A bad couple of weeks - but viewed from a distance
Tuesday, September 7, 2021 at 09:28AM
The last few weeks have been grim - news-wise. The horrific evacuation from Afghanistan and associated deaths from the suicide bomber, hurricane and tornado in Louisiana and the East Coast, wild fires and drought throughout the West and in northern Minnesota, homicides endemic, a surge in COVID deaths and overflowing hospitals, contencious school board meetings around mask mandates and rocky back-to-school starts, lots of jobs going unfilled - you name it, the headlines made you wonder why you got out of bed that morning.
But I am viewing these happenings from a quiet, leafy distance. I know of them only through my TV and computer screens, radio broadcasts, and newspapers. While I care, I am also removed. I can sit here feeling quite safe in my little suburban townhouse. I have some money in the bank; I am retired; I am in good health; I have no outstanding warrants for my arrest; and my friends and family are largely in the same boat. The loudly proclaimed existential threats on the front pages will, into the foreseeable future, remain hypothetical for me.
I expressed this observation to a friend a while ago who replied, “Yes, you are privileged.” He’s a pretty “woke” guy and I am sure he meant it in context of white privilege and all that it confers. He’s right, of course. I am white. I am male. I am tall. I am healthy. I have minimal mental disorders or inadequacies. I faced no great societal obstacles on my road from childhood to retirement.
Yet…
The racial equity movement does itself no favors by using the term “privilege.” To me, and I am sure many others to whom the term is applied, there is the implication that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth and hard work, good choices, delayed gratification, compassion, and even dumb luck had nothing to do with my current happy status. I owe everything I have to being born white.
While my life’s path was not blocked by racial prejudice, it was not necessarily one that was straight or smooth. There were many, many forks in the road - to commit crimes or be law abiding; to complete my education or drop out; to conform to the rules of my places of employment or quit; to spend my leisure time writing and speaking professionally or playing golf. Whether others attribute my current enviable life situation to white privilege or hard work or will of the gods, makes not a whole lot of difference to me at this point in my life.
But I do believe how others evaluate the successes and failures of my children and grandchildren may very well be impactful. I want all young people to take responsibility for the choices they make and be proud of their successes and learn from their mistakes. That their fate is not determined by their race. I do hope they acknowledge that some of their positive opportunities and experiences come from advantages that come from being white. In the end, I want them, like me, to own their lives.
Enjoy your newspaper this morning.
Reader Comments (6)
I can see why folks feel that way when confronted with the term “privilege.” But it’s not really about the silver spoon thing. John Scalzi had a good post once (that has been republished many times and in many places since he wrote it in 2012) comparing the issue to a video game where you get to create your character and you have gotten “The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is” which is a fun way to think about it. On his original post he’s added a couple of follow ups due to the large amount of comments he’s received on the post. He knows how to frame an argument well, so I won’t repeat it here. Definitely worth reading.
Cheers, sir!
Thanks, Ninja. I look for it. Always enjoy a new perspective on complicated issues!
Doug
Here's the link to the Scalzi post:
https://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-the-lowest-difficulty-setting-there-is/
Doug
"...hard work, good choices, delayed gratification, compassion, and even dumb luck..."
Truth
Thank you Doug. I’ve followed you for years and respect your perspective and knowledge. You have stated the most important part, that life takes hard work and effort. I agree with you that the privilege moniker doesn’t go far in our discussions. Very, very few gained success through privilege. An angry woman once said to me, “Must be nice to be divorced, getting money from your ex and not needing a job.” I sacrificed, worked 3 part time jobs and finished my education after divorce. It wasn’t easy and I had family support as my privilege. Name calling and finger pointing will not move our race issues forward. I like your points about current societal concerns.
Thank you, Lisa, for leaving your comments.
As an educator (and parent), I always felt it was my job to empower my students and kids. "YOU have the power and ability to shape your own future," I insisted. Take responsibility for both your successes and your failures. Of course I clearly recognize that some of us whose lives have been "home runs" were born on 2nd or 3rd base. But I hope we credit all people for their work and sacrifices (like yours.)
All the best,
Doug