George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Philando Castile, Botham Jean, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Rayshard Brooks, Sean Monterrosa ...
My overarching point is compounding interest. A common argument by those who find the term "white privilege" to be offensive is that slavery ended a century and a half ago, Jim Crow last century, etc. The underlying premise seems to be if someone isn't getting lynched or enslaved, and if the laws are not explicitly against them, then black people are just as well off.
But we should all immediately understand that isn't true. All it takes is small but consistent problems to make large differences over time. If you have a mortgage, do you want a 3.5% interest rate or a 4.5% interest rate? That 1% isn't a big deal in a single payment, but over time, it is huge. People of color aren't just dealing with huge, immediately life threatening issues -- they are slightly worse off in job prospects, slightly more likely to be arrested, slightly more likely to be assaulted, slightly more likely to be convicted, slightly more likely to be suspected by shop owners, etc. Each of these compounds over time. Every person capable of reading this blog to this point can comprehend this, and see similar situations in their own lives.
When I've been the victim of a bigot that slammed my head against a brick wall for being white, it was horrible. But I went home, and I am white, so the system is set up in my favor. I don't think I should feel guilty about that, but I do think I'm the one who reaps the rewards, so I shouldn't sit back and act like it isn't happening. I should be part of the solution, not the problem.
So, here are some voices that have shaped how I have thought about this issue recently:
- There is a lie that people don't understand privilege, or they think it doesn't exist. Amy Cooper understood it.
- Wow, those friends from high school ... anyway, sometimes we can be positively impressed. My friend Yoni is married to Michael, and his post on Facebook really made me understand how woefully ignorant of history I am. The quote that got me most: "Why? Because bad policing is a byproduct of a broken system. George Floyd died because of a broken system. Black men, women, and children have been brutally beaten and killed by the police and organized mobs every decade since slavery ended because of a broken caste system."
- Trevor Noah had an 18-minute discussion on his take. His South African thoughts on similarities with apartheid, and in particular his explanation on why rioting can begin when a section of the population doesn't feel like the societal bargain is being met, helped me understand and empathize more with rioters and looters.
- Our criminal justice system is by no means broken solely in regards to police brutality. Season 3 of the podcast Serial showed me how horrific and racist the system is. It follows a couple of court rooms in Ohio, and it helped me understand why people of color would absolutely NOT want to cooperate with the police and the justice system.
- I love football, and obviously Kaepernick's respectfully taking a knee was the warning that the world did not listen to. Because I'm a Cowboys fan, I'm greatly conflicted about Jerry Jones, but I'm not at all conflicted by Dak Prescott. He has pledged a million dollars to help better educate and train the police in Texas. It's a stance that puts him potentially at odds with the Defund the Police movement, threading the needle between both sides in a classy act of leadership in an impossible situation. "As a Black Multi-racial American, I am disgusted and unsettled! ... I have viewed these protests and riots in our streets as a form of strength and an attempt to show that we as Black people have rights that aren't being perceived equally as our counterparts."
- Did I mention how messed up the criminal justice system is? Bryan Stephenson's book Just Mercy, and the movie based on it (free for the moment), show how incredibly racist prosecutors can be allowed to be, especially when overseen by (and this is too insane to make up) a judge named Robert E. Lee.
There are obviously many more voices, but each of these has directly influenced me.
I'm hoping that this current movement continues to make incremental change, and that compounding interest works in a more positive way from here forward.
This is a very thoughtful piece. I like your analogy to compound interest. I cried all through the movie Just Mercy and wanted to apologize for and punch in the face all in the white community who are ignorant, mean, and judge people by their skin color. We each have some bias regardless of ethnicity, but to see what we in the white population have allowed to perpetuate against people of color including Native Americans hurts me to my core. I will admit that I do not like the term "white privilege," although I understand its definition and see why the use of it arose. Keep writing, Brandon. You always make offer a thought-provoking perspective and a fresh voice.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I will do what I can, with what I can. :-)
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