Friday, January 9, 2015

Privilege and Ignorance BY: KB © 1.9.15

There is a huge buzz being generated about the movie SELMA….I have explained that my family is from the South. I have people from one of the hotbeds of racial tension Birmingham and I am old enough to remember the marches on TV; coming home to find my mother crying when King was assassinated. Saying all this to say that the movie and a recent conversation made me think of some things…..

I know what I’m about to say is going to piss some people off royally and let me say emphatically that I GIVE LESS THAN A DAMN!!!! If you get mad you need to ask yourself why you caught the feeling.

I was having a real intense conversation with my sister about a situation she was experiencing and the conversation led to the subject of privilege and entitlement. My sister works in a man’s world, old boy position…so now imagine being a Black Woman in such a position. I am the most militant member of my family so I had a lot of thoughts on the subject.

My thoughts led me to think about an incident that happened a few years earlier. My sister has a friend from high school, let me first say that I tolerated this woman …never really fully liked her, so if I seem biased I AM! My sister and her friend were having a conversation and her friend mentioned the dreaded “N” word like it was nothing. My sister told her friend that she could not use that word and explained why. I get it…that’s her friend and she felt the need to explain the situation. I love my sister for her understanding and insight into things. I would have my “Apostle Peter” moment and punched the woman in her mouth and then would have to apologize later. The woman then dismissed the initial ignorance by saying something to the effect of “I don’t see you as one”….WHAT?!!! WTH?!!! The freaking acknowledgement was worse than the statement….

What’s my point? People, myself included, need to realize that we have some perceptions about RACE, COLOR, CASTE and CLASS. The dynamics are often funky. But my sister’s friend taught me a valuable lesson about how people like to think they’re liberal and still harbor ass backwards thinking. It taught me how people enjoy and operate in privilege and act dumb when something happens to make them question their comforts (entitlement). What the woman didn't realize was that she saw ALL Blacks a certain way and a select few that she connected with were removed from her classification…I absolutely get the dynamics!!!! And let me just say I will call them out every time they present themselves….I am not a make no waves, go with the flow person. I’m not going to remain silent and suck it up. I’m not the I need to accept the bull because I have to pay my bills type ……..WRONG is WRONG is WRONG and I would rather be broke than to allow someone to systematically strip me of my dignity as a human being. I’m not going to give ignorance or hate a pass. I’m not going to turn a blind eye to injustice.


We are not free until ALL of us are free!!!!!

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