Let’s take this a step further. Say I buy a brand new Lexus. I spend the whole next day driving it to malls, through neighborhoods, and on the back roads surrounding my neighborhood in suburban Maryland. At the end of the day, I am not going to say to myself, “Gee, I’m glad I am white because if I wasn’t, I might have gotten pulled over by the police due to racial profiling.” Similarly, I am not going to think twice about the fact that no one did a “double take” when they looked my way, as if to say, what is he doing in that car.
On a daily basis, I am not aware of how I benefit from the color of my skin; or for that matter, my social class, gender, and nationality. While something might trigger awareness of this nature, it does not last long. When I shop at a local mall, I do not make a habit of being thankful I am white. Rather, I am oblivious to the fact that I am not trailed by security or made to feel uncomfortable by salespeople who are excessively helpful and refuse to leave me alone.
During one of his well-known routines, black comedian Chris Rock points out, “There’s not a white person alive who would change places with me…and I’m rich.” Rock is talking about unearned privileges, and the fact that whites would not want to relinquish them even if it meant becoming rich.
More often than not, white privilege is hidden from those who benefit from it. However, we can make it more visible. By becoming more aware of people who are treated as “outsiders” in our midst, we can become more aware of our unearned privileges. Shifting perspectives can help as well, with regard to race or any number of other dimensions of diversity. Imagine waking up tomorrow and being of a different race (or gender, or social class, or sexual orientation), how would your life be different? What privileges might you lose or gain? Give it some thought.
After reading your last two articles on white privilege, I began to examine how lucky I am. I am a loving person, but did not realize the horror that people go through when they do not possess the white privilege as I do. What can I do to make people more comfortable?
What I find most interesting with my conversations around WP is that many white folks believe it to mean they did not work hard and having everything hand to them. Many of us who have an understanding of WP often speak to those and state that this is not the case. Equating money/items with WP is grossly shortsighted, and I often wonder why people so quickly (And sometimes angrily) react in a negative fashion.
After working as a standup comic and appearing in small film roles, Rock came to wider prominence as a cast member of Saturday Night Live in the early 1990s. He went on to more prominent film roles, and a series of acclaimed comedy specials for HBO.*
Till next time
<http://www.caramoan.ph