Posted on Friday, 9th January 2009 by Maritzia
Renee over at Womanist Musings shared some (not very nice) comments about her blog today. I was rather flabbergasted at what some folks had to say. I journeyed over to the forum where the comments were posted (I won’t link such people here), and of course, the people who posted these comments were very white.
No Whining Allowed
Now, I’m not one to put up with whining (unless it’s my own – I love to whine), and definitely I do not put up with people who are professional victims. I believe that knowledge, and especially self-knowledge, should be used as tools for change, not as excuses for inaction, and I’m likely to call someone out when they do it.
But I can’t call Renee out here, because she is most definitely not a whiner or a victim. Renee takes her knowledge of the world and racism, and she tells it like it is. The problem, of course, is that most people don’t want to claim their own privilege.
While I have my own areas of oppression (I’m a fat, frumpy, middle-aged woman with multiple health problems/physical challenges and a background of abuse), I am also a product of the privilege of my white, mostly middle-class upbringing.
Naming Our Privilege
I was privileged to be raised in a neighborhood with a relatively low crime rate. Privileged to walk to school every day without fear. Privileged to attend a school with good teachers and decent libraries.
I was privileged to grow up in a family where everyone worked because work was always available and was privileged to learn how to find a job, budget my time to get ready and commute to work just by watching my parents, because they were privileged to have jobs.
I was privileged to see someone of my race as the hero of every television show, every movie and every book. I was privileged to see every relationship in public as that of my sexual preference.
We didn’t have a lot of money, but we were privileged not to ever go to bed hungry (at least not because of lack of food). I was privileged to always have wholesome food on the table, a place to live, clothes to wear and books to read. I was privileged to have health insurance and available health care (even if the doctors were arrogant assholes).
I was privileged to see police as someone to help me in times of danger. I was privileged to never see my father pulled over for no reason, assaulted for no reason, murdered for no reason. I was privileged to never see my mother abused or raped because of the color of her skin, or feel her helplessness because she had no one to turn to when it happened, because police were something to be feared, not someone to turn to in times of need.
I have the privilege to pretend that none of these things matters in todays world, because I’m privileged to not have it happening to me or mine. If you seriously think that you don’t benefit from your privilege, regardless of the types of oppression you may also have endured, then you are more privileged than you can even understand.
Own Your Privilege and Work Against It
Wake up, boys and girls, and smell the privilege. Just because you’re so immersed in it that you can’t see, hear, or feel your privilege, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. Stop hating people for pointing out your privilege and understand why they’re pointing it out to start with. Understand the systemic oppression in our society, and work to end oppression now!
Posted in Activism, Political, Recommended Links | Comments (3)
January 9th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Thanks so much for the shout out. I was shocked when I read the commentary on those two sites. Disagreement is one thing but advocating violence is quite another. The amount of support I have received about this issue is very heartwarming. If we can just pay a little more attention to owning our unearned privilege perhaps we can raise the bar far enough so that others may join us at the table of plenty.
Renees last blog post..It’s A Post Racial and Post Feminist World
January 9th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
After looking at the first site, I’m really not surprised by their comments. Like you often say, people want to protect their privilege.
I couldn’t access the first site. It was blocked by our filter at work. Which really makes me wonder about the site *laughs*.
Unfortunately, comments like those don’t even shock me any more. Disappoint me, yes, but not shock. They’re actually pretty mild compared to some of the comments I’ve seen from folks like them.
February 16th, 2009 at 4:37 am
Claiming one’s privilege requires a significant shift in worldview. Easier said than done. I feel you on the frustration, though.