Privilege Is Something Everybody Talks About That Nobody Wants To Talk About
In light of the Damon Young piece on black males being the white people of black people and the defensive reaction of many black males along with the NFL protests on police brutality and racial inequality spearheaded by Colin Kaepernick being intentionally ignored due to perceived disrespect towards the military, privilege can no longer be ignored. Both black male privilege and white privilege can be addressed simultaneously as it’s not limited to any one group or person.
Privilege
Privilege is defined as a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people. It must be understood that society will only see equality when those with it acknowledge it and cede some of it. Those affected by it would love for those who enjoy it to join them in their fight to make this country a better place for us all, but it is unlikely because ceding it means ceding an advantage. This can and should be scary as hell to those who have it as it is contradictory to human nature.
Whether you’re a black male who wants to make things fair and equal for black women and the black lgbt community or a white person wanting to do the same for black people, these are the steps you want to take:
Step 1: Acknowledge you have privilege
Step 2: Acknowledge that privilege is detrimental to others
Step 3: Listen to those whom are detrimentally affected by your privilege and ask them what you can do
Step 4: Act upon the recommendations of those your privilege is detrimental to.
Step 5: Get others who share your privilege to do the same.
Anything less than constant and repeated engagement in all five of these steps will only at best maintain the already unsatisfactory status quo, and at worst make things even harder for the groups you purport to only want to help.
It should be noted that this is only for people who claim they want justice and equality for all. Many don’t and to them I say carry on. I get it. The world is hard and it is only made much harder with introspection and efforts made towards anything or anyone that do not benefit yourself first. In order for it truly to be effective, you have to be made to feel very uncomfortable. With that being said, a rising tide lifts all boats, and when underrepresented and disadvantaged groups are included, everyone is better off in the long run.
