MISUNDERSTOOD: How white privilege has been taken out of context?
By: Crystal Leon, Staff Writer
White privilege is a very misunderstood term. At the most basic level, it refers to the societal advantage white people enjoy because of the color of their skin. It does not mean that white people do not experience hardships, but that the hardships they experience are not caused by the color of their skin. White privilege can make one’s life easier in ways so subtle that some people deny its existence altogether.
Some examples of that subtle white privilege are not being fearful of the police, finding abundant children’s toys and books that represent white people’s race, and the ability to break loose from violent stereotypes of white people. These privileges can go unseen to those who have them, but if they were taken away, there’d be a dramatic change in their life.
For this privilege to go unnoticed is a privilege in itself. When confronted with the term “white privilege,” many white people grow defensive and say that just because they are white does not mean they are “privileged” or had it easy. While it is true that white privilege does not negate hardship, this response takes the term out of context. To have white privilege is to be respected and given the benefit of the doubt because of the color of your skin, while people of color are not. For an example of white privilege, we need not look further than the tragedies that occurred to Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Both were innocent, and both were shot by police officers. In Breonna Taylor’s case, she was shot in her bed, in a botched police raid. Mr. Floyd, for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, was pinned down to the ground by a policeman, who rested his knee on his neck, promoting some of his final words to be “I can’t breathe.” This brutality is partially blamed on the victim’s skin color, as the rate of violence against unarmed black people is significantly higher than any other ethnicity.
In order to stop white privilege, white people need to acknowledge it. The playing field can never be leveled if people with this privilege choose to sit back and do nothing in willful ignorance. Of course, I am not saying that all white people are ignorant. Many took part in the BLM protests over the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and many swear their allegiance to equality. But with great power comes great responsibility, and white people cannot just sit back and expect things to change. Signing petitions is all well and good, but it isn’t going to change anything unless you act upon your signature. So instead of sitting back and enjoying the life of privilege, why not use that privilege to fight for what is right and achieve true liberty and justice for all.