MANY white Americans say they are fed up with the coverage of the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. A plurality of whites in a recent Pew survey said that the issue of race is getting more attention than it deserves. Bill O’Reilly of Fox News reflected that weariness, saying: “All you hear is grievance, grievance, grievance, money, money, money.”…. Indeed, a 2011 study by scholars at Harvard and Tufts found that whites, on average, believed that anti-white racism was a bigger problem than anti-black racism. Yes, you read that right!
Perhaps the one thing events in Ferguson and around the country have made clear to me is our collective and stunning lack of compassion and willingness to walk a mile in the shoes of another. White America has retreated into itself, refusing to consider that our collective experience is not representative of the entirety of America. It’s too easy to fall into the habit of people like Bill O’Reilly, who ignore the benefits that have accrued to them from White privilege and discredit those who seek their piece of the pie.
Being blind to the benefits you receive on a daily basis because you’re White doesn’t mean that White privilege doesn’t exist. It just means you’re too ignorant and lacking in the powers of observation to recognize reality.
Many White Americans are fed up with hearing about Ferguson and racial issues in general because it’s inconvenient. They don’t like being reminded that the benefits we enjoy because of our skin color too often come at the expense of others because of their skin color. It’s easy to take our lives for granted because it’s always been thus. But what if the script had been flipped? What if White America was the minority? What if we saw other groups taking more than their share because they always have and to them it’s merely what they’re due?
Nicholas Kristof does a pretty good job of illustrating why we need more attention to racial issues in this country, not more smug arrogance and White delusion. Kristof’s short and by no means exhaustive list argues that racial inequality is not an African-American or a White problem…it’s an American problem. Ultimately, inequality effects ALL of us, regardless of skin color: “When so much talent is underemployed and overincarcerated, the entire country suffers.”
That seems like something that shouldn’t be a matter for debate, yet there are those White Americans who refuse to believe that the plight of African-Americans isn’t a “cultural” thing. They’re lazy…or unmotivated…or refuse to adapt to the realities of the marketplace…or unwilling to do the really hard work to succeed in America. It’s easy to say that when you’re part of a class which is collectively granted a head start in life. It’s only “cultural” in the sense that White America refuses to recognize the degree we’re privileged relative to minorities. When you’re used to starting a 100-yard dash on the 40 yard line, that becomes your norm.
It’s been fashionable to hold forth on how we now live in a “post-racial” society, where skin color no longer determines and/or limits the opportunities available to an American. The truth is that skin color effects virtually every aspect of American life; White America refuses to acknowledge this because it’s inconvenient. Racism and racial equality has never really changed or gone away; it’s simply shifted form, becoming more subtle and easier to overlook. When you refuse to see something, it’s easy to argue that it no longer exists.
So a starting point is for those of us in white America to wipe away any self-satisfaction about racial progress. Yes, the progress is real, but so are the challenges. The gaps demand a wrenching, soul-searching excavation of our national soul, and the first step is to acknowledge that the central race challenge in America today is not the suffering of whites.
There’s so much fear, misinformation, and lack of understanding today- and it goes both ways. This is what happens when people talk AT instead of TO or WITH one another. Americans- of all colors- need to be able to talk about their experiences and know that they will be heard. They need to know that their voice will be heard. Too often when we thinking we’re listening, we’re really just formulating our response while another is speaking. If we could stop, slow down, and actually HEAR what someone is saying, we might find that there’s much to bind us together as human beings. Unfortunately, what’s happening today is that one side screams, begging to be heard, while the other ignores them out of hand. Both sides are proceeding from places of anger and frustration, which makes it exceedingly difficult to create any sort of meaningful dialogue.
My own experience has shown me that there isn’t much in life that can’t be solved by listening and trying to understand the viewpoint and experience of another person. You may not see eye-to-eye with someone, which, given a vast disparity in experiences, can be understandable. That doesn’t mean that there can’t be a meeting of the minds, a mutual understanding of each perspective, and a willingness to validate another’s point of view.
White America has nothing to feel guilty about, because guilt’s an unproductive emotion. What we need is a willingness listen. And understand. And recognize that the experiences, concerns, and even anger of African-Americans are valid and legitimate. Perhaps if we can listen for a change, we might be able to figure out how to make America a better place for ALL of us.
Open yourself up. Expand your frame of reference. Try to see things from a perspective outside your own. You might be surprised at what you learn.
