WHITE PRIVILEGE & THE BIG PICTURE
White Privilege Is Not an Insult
Those who say they do not have white privilege because they were poor or because they had to work for everything they have are not seeing the big picture.
I saw a “friend” (actually close family) who had commented with the use of the “N” word about the protesters being nothing but niggers, thugs, and street scum who were looking to capitalize on the unrest in our country to get what they wanted from business owners while the police were otherwise occupied.
Yes, I wrote him a long email detailing how disappointed I was to see his comments. No, I did not unfriend him. How can I help him understand the error in his thinking and how he behaves if I cannot reach him? Hopefully, he will see that I love him even though I dislike (despise) his point-of-view.
There’s nothing like turmoil and riots to bring the cockroaches out of their hiding places. But with Trump in the WH, they’re no longer hiding. He has made it OK to bully people. At least that is their perception.
We need to work to make sure they know it is not OK. It’s not right to belittle people because of the color of their skin. We’ve supposedly been working on this since 1865.
And yes, that goes for the other side of this as well. It is not OK to beat a white person while chanting “Black Lives Matter.”
Yes, thugs and street scum are trying to get what they want during the unrest. But from what I have seen online, there are just as many of those who are not People of Color (POC) but whites.
What’s more, you know damn well some people are being paid to stir things up. You know or should know that the majority of disadvantaged people are not calling for the defunding of police.
Without police, we will be at the mercy of white supremacists and armed vigilantes everywhere. We might as well rename our country Tombstone. This would quite likely result in civil war because everyone would have to arm themselves to survive.
White Privilege Is Not an Insult or a Put Down
Those who say they do not have white privilege because they were poor or because they had to work for everything they have are not seeing the big picture. Once again, part of that is real. I know some of these people worked hard, and I applaud them for that. However, white privilege has nothing to do with that premise.
White people as a majority are not looked at with disdain or as a threat everywhere they go. White privilege is not an insult; it’s a fact. No matter how hard you had to work, you had the privilege of being born white. It’s just as one writer said, “You think you hit a triple, but you were born on third base!”
Feminist scholar and anti-racism educator Peggy McIntosh famously described white privilege as an “invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks.”
It’s not something you need to apologize for or try to change, just treat others the way you want to be treated. We need to change our perspective of Blacks, Indigenous, and POC (BIPOC) being somehow lesser than whites.
Some Think We Are Accomplishing Nothing with the Street Violence
That is far from true, let’s take a look at some of the changes since the grizzly death of George Floyd.
Since the rioting and looting started:
- The US House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act 2020. However, don’t expect any action from the Senate as the Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnel (often referred to as “Moscow” Mitch), has vowed to block it in the Senate
- James Miller resigned from the Pentagon Advisory Board in protest to the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF’s) role in using US troops to clear protesters from Lafayette Square so that the POTUS could do a photo op
- The SECDEF said he would oppose the use of US troops to quell protests saying, “The option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort…”
- Washington, DC’s Mayor Bowser, sent a strong message to the POTUS by having Black Lives Matter painted on a street in front of the WH and renamed it “Black Lives Matter Plaza.”
- Minneapolis, MN banned the use of chokeholds to subdue a suspect
- The City of Dallas has enacted a “duty to intervene” policy for officers who witness another using excessive force.
- George Floyd’s murderer, charged initially with 3rd-degree murder has now been charged with 2nd-degree murder
- The three officers who did nothing to help Floyd, have been charged with aiding & abetting a 2nd-degree murder
- Breonna Taylor’s case has been reopened.
- Louisville’s mayor has ordered an outside investigation of the police department’s policies & procedures
- The Attorney General (AG) of NJ has vowed to update “use-of-force” policies after 20 years
- Maryland has formed a state lawmakers group to look at police reform
- A scheduled Kansas City seminar to train cops to “kill without hesitation” was canceled
- The Boston MBTA revoked its policy of transporting police on buses to quell protests
- Several “caught on video” police abuses, such as in Buffalo have been suspended
- Many cities are removing statues that honor or celebrate the confederacy
- NASCAR has barred the confederate flag from races, though Bubba Wallace the only black NASCAR racer has been targeted by hate groups
- People from all walks of life are starting to look at police behavior and racial discord
- Racial equality and human rights protests are taking place all over the world. Already protests have taken place or are scheduled in Europe, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, and New Zealand.
- People everywhere are aware of police brutality, racism, and oppression
The riots and looting are wrong; the loss to all private individuals and their businesses is unjust. However, after all these years of mostly peaceful protests, not much has changed.
Many point to MLKJr and say he was a proponent for non-violence. Whereas that is true, look what happened to him. Many believe the FBI and the government were behind his assassination. I will not dwell on those “conspiracy theories,” but you should examine and decide for yourself.
What Can I Do?
To start with, you can stop with the mantra “All Lives Matter” every time someone says, “Black Lives Matter.” We all know that is true, but not everyone’s lives are endangered because of the color of their skin. But you cannot say all lives matter if you do not make an effort to stop police brutality and systemic racism.
Stop thinking you are not privileged because of your skin color and start thinking about how you can change things for the better.
You cannot complain about looting and say nothing about police brutality.
You cannot complain about looting and say nothing about children being separated from their families and being caged like animals.
You cannot complain about looting and say nothing about homeless Veterans.
You cannot complain about looting and say nothing about whole families losing their health insurance coverage because the breadwinner lost their job.
You cannot complain about looting and say nothing to the people put in charge to make the changes necessary to ensure police are held responsible for excessive use of force!
“ALL LIVES CANNOT MATTER UNTIL YOU INCLUDE BLACK LIVES.”
Just as Michael Jackson sang, “Take a look at yourself, and then make a change…” It doesn’t have to start as participation in a protest. You can do as I am doing now, write about it. Write a letter to your mayor, city council, state, or US representative asking them to look at police policies and support changes.
Get out of your comfort zone, make a change, or push others to make the change.
Usually, you can find their email or phone number by Googling their name. But if you’re not sure of how to reach your US Representative, start your search here.
Gov.Track.US is another excellent source to track legislation such as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act 2020 and other measures before the US Congress.
The most significant method of making a change is to VOTE! You can register online in less than two minutes. Just Vote!
Other Essays by the Author
Stephen Dalton is a retired US Army First Sergeant with a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and a Certified US English Chicago Manual of Style Editor. Currently living in the Philippines, Stephen is a Top Writer in Virtual Reality.
You can see his portfolio here. Email [email protected]