Flavie Eidel
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EN. White Privilege, what to do with it?
🕑 Added 2020-06-02 15:00:00 +0000 UTCHey you.
Today, I am not here to spread joy, or anything related to positive emotions. I am actually filled with rage and anger as I am typing this article. Not my anger, not my rage. But the one that the black community has been building up for centuries now, related to how racism affects their life in so many aspects daily.
I want to use all the platforms I can to share with other white people the knowledge I have been accumulating about the situation. So if you are unaware, please read. And I hope it is only the beginning of your self education on this subject :)
1. What is happening right now?
As you probably know, in Minneapolis, George Floyd, a black man got killed by police officers during an arrestation last week. Evidences show:
_ he was arrested for suspicions of using a fake bill to pay for groceries,
_ he was NOT causing any trouble
_ before killing him on the ground (as you probably already saw), he was first beat up by the cops in their car.
"In this white supremacist society, when police kills a black man, we want to know what made it happen. There is something in us that believe that black people deserve this." - @janayathefuture
George Floyd is only a name in a never ending list of black people arbitrary arrested, molested, humiliated and killed by police officers and authority figures, all around the world.
People decided to protest against unpunished police violence and things escalated. But not as you may think. Indeed, instead of apologizing and trying to find solutions to this major issue, police decided to be extremely violent with pacifist protestors.
A big grocery store, Target, got vandalized for 2 major reasons: This company directly funds the police that killed George Floyd and refused the protestors to buy supplies from them to wash their face after being directly sprayed with tear gaz by the police. Not to mention that the company made a ridiculous amount of money during a pandemic that starved millions of people around the world.
We see protests happening all over America and once again, media show explosions, fires, and whatever sensational images they can find.
But what they don't show are:
_ most of theses vandalizations are from white people (white supremacists, white undercover corps, "white allies" that feel entitled to take actions that could directly hurt black people), as many videos can testify.
_ all the pacifist protests going on. They are the majority. And it doesn't calm down police officers that have no problem shooting kneeling people in the head or driving over crowds.
_ all the events in the past centuries that lead to this.
2. Okay, but why is it my problem?
As white people, we could have the reflex to look away as soon as we feel uncomfortable and find excuses to justify our inaction. I know it very well. I am guilty of it. I am guilty of only showing my activist card when it's to defend myself. I am guilty of putting my comfort before other people's safety. But I decided that I won't hide behind my white privilege anymore and that I will make up for theses mistakes with actions, not apologies. It isn't about white people right now. It isn't about our ego, our image, or anything else. It's been about us for long enough. If you benefit from black culture at any level, and don't use your power and privilege to dismantle systemic racism, you are part of the problem. As a white woman, I cannot ask men to fight patriarchy if I am not ready to fight racism.
The current society was built by and for white people. White supremacy is a social construct, re-enforced by the stories that are told to and by us, and as any social construct, can be dismantled to lead to a better world.
3. I get it, but what can I do?
I have good news for you: there is so many things you can do right now, even from the comfort of your couch.
* You can educate yourself about racism
Knowledge is power. And it can be shared endlessly. By educating yourself and sharing this knowledge with other white people, you are taking this pressure off black people's shoulders. They have other priorities right now than repeating things they have been saying for centuries.
You can Google key words like "how to be a white allie?", "police violence on black people", "white privilege", etc
If you have any questions, please ask Google, not black people.
If this new knowledge makes you uncomfortable, that is a good sign. Embrace the discomfort, the guilt and the rage.
* You can add black people's narrative in the content you consume daily.
Follow black people, listen to what they have to say, look up black history. The more we do it and the more we change our prospective on the world. Only listening to white people's point of view on black people's issues doesn't help anything.
Watch movies and shows made by black people. Everything made by Ava Duvernay and Jordan Peele is a really good start.
I am getting a list of black content creators ready, but in the mean time, if you have instagram, I highly encourage you to follow
in English: @blackhistory @blklivesmatter @janayathefuture @chikalogy @nowhitesaviors @aaron__philip @untilfreedom
in French: @maisnoncestpasraciste @decolonisonsnous @tetonsmarrons @sansblancderien @assatraore
Personally I decided to unfollow the white people that remain silent about the situation and replace them by black content creators and it definitely changed a lot my social media experience.
* You can now share this knowledge with the white people around you.
This may not be super pleasant. Many may remain resistant, and it can bring up conflicts. That means you're doing great. Theses people love and respect you. They'll end up thinking about what you told them. And it'll probably change their point of view and help them evolve. Text your friends, colleagues and family members, talk about it with the children you know... And start real discussions, not just mention it.
For the little story, my ex husband called me out on my racist behavior when we were together. At first I got super offended and took it personally. I took it as a personal attack and threw back nasty arguments at him. But looking at it now, I am extremely thankful that he did it. Otherwise, I would have probably not being able to start questioning myself on it.
Be the person that cares enough to put themselves in danger for a better world.
Please, if you share your knowledge, make sure to not publicly share graphic content of violence towards black people. It can be traumatic for black people that see it.
* Donate money if you can
You can give to non profits, black owned businesses, buy things that people are selling to raise money for donations, etc.
And try your best to boycott companies that benefit directly from systemic racism (like H&M, Nike, and many more).
Examples of good non profits: Black Lives Matter Global Network, National Bail Out (that bails out Black mothers), Official George Floyd Memorial Fund, The Conscious Kid (raise money to fund a program to get Children's Books to Support Conversations on Race, Racism, and Resistance" into classrooms across USA), and many more (I will have a more complete list coming soon)
* Sign petitions
All of them. And share them. And feel free to search for them by keyword on the petition websites.
American ones: http://chng.it/hRVfQmf4GZ , - I signed a bunch but I don't know how to find the links.
French ones: http://chng.it/8w4ZzmnDkb , http://chng.it/fvtfqZ78Ty , http://chng.it/5mnRywkGhV , etc
* Send emails to consul members around America
Budgets for the upcoming years are being validated at this time of year, and it extremely important for the situation to defund the police and use this money into social and health programs, to make sure this doesn't keep happening. There is lots of ressources on Internet about alternatives and reasons why the police system doesn't work.
* Use your privilege to help
- Offer to take your black colleagues shifts since going to work right now might be insanely hard, babysitt their kids, go grocery shopping for them, etc. Not only protesters, this situation is traumatic for black people.
- Go to protests and make sure that you do not escalade the tension. Be there to protect and support. Bring helpful supplies: bandaids, water, snacks, masks... Share them with black people. Know when to be silent. Some chants aren't ours to sing as white people. Don't accept to talk to the media about the situation. We need to hear black people and only black people on this issue.
- Call out racism when you witness it. Don't talk for black people, but don't let them defend themselves alone either. Don't be a savior but try your best to be a supportive ally.
* Vote.
Don't vote for yourself, but for the people that are forgotten by our current society. Think about them in your choice of candidate to support. And if you really don't want to vote, considerate giving your vote to someone who can't (undocumented immigrants, for example).
I know this is a lot on informations and I hope you got something out of it. Listening to me is not enough. I am only making this post to share the knowledge I have on the situation and redirect you to the people you should be listening to.
* Question your own inner racism enough to take anti racist actions in your daily life.
If you have the power to hire people, maybe give the priority to black candidates. If you want to buy things, maybe give the priority to black owned businesses. This society only has white people as leaders. In every field. The money is held by white people. It’s time to redistribute the cards, for a better game. Imagine you are playing cards with other people and you only get the shittiest cards. It doesn’t mean you are a bad player. But you already lost the game before it started. You’ll try your best to delay your losing, but whatever you do, whatever abilities you have, you won’t win against a shitty player that holds all the good cards.
Let's keep changing together, for a better world.
