This Is What I Would Do If I Had White Privilege For A Day

I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to bask in white privilege for a full 24 hours. Here is how I imagine it would be.

As a black woman, I’ve often dreamt of what I would do if I had a bit of white privilege for a day.

I would wake up first thing in the morning and take a long jog. I know that no one would eye me suspiciously. I know that the local police that usually patrols my small village in Geneva, Switzerland won’t think I was trying to get away after robbing someone’s house.

I would jog freely without a worry in the world, knowing fully well that no one would ever stop me, or give me “the look” that unequivocally means, “What are you doing here?”

After my run, I would go do some grocery shopping. I’d be able to walk around the store freely – checking all the labels on different foods, taking my time. I know that there will be no security guard following me around the store, ready to pounce if they suspected I had shoplifted something.

I’d get to the cashier and pay with my credit card. I won’t be asked to show a piece of ID. My white privilege would tell the cashier that I am to be trusted.

The cashier would ask me if I wanted to get the receipt. I wouldn’t need it because I know that the security guard wouldn’t stop me on my way out of the store.

In fact, if I needed to return something, I’m pretty sure that I would have no trouble getting a refund without proof of purchase.

After shopping, I would head to a restaurant for lunch. I know I’ll get the table right by the window that I love. I know I won’t have to negotiate to be seated there, my white privilege would do all the work for me.

Throughout my meal, whenever I needed something, I would raise my hand slightly and the waiter would come running over almost instantly. I won’t have to insist, I'll get the full service I expect to get in a restaurant, not the pared-down service I get when I am black and unprivileged.

Later on that day, I’ll go for a walk in the park. I’ll be able to walk around freely, enjoying the fresh air, without a worry in the world. No one would clutch their bags closer to their chest when they see me, no one will stare at me as though I don’t belong.

I would enjoy every ounce of my privilege, why should it be otherwise?

Later on that evening, I would apply for a job I noticed on Linked In. I would never think for an instant that I wouldn’t be shortlisted for the job given my education and professional experience.

I’ll send out the cover letter and my curriculum vitae confident as I always am. I’m pretty much sure I’ll get the job.

I head to the beach for an evening swim. Again I am at ease. No one is staring at me or asking me if I know how to swim. The older couple sitting next to me on the pebble stone beach even make light conversation with me, and I totally expect this.

In no world do I imagine they would not engage with me. I’m entitled to people communicating with me because this is what society has always given me, this is what I expect from society.

I walk my dog later that day. Here again, I decide whether I’ll put my dog on a leash or not. I know that I should follow the rules and make sure my pet is tethered when we stroll through the park, but I really don’t care.

I get to do what I want. After all, with all the privilege I have, I strongly believe rules are meant to be transgressed, and I‘ll transgress them because I can.

I go out to the club that evening. The bouncers will always let me in – I never really ever need to wait. That’s just the way life is, it’s always me, and I’m always first.

I couldn’t imagine my life any other way. Again the service in the club is impeccable. I get everything I want, there is no reason why I should be treated like a second class citizen.

After a late-night out, I hail down a taxi. It takes me just a few minutes to get a driver to stop. I don’t understand why my black friends complain that it takes them forever to get home after a late night out.

Taxis always stop for me, Uber drivers never cancel my trips. This has always been my life, I don’t expect anything less.

I get to my apartment block. I realize I don’t have my keys. No need to worry, someone entering the building that I have never actually met holds the door open for me. That’s absolutely normal for me.

I sit in the warm lobby and call my best friend, asking him to bring over the spare set of keys he keeps for me. A lot of people cross me in the lobby, some I have never seen before, but no one looks at me suspiciously.

They even smile at me and some even ask if I want to come into their apartment to wait for my best friend to show up.

A few hours later, I am finally in bed. I ponder my wonderful day of white privilege — it was indeed a beautiful day.

The universe and society just kept on giving and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I wake up the next day and I am back to being my usual unprivileged black self again.

I repeat the same activities I did the day before just to feel the measure of the difference between having white privilege and not having it. Wow, what a difference a day makes, it’s utterly mind-boggling.

My day as a black unprivileged woman is full of bad experiences, microaggressions, and considerable stress. I want to go back to that day of white privilege right away, but I can’t.

My life is that of an unprivileged black woman, I can’t forget that, I cannot hide from it, I cannot replace it, it is my reality

I think it would be an interesting exercise for white people to try to imagine life without privilege. I’m pretty much sure the experience would floor you completely — it’s daunting, traumatic and for sure pretty exhausting.

And there are many of us black and brown people who have to live like this every single day of our lives. It’s simply untenable folks, and this is why this societal dynamic has to change. As human beings, we should all be on an equal footing in the world.

Thanks for reading my perspective.