"Paw-Paw,
Thank
you for sharing your viewpoint on the U.S. history and the current reality of
black people and other cultural minorities. I wholeheartedly disagree with you
on most parts, but I respect your right to your own beliefs. I hope you
acknowledge that neither of us should occupy a position of subjugation in our
dialogue. I recognize that conflicting worldviews and actions exist in a world
and a period of life that belongs to both of us equally. However, please do not
carry an inherent assumption that only your views are right, and that at the
end of the day, I'm going to see it your way.
I
am well educated on the history of Civil War, and I am aware of what went on in
the North and South in terms of economy and politics. I have read the
Emancipation Proclamation myself. I have read stories written by slaves and
slave owners. Obviously, I see the history through completely different lens
from yours. I am not interested in what the oppressors have to say, or what
their reasons for oppressing marginalized groups were. I’m interested in
learning from the oppressed groups, and how resilience had helped them survive
through those times.
As
a white person, I often am blinded by my unearned privileges, just like how
right-handed people are often unaware of how school desks are set up for
right-handed people, baseball mitts are designed for right-handed people, guns
are designed for right-handers to shoot, and appliances open to the right,
making it easy for right-handers to open, while left-handed people have a
harder time with those things. This is a small example of how we all have
different forms of privileges that we often overlook. Those privileges may
unintentionally or intentionally make our lives a bit easier.
Because
of this, I often make a point to check in with the minority group, be it Black,
Latino, Women, Deaf, Homosexual, Blind, or Left-handed people when talking
about their history and current issues. When I want to know what misogyny is, I
don’t ask a man. When I want to know what racism is, I don’t ask a white
person. When I want to know what homophobia is, I don’t ask a heterosexual
person. The definitions of oppression are best articulated by the oppressed.
I
know I have benefits of being a white person in this society. I’m a racist.
Being a racist doesn’t means I hate black people. Racism is not simply a series
of random, isolated, overt acts by individuals. It is an institutionalized
system of reality that infects every action and thought and requires conscious
action to combat and reject. Like most right-handed people, I recognize that I
am unaware of AND benefit from my privileges as a right-handed person. Like
most white people, I am unable to see things from the oppressed's
perspective whilst black people live it, breath it, and see it every day. Most
people think being called a "racist" is a personal attack, and some
people use this term to attack others. I can understand why white people like
myself can get defensive when this happens and say, "No! I'm not a racist!
I just don't see it the way you do!" BUT the reason why we don't see it
the way people of color do is because we are ALSO victims of the racist system.
We DO say, think, and do racist things without realizing it. So when someone
points this out to us, I do hope that we, white people, are able to examine our
position of power and privilege. I always believe and support the oppressed
group, even if I can't see "it".
Here
is a checklist of white privilege: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsap.mit.edu%2Fcontent%2Fpdf%2Fwhite_privilege_checklist.pdf
I
know you don’t hate people of color, but you do have a patronizing perception
of them. “I have black friends, I grew up around black people, my ancestors
treated black slaves well” do not, and should not mean anything. You have white
friends, you grew up around white people, your ancestors treated white people
well too. Why should black people be any different? You did the right thing by
treating everyone with equal respect and dignity.
The
difference is that the majority of black people continue to experience
discrimination, not by you perhaps, but by many other white people who perceive
them as dangerous, uneducated, and inferior. I even had this perception myself
while growing up due to the media’s negative portrayal of black people, due to
many black people living in the poor areas, and due to the amount of black
people in jail. Now, I realize that the reason why they are poor is because the
system (set up by white people) does not work in their favor, just like the
reason why many Deaf people are uneducated, because the system (set up by
hearing people) had failed to provide the education that we needed.
Here
is a concrete example of how people of color are being discriminated against in
our country. In 2009, NYPD stopped 575,000 New Yorkers. Of those stopped,
around 490,000 were black or latino. Even though nine times as many people
of color were stopped, the NYPD found that of all people stopped, white people
were most likely to be carrying illegal drugs and illegal weapons. Black people
receive 60% longer sentences for same crimes as white people.
This
is just one example among many I’ve been reading from the people of color
community. We cannot deny that injustice exists in our country. I’m trying to
be more aware and educated on this topic so I will not contribute to the
problem by being colorblind and ignorant of what most marginalized groups
experience in U.S.
I
know some successful black people too, but it does not invalidate that there is
a functional racism in the country on a larger scale (this form of
discrimination also exists for women, Gay people, Deaf people, and other
marginalized groups)
I
do not expect you to agree with me, and that is completely okay. However, I do
hope you understand the lens I see the world with.
I
know your viewpoint, and now you know mine. I know the kind of person you are,
and now you know who I am. I am not interested in continuing this dialogue any
further if the goal is to change one or the other’s mind. But if the goal is to
get us to know each other better, then I’m comfortable with this.
Cheers,
Leala"
