White Privilege in America!

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12:2-5 NIV

(Originally posted on Medium on October 29, 2017–6 minute read, thought it warranted re-posting on WordPress)

When I first heard this term, I admit it didn’t make sense for it to have a negative connotation considering who has access to White Privilege. I still don’t understand the angst that White people have against those who either seldom or never had — access to what they’ve always had. If anyone should be angry, it’s people of color who have been denied, denied, denied — access to equal education, housing, and use of necessary facilities, hotels and restaurants. Before anyone gets fired up by what I just said — keep reading. If you’ve ever experienced what is said, please feel free to comment. If you haven’t — try walking in our shoes before complaining about what you don’t have, when you’ve had it all along.

Does anyone remember when white people in America were held in bondage — shackled and forbidden to travel from place to place without a note from their “master?”

Does anyone remember when white people in America were forced to work in unbearable heat, whipped, beaten and killed if they looked a white man/woman in the eyes?

Does anyone remember when white people in America had their babies yanked from their arms and sold into slavery?

Does anyone remember when white people in America where denied the opportunity to learn to read and if they did, were beaten for the attempt?

Does anyone remember when white people in America were kept segregated in cities and denied home-ownership or land ownership?

Does anyone remember when white people in America were kept from receiving a quality education in public schools — having to use — discarded used textbooks?

Does anyone remember when white people in America when traveling, had to take their own food and drinks with them and use “nature” for a bathroom because they weren’t allowed to use the facilities?

Does anyone remember when white people in America could entertain in local establishments but couldn’t sleep in the hotel where they were entertaining?

Does anyone remember when white people in America could only be buried in certain cemeteries because of the color of their skin?

Does anyone remember when white people in America were dragged out of their houses and lynched or tarred and feathered because of lies told by others?

Does anyone remember when white people in America were spit on, set on fire, or had to stand in line in a store and just wait — until someone decided to serve them?

Does anyone remember when white people in America had a local store where they could only buy rotten, spoiled meat and didn’t dare complain about it?

Does anyone remember when white people in America were only expected to clean for others and barely earn a living wage?

Does anyone remember when white people in America were denied a college education when it was affordable and they proved themselves worth it?

Does anyone remember when white people in America had to fight for the right to be considered human beings and treated as such?

Does anyone remember when white people in America couldn’t walk on the sidewalks if a person of color was walking down the same sidewalk?

Does anyone remember when white people in America couldn’t look at a person of color without being beaten and arrested for doing so?

Does anyone remember when white people in America had to sit in the back of a bus, couldn’t eat in the dining car of a train, and didn’t dare sit if a person of color was standing?

Does anyone remember when white people in America had to train their sons to not look at a police officer if stopped while driving white?

Does anyone remember when white people in America had to warn their daughters about the hazards of life while living white?

Does anyone remember when white people in America had their sons shot down like dogs and accused of doing all manner of illegal activity — especially if they were wearing a hoodie?

This list could go on and on, but the point is clear — White People in America — no matter what their background — have always had access to all things Black people did not from the beginning. And now, since Black people have proven themselves worthy and capable and doing all things they were denied or kept from doing, while Black; the White folks who didn’t take advantage of everything they had access to are crying foul and seem think that Black folks are infringing upon their White Privilege.

All the haters in the “White Lives Matter” movement which are really racists bigots — need to get over themselves. If you are not where you wanted to be in life — it’s because you didn’t want to do what was needed to get there. Stop blaming Black People for your insecurities, lack of education, or poverty. You are your own worst enemies. You had more opportunity than most will ever have, but you chose to squander the opportunity just to have a chance to complain and blame.

Don’t get me wrong — I have nothing against White People any more than I do against Black People — I can’t stand stupid no matter what color it comes in. What I hate is people blaming others for their inability to see what is right in front of them. Life may not be fair (and hasn’t been for most Black families), but it is what we make it.

So stop blaming the Black folks, White Lives Matter and realize you haven’t gotten anywhere because you didn’t want to go anywhere. You had open doors of access while most Black folks had to build the wall in which to place the door and prove they were worthy to walk through it.

If you’d rather march and complain and blame — that’s your business. What you should have been doing from the time you could was to go to school and learn something other than hate. It’s not our fault your ignorance rises above your heads every time you open your mouths. The fault is not ours that we know how to protest racial injustice and we can document it all, yet move on and become “the people you want to become” but are afraid of making the effort. It’s so much easier to hate and blame than try and achieve — we get it. Now you get this — you can scream blood and soil until your vocal cords dry up; you can think deportation until the mountains fall into the seas, but you’ll never be able to understand what it means to say, “I’m Black and I’m Proud” and we’re not going anywhere.

After all, if anyone should leave the shores of America, it should be those who came here from Europe, killed off the Native Inhabitants who helped them to survive here, and then were too lazy to cultivate the land and too cheap to pay for the labor, so they went to Africa (we didn’t come on our own) and bought slaves, forced them to work the land and bear the babies of the slave masters who wanted to increase their slaves without paying for more, and now have the nerve to be angry with us!

The haters claim they want a pure white race? Their ancestors should have thought about that before raping their black slaves. The “impurity” is all on them! I’d suggest that everyone involved in “White Lives Matter” have their DNA checked. They just might be surprised by the DNA they carry within and having carried all this hate against themselves.

As long as there are people who think they are superior to others, everyone in America will have problems getting along with one another, but that can change and it should change now. None of us is superior — we all bleed red when sliced open and we all belong to the same race — the human race! Now, how about that — for privilege!

Advertisement

For Those Who Have Forgotten!

Hatred is not new. It is a time-honored emotional tradition–stirred by frustration and lack of hope–usually directed at those who are vulnerable and unable to defend themselves against the angst of hatred by others who feel threatened by them–the under-educated and ill-informed.

Whenever there are people who feel they are superior to others and those others are inferior–hateful attitudes reign over common sense and love. This phenomena is seen clearly in a review of this country’s history.

This continent–particularly what we call America–was inhabited long before colonists came to the land by the Natives–and since they did not know what they were called (only the labels we gave them) the colonists declared them hostile and barbarian. The colonists lied to them, cheated them out of their land, massacred their people and then put them on reservations–claiming the land for themselves. But that wasn’t enough.

Then, since there was so much work to be done in the new land, the colonists had the bright idea of obtaining free labor and went across the oceans–deceived and lied to the chieftains on the continent of Africa, getting them to help capture naive natives to that land, chained them and forcefully brought them to these shores. These African natives–treated more like animals than human beings were considered barbaric and uncivilized and of course, the only ones who could civilize them were those with white skin. They were forced to abandon their true identity to accept one forced upon them by their captives. They built America and helped to make it a strong nation–and many had the scars (physically) upon their backs to prove how those who didn’t understand them–treated them. And then they were regarded by the less fortunate white people (the under-educated and ill-informed) as threats to their livelihood–hated, lynched, burned alive and their women raped–simply because they had no voice in a lawless land. Their descendants were left with the stories of horror and mental scarring of what hatred does. But that wasn’t enough.

Though there were some who eventually saw the wrong perpetuated upon a people who did not come to this land willingly and tried to right the wrongs–they did little to stop the rampant acts of hatred–continued killing and destruction of whole towns (Rosewood, Florida and in Oklahoma and others) and families–anger and hatred stirred more because those who did not have the privilege of money and status were angry about those of color who achieved it.They hated seeing people of color live in houses rather than hovels, wearing decent clothes rather than rags, and driving cars rather than walking. They hated little black boys (Emmett Till) and men looking at white women so those black boys were taught to walk looking down instead of up and when they dared to bump into a white person, they were beaten or lynched. Jealousy, anger and hatred are emotions that keep killing and no one wins. Since black folks were not considered part of the human race–worthy of having access to the basic amenities–including recourse in a justice system–there was no justice, no trial by peers, and no one listened to a black woman proclaiming rape by a white man, but look around us–some of us are living proof of the rape our ancestors suffered.

And after all that time, over 240 years later since we became a country recognized by the world, we still see the anger and hatred by the masses of those who are under-educated and ill-informed target people of color with just as much hatred as it was in the beginning. When will it stop?

The hatred won’t stop until we all realize that we are one race–not many races–who were born with different skin colors–but still belong to the human race. And until we start treating one another like human beings and stop thinking anyone is superior to another, we will continue to see the violence and hatred perpetuated towards people–primarily by the under-educated and ill-informed because they refuse to accept the fact that long before people of color started to rise and achieve–they had access to everything we were once denied. They hate for no reason other than their own inability to accept responsibility for themselves.

This has to stop! Wake up, America! We’ll never be great or achieve the greatness some think we have lost until we learn to live and love unconditionally–accepting one another for who we are and not who we want people to be.

A mantra for living in peace and harmony should not just be–Black Lives Matter, White Lives Matter, Brown Lives Matter, Native Lives Matter, Police Lives Matter, but All Lives Matter!

If we think we can achieve greatness without remembering our history, we only fool ourselves for we cannot move forward until we know–where we were. And going backwards–is simply not an option! If we refuse to know and remember our history, we are bound to make the same mistakes and end up going in circles–never ending the cycle of hate, and replacing it with love.

I will keep this conversation going until someone–many someones–make public proclamations that the hatred must stop and we must learn to love–unconditionally!