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IBARW: White Privilege
Jul. 30th, 2009 08:17 pmLet me start this by saying, I'm 5'2" (about 164 cm for those of you who are metric), blue eyed, and white. I went to boarding school, for heaven's sake. There's not much more white privilege I can have.
I think I have the Ur-example of white privilege to give you all.
About five years ago, my sister called me. Someone with our last name had called her. I'll refer to him as M. He explained that he knew all the others with our surname in the Los Angeles area, mostly because he was their father, grandfather, or cousin, and was interested to know if this new person might also be a relative. It's a very uncommon surname.
Being good southerners, both sides carried complete genealogies in their heads. It was determined that of the four brothers who came to this country around 1789, we were descended from the one who settled in Maryland and they were descended from the one who settled in Tennessee. An hour and a half later, they were finally getting down to maybe saying goodbye -- we'd already been invited to the family reunion -- and M asked, "Are you black or white?"
Sis answered, "White, of course."
M said, "There's no 'of course' about it."
It's the "of course" which makes itart a pure example of white privilege.
This is what I can't get through to people.
A few years ago, I was mugged.
The friends who weren't in Boston or on LJ that I told, including my sister, assumed the muggers were black. Sis actually went on a long diatribe about how black people resented white people and about the time she said, "I don't know why they didn't just shoot you," I told her I had to hang up. I shook for an hour.
To another friend who made the assumption a few days later, my answer was, "Yes, and so was the housemate who comforted me. Your point?"
I have been told "You'll never be hired by the District because you're not black. They only want their own." To which I've said, "How does that differ from the all white offices I've been a part of?"
We, who are in the position of privilege, don't seem to understand that we get away with the very things we try to call other races on.
I think the single most appalling thing I can remember someone suggesting to me (yes, even beating out the married professor who tried to get me to better my grade by sleeping with him), is that I use my Native American heritage to get funding for college. The person making the suggestion kept saying it was unfair for minorities to get help for college and not white people.
Damn, this sounds self justifying. I don't mean it to. I'm sure I've done some horribly kack-handed things. But part of White Privilege is never having to recognize your own stupidity.
What's the emoticon for an eyeroll?
I think I have the Ur-example of white privilege to give you all.
About five years ago, my sister called me. Someone with our last name had called her. I'll refer to him as M. He explained that he knew all the others with our surname in the Los Angeles area, mostly because he was their father, grandfather, or cousin, and was interested to know if this new person might also be a relative. It's a very uncommon surname.
Being good southerners, both sides carried complete genealogies in their heads. It was determined that of the four brothers who came to this country around 1789, we were descended from the one who settled in Maryland and they were descended from the one who settled in Tennessee. An hour and a half later, they were finally getting down to maybe saying goodbye -- we'd already been invited to the family reunion -- and M asked, "Are you black or white?"
Sis answered, "White, of course."
M said, "There's no 'of course' about it."
It's the "of course" which makes it
This is what I can't get through to people.
A few years ago, I was mugged.
The friends who weren't in Boston or on LJ that I told, including my sister, assumed the muggers were black. Sis actually went on a long diatribe about how black people resented white people and about the time she said, "I don't know why they didn't just shoot you," I told her I had to hang up. I shook for an hour.
To another friend who made the assumption a few days later, my answer was, "Yes, and so was the housemate who comforted me. Your point?"
I have been told "You'll never be hired by the District because you're not black. They only want their own." To which I've said, "How does that differ from the all white offices I've been a part of?"
We, who are in the position of privilege, don't seem to understand that we get away with the very things we try to call other races on.
I think the single most appalling thing I can remember someone suggesting to me (yes, even beating out the married professor who tried to get me to better my grade by sleeping with him), is that I use my Native American heritage to get funding for college. The person making the suggestion kept saying it was unfair for minorities to get help for college and not white people.
Damn, this sounds self justifying. I don't mean it to. I'm sure I've done some horribly kack-handed things. But part of White Privilege is never having to recognize your own stupidity.
What's the emoticon for an eyeroll?
