Really enjoyed your article. I did not know at the time when I enrolled my boys into a school it was predominantly a black school. It was difficult being a minority so I can understand how hard it must be to live in a country that is a majority of white people. Pretty much I sat by myself except for one black lady who sat with me watching football games. Honestly I don’t think In This case it was prejudice against me but the fact that they all knew each other and had more in common while the lady who sat with me didn’t feel part of the group as well. The one thing that bothered me is that if you were white you knew nothing of pain at all and there was no way you could ever relate to their experiences. I think that is true. However, no one can relate to my friend who was sex trafficked and yet they can understand it was horrible and empathize. It is not we as whites are not able to understand. When my son was bullied it was Mr White, a black teacher who came to his rescue. The white teachers just let the bullying go because he was white. It is a complex situation and I can tell you I would not want to be a minority anywhere.
This was a great read. Thank you for this post, it really kind of helps me understand where you are coming from. Your ending statement struck me quite powerfully: Committing to use these principles wisely. It would be foolish to suggest there is no such thing as white privilege. But is it wise to paint the discussion using that lens? Or would we better served by tackling the issue from a different angle such as poverty in general? If communities of color are disproportionally affected by poverty, would not policies that address poverty disproportionally help them? Am I off base here?
Really enjoyed your article. I did not know at the time when I enrolled my boys into a school it was predominantly a black school. It was difficult being a minority so I can understand how hard it must be to live in a country that is a majority of white people. Pretty much I sat by myself except for one black lady who sat with me watching football games. Honestly I don’t think In This case it was prejudice against me but the fact that they all knew each other and had more in common while the lady who sat with me didn’t feel part of the group as well. The one thing that bothered me is that if you were white you knew nothing of pain at all and there was no way you could ever relate to their experiences. I think that is true. However, no one can relate to my friend who was sex trafficked and yet they can understand it was horrible and empathize. It is not we as whites are not able to understand. When my son was bullied it was Mr White, a black teacher who came to his rescue. The white teachers just let the bullying go because he was white. It is a complex situation and I can tell you I would not want to be a minority anywhere.
This was a great read. Thank you for this post, it really kind of helps me understand where you are coming from. Your ending statement struck me quite powerfully: Committing to use these principles wisely. It would be foolish to suggest there is no such thing as white privilege. But is it wise to paint the discussion using that lens? Or would we better served by tackling the issue from a different angle such as poverty in general? If communities of color are disproportionally affected by poverty, would not policies that address poverty disproportionally help them? Am I off base here?
He’s woke. No discussion allowed or nuance gravy