Mama used to say for heaven’s sake, take small bites, this isn’t a race.
Okay, that might be hyperbole, my memories on scarfing down food are fuzzy. Given my slobbery track record with sweets I have no problem believing this actually happened. But lots of my “real” (read: dinner) food memories revolve around sitting at the table taking microscopic bites, stuck there until I cleaned my plate. Which might have a lot to do with why I’m the last damn fool eating at every single meal ever, but I digress.
I’m taking mama’s advice to heart.
I’ve been tackling huge issues on here. Important stuff. Things we need to talk about, think about, then talk about again. But I notice that sometimes – somewhere in the middle of a post – I feel all twisted up. Like I’ve got six different threads feeding out and they’re tangled.
Small bites.
Let’s get started.
***************
what about me? Yeah, I’m white, but I’m poor.
One thing has come up every time I’m in a conversation about white privilege – seriously, y’all, every.single.time – and that’s poverty. No, not poverty among people of color. White poverty. So let’s talk about it.
Are there poor white people? Yes. Are there unbelievably impoverished white people, exhausted by a seemingly endless cycle of hand to mouth living? Yes. People of color do not have a monopoly on poverty, a very real and pressing problem in this country.
Now let’s take a moment to define what I mean by white privilege.¹
white privilege: The unquestioned and unearned set of advantages, entitlements, benefits and choices bestowed upon people solely because they are white. Generally white people who experience such privilege do so without being conscious of it.
Privilege doesn’t mean white people don’t face hard things in life. Privilege means the color of your skin won’t make your life harder than it is already.
Let’s take that poor white person. Regardless of socioeconomic status, here are a few guaranteed perks thanks to white skin.²
- If I want I can choose to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
- I see people of my race widely represented on tv and in the newspaper.
- I can use checks, credit cards, or cash without my skin color working against the appearance of financial stability.
- I can excel in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
- I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.
White privilege isn’t a magic wand. It doesn’t make life easy sailing. But saying I might be white but I didn’t have it easy in a discussion about how white privilege systemically creates an uneven playing field just shows how much work we need to do.
Resources:
1. “White Privilege” by Calgary Anti-Racism Education.
2. “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh, 1988.
Riddle from the Middle 
Uh, yeah. I got privilege. I got it out the yin-yang.
I’ve been poor plenty. I lived well below the poverty line, for almost a year, but I HAD HELP. Plenty of help. Not so much money help, but food help (thank you food stamps) shelter help (thank you, friend) and childcare help (thank you, mamaw) and well, lots of help. I knew it was temporary, but not how long it would last. I had hope.
Hope, it turns out, is also a privilege.
I’ve never been black.
I don’t know how people don’t see it. I suppose I’m glad I do, but along with that, I see the lack of compassion or even the most meager attempt to understand.
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It truly is a mystery. Nothing drives me to the edge quite as quickly as someone saying “well, my daddy worked hard for everything we had so if they’d just *apply* themselves…” Sweet Jesus, hold my earrings.
As always, Joey, your comment is thoughtful and inspiring. Thanks for being you.
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The knapsack as a metaphor for white privilege is brilliant, since we not only carry it, it’s behind us and we can’t see it easily.
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That’s a point I hadn’t thought about. It really is an excellent metaphor.
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This is a discussion my daughter and I have had frequently – we agree with each other that white privilege is a real thing, but few whites would admit to it – perhaps because that would require too much thought and a possible reevaluation of some others. As I’m reading all of these words above, yours and others I’m thinking to myself “how many young white boys get shot by cops (and others) just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and thought to be suspicious?” I’m seriously beginning to question whether we can ever get beyond racisim, and I serously question anyone who calls themselves a Christian and still is racist.
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I agree it will be hard for some whites to accept, let alone promote, the idea that they got to where they are by anything other than their own hard work. That’s the American way, right? Your question about young white boys getting shot for being in the wrong place at the wrong time is exactly on point and is frankly something that scares the hell out of me for when my own son gets his driver’s license. There’s so much work to do, but hearing from people who *are* talking about this gives me hope.
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This is a good post, but a tough concept, unless you have the experience to understand (and are willing to recognize the experience). I once wrote that I have been poor, but I’ve never experienced poverty. I clarified that by saying that, even while poor, I was aware that I had an opportunity to improve my situation, or I realized that my situation was temporary.
Several years ago, in our workplace, a few people got into a heated argument about the “myth” and “reality” of white privilege. These were all professionals, all midden-upper-middle class folk and all white. The lone person trying to defend the idea that white privilege is not a myth, challenged the others to take an honest look back on their life and state for a fact that they had never received a significant benefit simply because they were white. The conversation ended with that question.
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And what a brilliant question it was.
Your point about the difference between being poor and poverty is an excellent one. When childhood’s come up I’ve used lots of descriptions that all boiled down to we weren’t what you’d call well off but we made do. I guess some (ie people raised with money) would have called us poor because we didn’t buy name brand clothes or go out to eat much or take vacations; to me it was just the way life was. BUT – I never saw my parents worry if they’d make rent. I never skipped meals so we could pay a bill or go to the doctor. This country fails to acknowledge there’s a hierarchy to poverty: there’s poor, there’s dirt poor, then there’s black poor. Being black and poor is an entirely different situation.
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I had brief brushes with being poor to the point of having to decide between doing laundry and eating dinner, but I was in college and I knew it was temporary. At the very worst, I could have moved back in with my parents. There are millions of people who have no safety net, and who have to make those decisions on a daily basis while facing the fact that it’s NOT temporary. This is a subject I talk about with friends often. Some get it, most don’t, and many simply don’t want to hear it.
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Just keep talking, Dan. You’re reaching some and every little bit of progress helps.
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Small bites is a great way to put it. Poverty has many causes but often the same face. People who may be poor Or rich may not see the reason for their poverty . Small bites,indeed. Let me string a few things together – National Myths – ‘Anyone can be president’ if you’re poor it’s your own fault. Work harder. This attitude could be said to be the other side of the coin of the America is the land of opportunity you can be anything myth. Is the same sort of logic which dismisses poverty ie it’s your own fault. Regardless of race, most people can’t see beyond their own needs. First feed me and give me opportunity then I may listen to white persons privilege. Did I mention the rich yet? A good way to scoop a large amount of coin out of the sweat of the majority of people is to create laws that benefit you. Not them. A good way to protect that is to have those sets and subsets of people argue amongst each other. Slightly off topic to white privilege but perhaps a small go at the over arching construction of a society that is set up to perpetuate injustice imo
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Your national myths hit the nail on the head. I remember being in a conversation with a (very white, very religious) woman more than a few years ago. We were discussing something President Obama was working on – maybe the ACA? – when she actually used the “pull themselves up by their bootstraps like me and my family did” argument. Even with the long way I still had to go in even beginning to understand, I knew this didn’t ring true.
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The phrase ‘your first thought is never your best thought’s applies here. But.. what happens is once the thought is spoken people defend and justify their thought. What follows is not a conversation but a sparring bout. They way to proceed is more with asking questions to find out how other people think (they tend to find out at the same time as a lot have unexamined opinions) before introducing the new idea. A very exacting process !
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I can’t remember who countered that “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” argument by replying, “First, they have to have bootstraps.”
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Perfect!
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