Sometimes you have to speak up. Staying silent is simply not an option. I tend to watch and observe; letting people do their thing. Rarely do I get into saying my piece within the Racial Divide- but I simply had to. This is my reply.
It's not "lumping in" to
simply say that your experience in this world is vastly different than mine. Or any person of color. What is being stated is that as an
American of White descent, the lens in which you view the world is NOT the same
as the lens that POC live through and view the world every day.
To be blunt- you are safe in your
Whiteness. As an African American female, I don't have the privilege to go into
a department store and not be watched as potential thief. You do. Within the media,
you can find a standard of beauty that suits your taste. I cannot.
I do not and cannot presume to know what your
personal experience of life has been; but White America tends not to lend that
same respect to POC. THAT is what Ms. Jordan was saying above.
Racism is a social construct devised by those
in power to keep themselves as the majority; and to keep those they deem
inferior subjugated. Please tell me when in the history of the United States of
America have People of Color had power over White America- past, present, or
possibly within the near future?
To a degree- everyone has privilege-
except those that truly don’t. However, as a White female, the privileges that
you enjoy are superior to those that most POC have. I would ask that you take a
moment and think of all the things that you have in your life that you are
blessed by, and ask your self- does everyone have these same blessings and
privileges that I do? I can guarantee that if you break it down by ethnic
background (race, color- however you want to play it), that the answer will be
no.
I invite you to sit down with a POC
and **listen** to their story. Leave out all preconceived notions, bias, and
fears, and just listen. Not with an agenda, not so you can say “I did it”, and
not to formulate a reply. But to listen with your heart the story of someone
that has walked a different path than yours, that encounters this sort of fear
on a daily basis.
Praying for love, peace, and light
throughout your path.
