Something that struck me as odd during my travels was the pervasive awareness of privilege, White privilege in particular.
Not just by people of color, but by White people with those advantages, coming down on themselves for the abuses their peers have committed, and the legacy they have been born into.
Those of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds other than those of the first English and Anglo have always known of the challenges that face us simply due to physical appearance,
The mistrust is culturally ingrained as part of our history in this country. But it is making progress.
I have personally heard privileged Anglo individuals admitting that it is people like them that have taken us into the sad state we’re in.
It was literally a rich White male saying rich White males are the problem. But it was that exact statement that truly gave me pause.
He wasn’t actually saying all rich White men are a problem with society, he was just finally acknowledging the fact that privilege and advantage is given to a very small segment of society in this county, and in turn, being exploited for their own benefit to the detriment of nearly all others.
He was acknowledging the fact that our current society marginalizes people of color at every turn.
Some people of color dismiss it as fashionable in these types of situations, but I saw their intent to be genuine.
I come from privilege too. As a second generation American of Mexican descent, I did not know the same rough barrios my parents did. We struggled, but I always had food on the table.
It was not until I got older and experienced those same drug infested crime riddled streets for myself that I began to understand. I had to find out for myself how these realities were, they were not my daily life, as they were for my parents and grandparents.
Still, I see their struggle as part of my own. I am only able to do what I do through the efforts of my grandfathers in the fields and the Army, my grandmothers care and supervision, through the constant raw physical exertion of my father and the dedicated perseverance of my mother. Their struggles to give their children better lives have given me these wonderful opportunities to share information and help facilitate change.
It is the privileges they have afforded me that makes me want to do what I can for others.
We all have certain talents, strengths and privileges. Whether it is our skin color, socio-economic status, natural ability, or hard work ethic, we all have gifts at our disposal.
We should not ever be ashamed of who we are or what we have been given. It is simply that we must use these gifts to their full extent.
Having a gift is not something to be ashamed of, not using it, is.