Dear White People
January 10, 2018
By CIA SIAB VAJ
The Mirror reporter
Dear white people, you don’t have to worry about learning about how your family was enslaved. You don’t have to worry about others telling you to go back to your country of origin even though you were born here. And if I was to go my country I don’t have one.
Dear white people, your culture is based on taking other’s culture.
Dear white people, must be nice being sick of hearing about racism rather than experiencing it. This is how white privilege is exercised.
What is white privilege? It’s white people benefiting from the system. And though you aren’t born and handed a golden spoon you live in a system where it’ll benefit you more.
Let’s take a look at all the systems around us starting with the justice system. In our justice system, a black man is more likely to be in prison for committing the same crime as opposed to a white man. Police brutality is also the same, a black teen is more likely to be shot than a white teen. White parents would never have to worry about having a conversation with their child about police brutality.
If we look at our school system, there’s no support for kids of color and classes taught at schools are being sugar coated. Telling students that Columbus discovered the Americas, or America didn’t send Japanese to camps just like internment camps are just two of many examples that portray white privilege at its finest.
Many white people may say that they were born poor or that they are poor. You still, though, benefit from the system. Some examples of white privilege in daily life, seeing representation on TV, or Band-Aid that matches your skin tone.
White privilege can be a negative and a positive thing. You can choose to abusive, or you can use it to give resources to people of color. You can’t save the world, but you can support and follow. If people of color receive equity then you’ll be at peace, too.
Manuel Lupercio • Mar 15, 2018 at 12:46 PM
This is a very well thought out article. Many people fail to see the struggle of other races thinking if they “acted” better that they would have a normal life but as we know thats not true at all we face the constant struggle of others putting us down or looking down upon us simply of our race.
Katie Hauer • Mar 14, 2018 at 2:46 PM
This is a good article. As a white person, I am often blind to racism going on. Conversations about racism can be uncomfortable, but they need to happen. I like what you said about supporting poc; I think a lot of white people (who do want to help fight racism) seem to think they need to speak for poc, but what we really need to do is pass the mike.
I agree with most of this article, the only thing I don’t quite agree with is that white culture is based on taking others’ cultures. Being white doesn’t mean being devoid of your own culture, there are many traditions and other things that come from different European cultures that aren’t stolen. And, getting into cultural appropriation, I believe there are times that you can appreciate and take part in others’ cultures without being disrespectful or stealing it. That being said, I think there are many times white people do fail to celebrate their actual heritage in exchange for taking someone else’s.