions of racism so that when people decide that racism is just prejudice, we can challenge that notion by acknowledging that in doing so we single-handedly ignore the lived experience of every person of color in this country. However, if we agree that there are structural and systemic faucets in place that adversely impact communities of color socially, politically and economically – then, and only then, we can move the conversation forward. So yes, white people, your language has consequences, and the historical implications of using inflammatory language, or ignoring racism altogether, directly impacts custom and policy which perpetuate racism. It is language and ideologies steeped in white supremacy and carried out in microaggressions that undoubtedly contribute to Denver Public Schools being more segregated now than they were prior to Brown v. Board, why Flint Michigan still doesn’t have clean water, and why, despite Batson v. Kentucky, racial disparities in incarceration are the highest in the world.

Privilege is understanding that you get to decide when race matters, and just because it makes you feel uncomfortable in the realization that perhaps you aren’t wholeheartedly deserving of your socioeconomic position, that merit alone is not why you are where you are – that doesn’t negate your direct contribution to a system designed to maintain racial inequality in this country.

 

As the National Anthem blared in the background, I found myself paralyzed in deep contemplation. After watching America Divided earlier in the day, I sat there as the song rang loudly over the speaker and thought how this song is defined by other people in America. And I found myself asking, how would the people in Flint Michigan define this song, the victims of hurricane Katrina, the students of Pinellas county, the residents of the NYC still facing discriminatory housing practices, the occupants of the south side of Chicago, ex-factory workers in Detroit or the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe? I want to know how this America, the America we stamped as expendable – would define this anthem?

As the song ended and the crowd took their seats I found myself met with fierce hostility as the man in front of me turned and yelled, “Stupid Fucking Bitch, fucking sitting down during our song.” I sat there frozen and overwhelmed with emotion- but not for the way he accosted me, for I knew it was bigger than me. I held back my tears, because it was at that moment, I was reminded this is the reality of what people in disenfranchised communities face every day. This is our America and this vile ideology permeates deeply within in our cultural makeup. How is it we can boast about the home of the free and the land of the brave, when large sections of the population have been systemically silenced out of the American Dream? If the world is a reflection of what we see, then how can anyone see it as anything other than a politically engineered caste system? The America I see tells me that entire cities can be rendered disposable for nothing more than a bottom line. That state violence can be carried out with impunity. That a president can win an election boasting about sexually assaulting women and overtly promising racist policies. My America tells me that race, religion, gender and sexual orientation do matter.

We are surrounded by powerful forces that benefit from a nation divided. But we as individuals, at the core, are our own worst enemies. To our detriment somewhere along the way we have simply lost the ability to engage in constructive dialogue. So I challenge the gentlemen who greeted me with hostility…

You want to have a conversation about veterans? Great. Let’s talk about the history of US foreign policy and imperialism. Is it not entirely possible to be a pacifist and still empathize with veterans? To honor their unyielding dedication to the American idea, their sacrifices and dangerous deployment? Am I not allowed the same fortitude to criticize the powers at be that put their lives in such peril? You want to have a conversation about race in America? Great. Let’s talk about the history of state violence waged against people of color, how policy is implemented and our current prison industrial complex. We aggressively condemn those that speak out against state violence, yet remain silent while we send them off to sit in jails unable to pay egregious bail from prejudicial police practices. You want to talk about crime in America? Great. Let’s talk about intentionally defunding education, minimum wage and the war on drugs. You want to talk about patriarch? Great. Let’s talk about rape culture and the history of misogyny in this country. Let’s talk about how a man can rape an unconscious women and serve less jail time than a man picked up for a nonviolent drug offense.

What you sir defined as lack of patriotism Einstein would say “Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions.” I believe silence is a political statement. When we consciously make the decision to remain silent, we are siding with the oppressors. Even if this began as an accidental act of dissent, I left the arena with a very real awakening – is American truly capable of fostering equality?

It has become a trite expression to argue that history repeats itself.  While this assertion is problematic in any number of ways, if we view the rise of the presumptive Republican nominee Donald J. Trump from a historical perspective his popularity with certain segments of American society may not seem so surprising. Though his outlandish positions on everything from abortion, immigration and foreign policy have ignited some of the fiercest debates, his rhetoric is nothing new. The core values he represents are deeply rooted in the history of racism and oppression in the United States. An open and honest look into history reveals Trump to be much less a phenomenon than the personification of decades of oppression, inequality, systemic racism and political and corporate corruption.

Ironically however, Trump has positioned himself as an outsider crying out truth to a weary nation. In the bellowing echo of his call to “make America great again” is the disturbing question – what exactly is he is using to measure greatness? It is not clear, even to the most acclaimed academics, what Trump means. Political dissident, professor and author Noam Chomsky pointedly asked, “Does he mean what he is saying?” The same words I have echoed in my own struggle to grapple with “Trumpism”. In a historical context however his positions on everything from climate change,  promoting torture, the refugee crisis, to racist policies, point to the problematic history of the failures of American democracy. Our brazenly obvious ability to ignore our departure from our professed values in this country in uncanny. We understand, according to the Geneva Convention, waterboarding is a form of torture and therefore violates international law. Yet crowds roar when Trumps says he will continue using that method, a method U.S. policy has allowed for decades. The only thing different here is it is not hidden behind the veil of national security, Trump is using a national platform to outright advocate for it.

His off-the-cuff comments and impromptu policy not only illuminate his own xenophobia and racism, but the continuing specter of racial and economic injustice in America. As much as one might like to argue the latter, we would be neglecting decades of history that have allowed for laws and policies to disproportionately affect people of color. While people of color are no longer in chains or sold like property- policies and practices ensure they remain disenfranchised and caste permanently as second-class citizens. We see that as a continuing trend when Trump tries to associate illegal immigration with increased crime rates. His comments incite the same level of hatred and fear as so many leaders of our past – we understand the repercussions but ignore the notions with complacency. And Trumps solution to build a wall parrot Adolf Hitler’s hyperbolic language which heavily influenced policies with clear unjust and racist sentiment.  The same language used to justify the attempted eradication of an entire population.

What is the function of a truth teller in a democracy? Is it not to keep the public well informed? Yet we treat whistleblowers, who serve as a voice to the people, as criminals and charge them with treason. Trump said, “Snowden is the biggest threat”- but you have to ask yourself, a threat to what? A threat to the system as it stands now – or a threat to a functioning democracy? “The state can’t control behavior by force – therefore they have to control what you think.” And we fully understand, a democratic society can’t work like that. Dissent serves as a vital element to democracy- a real challenge to power. Yet those that risk their life to do so are penalized and not heralded for their patriotism.

If we can take away anything from Trump- it should be the evidence of just how far we have veered from democracy and how far we still have to go. History is powerful beyond measure- And singlehandedly the most prominent indicator of future events. While we can dismiss the triteness of the notion of history repeating itself, Winston Churchill was nevertheless right when he warned that “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”  An invaluable lesson, we as a nation, have yet to learn. Our history is fiercely deplorable and utterly incomprehensible. Once we, as a nation, acknowledge that, we can understand why people like Trump have risen to power.