👑 Understanding my White Privilege

I have been very introspective over the past week about my own white privilege. White Privilege is about several things but the key one I am witnessing is the privilege to not care about this. Or to care but not do a single thing.

Credit: Instagram / the.daily.don

This is too much, the wrong time, I can’t handle this right now! We already had too many problems. I’m overwhelmed, tired of COVID, can’t deal with yet another thing right now. I have work and childcare and disinfecting my groceries and worrying about the future. I can’t possibly add another thing to the list right now.

It’s much easier to go for a hike or weekend getaway. I have done that. Spend endless hours on social media without actually speaking to anyone about the causes I “support”. I have done that.

I posted last Friday about something along the lines of “Hey guys! I know there is a lot going on but let’s ignore it for a moment and think about any small thing we have accomplished.” I celebrated some things that were good things for me and that would be good for anyone. The post was a good thing from a white perspective.

But think about it from a Black perspective. Protests were erupting in Minneapolis about yet another senseless murder of a black persons by the police. I have been looking into this and it literally almost happens weekly.

My white privilege post was about ignoring this. Ignoring this means I don’t care about it. I now do.

We’ve all seen the footage of the race riots from the 60s. I assume most of us are appalled by what was going on then. That is going on now ten-fold. And this time, all 50 states are in. Everyone is mad and upset.

I talked to my grandma about the 60s riots and she said “I was kind of insulated from it” as in it didn’t really affect me. When we look back at this moment, please consider whether it affects you.

All that Black people are demanding is police accountability. That benefits ALL OF US. Let’s get on board and support the protesters.

I literally was not in this fight one week ago and now I GET IT. Please join me in supporting black people.

It’s really not hard. I have been chatting and talking to Black people this week and it is invigorating and exciting to engage with people on my “friends” list that I never bothered to talk to. Most importantly, listen to your Black friends and ask what you can do to help.

My black sister-in-law is an amazing person. I always kinda knew that but we had the first real conversation in the phone in our lives this week. It was so nice. I truly love her now that I actually understand. I have come a long way this week.

I cry almost every day now, like I am as I am typing this sentence. I cry every time I realize something new — a new level of understanding. I cry not for the personal loss of George Floyd, but for the outpouring of humanity that is happening as a result. If you haven’t cried yet, you’re not paying enough attention to what is going on.

Take a break from Netflix and Facebook and Instagram and spend an hour thinking about this or reading about what the protesters want. Don’t focus on the scary police/rioters angle the news is focused on.

The riots suck. I hate seeing my city destroyed and boarded up, especially since it was already boarded up due to COVID. But they got my attention. If this didn’t happen, I would still be living in my white privilege bubble. If you think you are “woke”, there is another level. Get there.

If you need actionable steps to take, they are in my blog post from Wednesday.

Thank you for reading this.

Regarding the image earlier in the post:

I would not have seen that image if I didn’t “see first” my Black friends. It’s what inspired me to write this as soon as I got out of bed.

If your gut reaction is to check the facts of this image, that’s your white privileged hoping to prove it wrong, but this is seriously one story in a million.

“Happy” Friday ✌

Do something for the cause this weekend.

One more thing…once you get where I am, this is no longer scary. It’s exciting that there is momentum to solve this. My mental energy is now focused on action rather than worry. Don’t just read this and put an angry reaction on Facebook. Do that and then do something to speak out on behalf of Black people. It’s scary and hard but necessary. Just keep the conversations civil! We’re all people learning new things and trying to figure out what to do.