As finals week rears its ugly head, and we approach the most stressful time in the semester, events happening around the world seem only to echo our own feelings of frustration. In particular, the town of Ferguson, Missouri has been in a state of upheaval since the August shooting of Michael Brown, especially after a grand jury’s decision not to indict Darren Wilson for the fatality.
Opinions on the events leading up to the shooting are often thrown angrily through passive aggressive and blatantly insulting comments on Facebook. I’m sure we all faced an angry and uncomfortable conversation on the topic at Thanksgiving dinner. I’m not here to make a judgment call on the events of that fateful day in August, nor am I here to state my opinion on the actions of the officer involved. This week, as we part ways until next semester, I’d like to instill something much broader and more abstract than the much-debated happenings of the Ferguson incident, and that is the idea of comfortable privilege.
Almost as upsetting as the shooting itself, and the mass upset afterward, is the negative, holier-than-thou attitude of some of the American populace. There have been harsh criticisms of Ferguson’s protests, claims of “race baiting” and perhaps worst of all, demands that the people of Ferguson stop “overeacting.” All of these are wildly inappropriate things to say, no matter your stance on Wilson’s guilt or innocence. Often, people who make assertions like this are coming from a place of privilege and don’t have the capability of fully empathizing with the people they’re judging. In light of these events, the word “privilege” has been thrown around a lot — probably again on Facebook — but many don’t even realize what it means to be privileged. In this particular case, if you have never been discriminated against, profiled, criminalized, demonized, sexualized, abused, brutalized or even killed because of the color of your skin — that itself is a privilege that you live with every day that many other people do not.
Despite disagreements about the facts of the Michael Brown shooting, we should all be able to agree that racism is alive and thriving in America. If you’re unsure about the truth of this, ask any African American friend if they experience racism, and I guarantee they’ll affirm. Now that we’ve established that fact, we can also agree that because of racism, life in America as a person of color — particularly an African American — is different than life as a white person. Keeping both of these things in mind, it simply baffles me that people living so advantageously could be so ignorant of their own privilege, pretending an equality of the races much in the same way they spout supposed equality of the sexes. Because people have personal plights that often transcend race, they assume that race is no longer an issue, but this kind of thinking is misguided and incorrect — much in the way that, as Jon Stewart said, people deny global warming because it snows where they live.
Those who refuse to acknowledge the existence of something just because they have never personally experienced it epitomize narrow-mindedness.
This kind of toxic thinking feeds racism. The fact that slavery is over, and the skin color of our president, does not erase the deep sociological scars that racism has left on our consciousness that affect us to this day. My point is this: If you do not know what it is like to experience racism, you do not have the authority to dismiss its existence. You certainly have the ability and the freedom to say whatever you choose, but don’t be shocked if you’re called a racist. Do not detract from the issue and condemn those who riot while ignoring riots over sporting events, festivals and concerts, frivolous trivialities in comparison.
Look to those who sought a voice and were denied, acknowledge their plight, and show compassion. Right now, as stressed and on-edge as we all feel because of the privilege of a college education, there are people in Ferguson truly suffering, both physically and emotionally, and it is our job as human beings to recognize this fact and be compassionate to that suffering, no matter your opinion on the guilt of Wilson.
Denying issues of race and making this about “all lives matter” instead of “black lives matter” is not aiding some humanitarian cause or promoting equality. It’s denying the grim history that you may have the privilege to pretend is over, or to ignore completely, but that so many other people are forced to confront each day. Being followed through a store, stopped “randomly” at the airport or called a “thug” that’s “no angel” in death—all things that most of us have the privilege to be unacquainted with. And yes, it’s true, white people do suffer, but not because they are white. When black communities across the country cry out in pain and demand to be heard, do not presume to think that the solution is to deny their oppression in the hope that it will just go away. It won’t. Where there is oppression, there will be an outcry. Where there is privilege, there will be ignorance. But where there is no justice, there will be no peace.
Photo credits:www.huffingtonpost.comwww.abcnews.com