EXPLAINING WHITE PRIVILEGE

More and more we hear and read about the concept of "white privilege." The term is bandied about to suggest that all white Americans had the world laid at their feet; that no pain, hard work, or sacrifice was needed to make their way through the world.. If your are white, you go directly to the front of the line, no questions asked, no effort required.

To prove the validity of this belief, I will list the "white privilege" milestones in my own life.

1. In the late nineteenth century both my maternal and paternal grandparents immigrated from Poland, where they came from a background of peasant farmers. What privilege!

2. When my mother was nine, she lost her mother to the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918. Two years later she became a total orphan when her father--a steelworker--was killed in an industrial accident. Fortunately, she had an older brother who took her into his family. She lived with them until she was married in her twenties. More privilege.

3. My paternal grandfather worked as a janitor until  he died of kidney disease in his forties. Still more privilege.

4. My father toiled for  40 years as a steelworker. When he was in his thirties, he nearly lost his leg when a load of steel fell on him. Thereafter, he bore a scar the length of his leg. Definite privilege.

5. We didn't have money for me to attend a big university, so after high school I attended a local junior college that my father paid for. During my second year of college, my father had a severe heart attack that forced him to take a disability retirement. Because his income was drastically cut, he sadly told me he would no longer be able to pay for college. I told him I fully understood. Unmistakable privilege.

6. At the end of my second year of college, I quit to work full time at the US Steel Southworks plant where my father had worked. My plan was to work full time for a year to earn enough money for college tuition. I miscalculated. When I quit school I lost my 2S student draft deferment. Eight months later I was drafted as the Viet Nam War heated up. Sweet privilege.

7. While in the army I got married. Upon discharge, I held a series of low paying jobs before finally settling at the US Postal Service until I retired  thirty years later. Since nearly half of the employees are African American, the job can hardly be considered "white privilege."

To suggest that all white people have been given the gift of "white privilege" is erroneous, ridiculous and insulting. It ignore the fact that millions of successful, accomplished whites fought their way out of poverty and achieved wealth and security through sweat, risk-taking and ingenuity. Many failed along the way. Could it be that "white privilege" is the invention of individuals who needed to create an excuse for their own shortcomings? That their shortcoming are due to the unearned success of others?

If it makes you feel better to lie to yourself, then lie. Just remember that a distorted view of the world will inevitably distort your life.