White Privilege

 

 It's a two post day due to technical difficulties but I wanted to write about this to help wrap my head around it.

 “How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live in harmony! For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe.” Psalm 133:1-2

 

  Part of our Zoom staff meeting is an opportunity to dialogue about issues surrounding anti-racism and anti-oppression. I’ve lost track of time from being off work with Covid but it was about a month ago when I spoke up. I strongly felt the discussion was fanning the flames of racial hate instead of helping us learn from each other.

  I have zero recollection about what was said to this effect because, following my passionate and aggrieved speech, a co-worker exploded. Again, I cannot remember what was said except for the last words, spoken in bitter rage…”People who are white!!”

  Of course, being me, I quickly apologized in the chat because it had not been my intention to silence or demean anyone. The support received was amazing. Most of the comments affirmed what I had been trying to say had been very clear. A call with my boss to debrief later that day also helped tremendously.

  But it felt as though I’d been gut punched.

  There’s been some time to recover but what happened haunts me.

  The idea of white privilege seems to be the leading concept in any sort of anti-racism dialogue. I only had a vague idea what this meant. Yesterday was a quiet day at work so, thanks to Google, I now have clearer understanding.

  I don’t have to worry about being pulled over by police because of the colour of my skin.

  I am also not concerned that police won’t help should I need them.

  I can walk freely in a store or mall without being followed by security.

  TV, magazine and newspaper images are predominantly white.  I have to add that statistically, since Canada is 79% Caucasian, we are bound to be the main focus of the majority of anything promotion related.

  No one says I got my job because of the colour of my skin as opposed to being the right fit.

  Nobody ever says I should be thankful I have a job because of my colour.

  Band-aids are the colour of my skin. Maybe they should only make them blue then it wouldn’t matter anymore.

  So are the little hand icons we can share in our Zoom meeting.

  These are samples from the pages and pages about this online. The majority are written by white authors.

  But I also learned another term: intersectionality.

  Because I am a woman, many of the prejudicial treatments towards people of colour are shared because of my gender. Poverty, too, comes with its own challenges around prejudice.

  I have been followed around a high end store and given the hairy eyeball by the clerk because my wardrobe was deemed “inappropriate” for the cost of the items being sold there. Little did they know my wallet contained ample funds to purchase their most expensive item! Another store got my money.

  During this research, following a rabbit trail came with the discovery that there was slavery in Canadian history. This shocked me more than anything because our role in the Underground Railroad helping slaves escape from the US is all I knew of slavery. It was an American thing. Why was this whitewashed from our history classes? I guess it’s also why wasn't taught black children couldn't come to my school. The last Canadian segregated school only closed in 1983. (!)

  This biased history is also part of white privilege but it bothers me that it took so long to erase one of the most punitive types of social exclusion ever created by man.

  Interestingly, the Canadian Encyclopedia online shared the identities of Canadian slave owners. Most of them were white but one slave owner was a Mohawk chief. At the time, this was acceptable. There were also indentured servants brought over from Europe who repaid their passage by working for free for decades…basically, they sold themselves into slavery for the chance at a better life. Most of them died at the hands of those who had paid for their trip from overwork and harsh conditions long before they were free.

  Much of my journey has involved looking at the past. The hardest thing to overcome was not judging my decisions based on today’s knowledge and experience. Nothing can change what happened in the past, I can only learn from it and, hopefully, strive to do better. Being aware that there are pervasive cultural attitudes that unconsciously shape how I live is a start.

  God knows how much they've hurt me, too.