We’ve all seen the horrors happening all over the country lately – black kids being shot and killed by police, black rioters in Boston being labeled as thugs, a white cop throwing a black girl to the ground and shoving her face into the grass, and now a white kid shooting and killing 9 people in a church. Where does it end?
As a white person, I’ve stayed out of all of it, partly because it’s not something that I can really comprehend, but mostly because I was afraid of offending people and starting arguments and fights between people. But I can’t ignore it and I can’t stay silent. Being silent about it is part of the problem. Not acknowledging it is part of the problem. Silence is just as damaging.
White privilege exists. It’s that simple. That’s what allows us to turn the news when we get “tired of hearing about it” and going about our lives. It’s what allows us to say things like “he was troubled or mentally ill,” “we don’t have all the facts yet,” “gun reform could have prevented this,” or “why does everything have to be about race?” It’s what allows us to look at a situation and try to find a reason for a person’s actions other than race because we don’t want to believe that racism is still as huge of a problem as it is. We’re so afraid of admitting that it exists; we want to say that we’ve come a long way, but we ignore the fact that, while we have come a long way, we still have a long way to go before there is true equality.
I’ve had a privileged life. I’ve never directly experienced racism. I’ve never been racially profiled. I’ve never been followed in a store because the owner was afraid I would steal. I have the privilege of looking at police officers as people who are held to higher standards, who provide safety and security. I’ve never had to be afraid of them. Because of this, there is a part of racism that I will never understand and that allows me to look at each of these situations differently. But it also blinds me and gives me the ability to be desensitized to everything happening around me.
A kid who shoots and kills 9 black people in a church after saying that they’re invading our country and need to leave is troubled or mentally ill – he’s racist. A young girl should never be thrown to the ground, dragged by her hair, and sat on by a man twice her size even if she was mouthing off. There shouldn’t be an entire group of people who are afraid of the people who should be there to protect them and keep them safe. Things need to change. Our attitudes need to change. Being silent won’t fix anything. Saying nothing only adds to the problem.
