The Privilege Paradox

During the 2016 election cycle, I was often called intolerant for not agreeing with my friends' xenophobic outbursts. The irony, of course, is it was the angered party's sincere feeling that White America had suddenly become oppressed. I lost friends, received death threats, and had many people convinced I could not see their views, simply because I defended a woman and the rights of people who looked and lived in a manner that was different from myself. The crazy part of being intolerant was that the people screaming it lived the exact same lives I did, yet I felt no burden at all. The Intolerance Paradox was a common theme four years ago. Today, we may need something new.

The same privilege that creates racism, defines entire areas of the country, and is ignored and misunderstood by nearly two-thirds of this country, is also creating an odd paradox. At what point, do our freedom of speech without repercussions, our freedom of not having a fear of police retribution, and our comfort of knowing we still, no matter how much we protest it, we have our White Privilege, become a bit of an oxymoron? Black Lives Matter, but I'm still white. I can protest, even get arrested, and quite often lose friends while demanding equality, but at the end of the day, I settle back into that life of never having to worry. Now, there are exceptions to this rule, which I'm obviously not talking about. My old hometown is harassing a family for hanging a pro-BLM banner in front of their home, citing some odd little code, it often ignores when the banners are considered friendly. I'm sickened, but far from surprised, as it's one of the more racist places I've ever been and I lived there for thirty years. Racist, not in the overt sense, but a town so used to everyone looking and sounding the same, even those who support BLM anger them, despite it changing nothing within their own lives. 

I have a voice. My silence is assisting oppression. I get this, as do many. My point is, if I do no more than my Black brothers and sisters, with vastly different results, am I not still basking in my own privilege? Are my Facebook posts, even those with thinly veiled threats, not ignored, while a Black person's history will be used to show a tendency towards violence, should they ever become incarcerated or simply prosecuted? When I return home from a protest or arguing with friends, there is nothing to signal my less-than-appreciated moral stance, while a Black person whose day mirrored mine may find a rock through their window or worse? I will never be a "they," "them," or "those people." Never! No matter how hard I try. The very privilege that I fight is ingrained into our society, so much so, that there is no fear of change or lack thereof. There is no worry, I will be targeted based on assumption. This privilege cannot be shed. Black Lives Matter, as an undefined entity is viewed as an existential threat to those who misunderstand it. The same way the LGBTQ and Feminism are viewed as a challenge to societal norms, despite simply being about equality (a paradox in itself), Black Lives Matter, as a movement poses a much great threat to the safety and welfare of Black people than it does to those Whites who support it. It's this privilege, which we are born with, which keeps us from ever truly understanding that which we are fighting for. 

I've often spoken of the difference between thankful and grateful or compassion versus empathy and how the often confusing flip of these terms has become so common, the words have ceased to maintain their true meanings. Black Lives Matter is not about anything but equality and the acknowledgment of a privilege that has oppressed so many for so long in this country. The Black Community needs us. They need our support, our funding, our attention, and our willingness to change, but our ability to support, fund, listen, and fight for this change will always be viewed differently than their fight for the very same thing. This privilege some of us have acknowledged, feel shame towards, and are fighting to abolish, is the very thing which gives us the ability to do so.