I've been thinking a lot lately about privilege, white privilege in particular. This mostly has to do with the class I'm taking and how many white folks are working out their issues on my class time and tuition rate. -___-
The thing I've been thinking about the most is the fact that I experience situations so differently than white folks. They can skip through life feeling safe and happy, whereas I'm on high alert, waiting for sudden movements that will signal a threat to my safety.
I actually thought it was a thing that only my classmates were unfamiliar with. Then I began talking with the (very few) white friends I have, and I realised that all white folk have something to learn about their white privilege.
And then we started on cis privilege, and it was all done.... I can't. Maybe three hours a week, at the most. Low-commitment only.
And just for the record, I can't EVEN with cis white men. Just walk away form me, because I don't have the energy for you. I mistrust you on principle of this horribly twisted society, all of which has been made for you. Try again once you have an understanding of systems of oppression.
You say that you have very few white friends, but that after you spoke with them you learned something about all white folks. It sounds like you're on the path to making some heavy, sweeping prejudices of your own.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have a lot of hatred and anger... it's a shame that the activist community doesn't shun these things like it ought to, but often actively relies on them. I believe that people need to stop being so focused on influencing those around them and focus much more on getting rid of that hate and prejudices in themselves first. One can't work towards understanding and peace with the tools of prejudice and anger. They aren't just the oppressor's tools; they are human tools and we all use them. The Oppressor is something within all of us, not just the folks at the top of the social foodchain. There's an oppressive spirit in you and me, too, and in everybody. The oppressor's tools are ubiquitous in all colors, races, classes, creeds, and are very attractive for how they make a person feel when you get to use them. They make you feel powerful and in control of your life... their use is what put the current systems of oppression in place. I hope I am making sense. Good luck on your journey.
I want to start out by saying I recognise that I am still in the process of decolonising my mind and the ways in which I have internalised the many ways oppression operates in the society in which I live. I'm also learning a lot about the places in which I hold privilege, and using those to access the agency I do have.
DeleteIn response to the comment, I get the gist and I also disagree with the statement. Below are some particular points.
1) As a Black person, I am a target in this white supremacist society. When I am mistrustful of and angry at white people who are unconscious, active participants in this oppressive system, it's an act of self preservation and resistance.
2) We all house some form of the Oppressor within us, and it's important to examine who the agents and perpetuators of this system are. Who benefits directly? Even if I behaved in ways that support or uphold this racist system, I gain no benefit from it, because I am Black and therefore a target of racism.
3) If you want to learn more about agents, targets, and all that, I recommend Leticia Nieto's book "Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment".
Thank you for your reply. I have read that book, actually, and I thought that it held an overly-simplistic and somewhat reductionist take on a very complex matter. I'll explain a little bit below what I mean by this in response to your reply. But on the whole, it seemed like a lot of stories and opinions and present them as overriding fact. Systems of power shouldn't be pigeonholed like that... that doesn't do anything useful except make it really easy to mobilize a group of people against another group of people, but I don't believe that it moves anyone away from the mentality that created the problem in the first place.
DeleteIn response to your response:
1) Fighting fire with fire makes a larger fire. Sure, it might make you feel more powerful to just pushing back the same way you are being pushed, but in the long run you aren't doing anything different but only pushing in a different direction. This is just a dressed up version of the childlike "he hit me first" justification for violence. Simple resistance doesn't take you very far, but it perpetuates the mentality that creates the problem in the first place. It also is a slippery slope into essentialist stereotyping of oneself and others.
Which brings me to...
2) Pigeonholing power by applying simplistic labels like "agents" and "targets" to broad groups of people neglects the incredibly complex network that makes up social interaction and especially power dynamics. Saying "these people are the victims, necessarily, because they aren't X" and "these people are the perpetrators and only beneficiaries, necessarily, because they are X" makes a huge, complex issue incredibly elementary. And it isn't just complex because of what groups you belong to, either. EVERYONE accesses power all the time for all sorts of reasons. How they do so is situationally determined, but the outcomes of the situations cannot be so easily proscribed based just on how you look or how you identify. You might be able to wager a guess as to how things might pan out, but otherwise you are counting your oppressions before they hatch. It also moves labels to a position of greater prominence and importance than the commonality of humanity (read: leads to essentialism).
"Even if I behaved in ways that support or uphold this racist system, I gain no benefit from it, because I am Black and therefore a target of racism."
Yes, of course you gain benefits in society by exercising power over others. And yes, these benefits are direct. If you are black, this makes things different for you based on how people perceive you, but it doesn't solely bar you OR grant you access to social benefit. To think so arbitrarily about this type of thing is something that I see a lot in the Olympia activist community, and it doesn't lead anywhere productive but only makes every social interaction necessarily a function and product of racism and, to me, seems to close off deeper thought. Labeling necessarily closes off deeper thought, I find. Being convinced that you'll find something before you start looking ensures that you find it, too.
You seem to have thought about these issues a lot. I encourage you to keep reading--diversely--and to keep your mind open while doing so. I also hope that you leave Olympia and go to some place with actual racial tension and oppression, like Arizona or North Carolina, where you can help many deserving people with your thoughts and actions.