I want to say that I do know there is such a thing as White privilege. And I'm proud of Barack Obama for never complaining or even mentioning the effects it has has on this historical campaign. But as a citizen and brother to all I think these statements need to be shared. Some will have their eyes opened to the double standard.
Tim Wise
(the writer for what follows) is a young WHITE anti-racist activist and a frequent speaker on college campuses. His book,
“White Like Me,” is very famous.
Everybody PLEASE remember that
the Last day to register to vote Oct 1! Tell your neighbors and friends!
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This is Your Nation on White Privilege
By Tim Wise
9/13/08
For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are
constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list
will help.
White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin
and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a
personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents,
because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino
families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as
irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.
White privilege is when you can call yourself a "f-----'
redneck," like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if
anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their f----n' a--," and
talk about how you like to "shoot s---" for fun, and still be viewed
as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a
thug.
White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years
like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to
after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions
your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who
did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got
in in the first place because of affirmative action.
White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than
most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same
number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready
to potentially be president, and people don't all pee on themselves with
laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and
constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."
White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough for
the founding fathers, it's good enough for me," and not be immediately
disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in
the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn't added until the
1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their
rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only
supported by mushy liberals.
White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people
immediately scared of you.
White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work
they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for
civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think
you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a
small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a
class she took in college--you' re somehow being mean, or even sexist.
White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree
with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway,
because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in
these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."
White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors
say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are
going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job
of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's
punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're
just a good church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with a
black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of
Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and
who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you're
an extremist who probably hates America.
White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a
reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a
"trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging
the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.
And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow
someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of
the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren't sure about that whole "change"
thing. Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more
years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.
White privilege is, in short, the problem.
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1. Be quick to decide. Execute rather than wait. The Union Civil War General Sherman said: "A good plan executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow."
2. Always paint the back of the house first. Do those things you least like doing when you have more energy. Then turn your energy on the things you love to do.
3. Do all you can to manage what you have and leave the rest. Manage your energy and your time and your possibilities. Don’t look for new things to spend energy and time on.
4. Check on competitors, but pay more attention to what you're doing. Everything looks perfect at a distance. You can find out what others are doing, but it’s more important what you are doing.
5. Don’t allow anyone to intimidate you. Stick with the people who are supporting your cause and leave the rest behind. You have every right to be successful. Don’t waste your energy comparing yourself to others or worrying about what other people think.
6. Solve your own problems. The emphasis here is “solve” not worry. The buck really does stop with you. Yes, you can get insight and encouragement from others, but in the final analysis you have to make the important decisions.
7. Don't take yourself too seriously. As my English teach would tell me, “Rausch, get off the stage and stop complaining.” You are valuable, but there are also millions of others just as valuable. Focus on someone or something other than your own problems.
8. There's always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you're really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. Somewhere I picked up this quote and have found it to be energizing when things are tough; "We're not here for a long time; we're here for a good time."
Word up.
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