It seems that this is a topic that will never be fully understood, due to how it is compartmentalized depending on the the privileges you qualify for. However if you look at the definition for privilege you'll probably get something close to this. Privilege: a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people,and which this definition is correct for the group that is receiving the privilege. However McIntosh was stressing the fact that just because the privilege group acknowledges that there are some disadvantages they should also try to acknowledge that they are also “over-privileged”, and are receiving sanction that allow them to have an advantage over another group based on certain things. I believe this would be a hard task for some individuals to do because they just can’t see how, for example, their skin color allows them to have an advantage at somethings. This may be the case, because most of society's standards are set by the white male dominate prospective. That would make it difficult for someone of those in that particular group to understand the disadvantages of individuals not in those group. Another reading that I found very interesting this week was the, From New Orleans to Ferguson, a Decade of Asserting Black Lives Matter article, it was shocking to see the connection between a natural disaster and human on human killings. It frightened me to know, as a citizen that you can be in you community and have to fear for your well being, on a nation wide spectrum. This article described how black citizens have been fighting for the equality of “life appreciation”, so to say since 2005. When individuals were put at risk due to inadequate infrastructure, all the way to the slaying of an innocent unarmed teenager. We can also still see the continuation of Black Lives “NOT” Mattering, with the water situation in Flint, Michigan. A predominantly black community that has been drinking and using poisonous water since 2014. This would probably not be the case if that community were full on white people in a suburban area, there would be many relief resources available to this community. However the strongest sentence of this article is, “The moment we stop reminding the world that black lives matter, black lives will not matter.”. This sentence stuck out to me, not only because it is a true statement, but it goes to show the privilege that other individuals outside of the black community have, in the sense that the don’t have to fight for the protection of their lives and well being. Secondly, it a true statement, if the black community don’t continue to battle back against the oppression that is presented within society, we’ll be accepting the consequences that follow, which will result in these things and events becoming the norm. This is not something that we can let happen as a society, if those that are privileged acknowledge the fact that they are, and can they choose to lessen the privilege. We will then see equality, which will result in communities being protected from harm.
Jarmarquis, you had me hooked from the very first line. I really like that you acknowledge how impossible it feels to understand our own privilege, let alone everyone else’s. When we are so rooted in our own mind’s it’s so hard to take on other’s perspectives especially when we have such different life experiences. I have taken a lot of classes to try and understand my privilege, but at the back of my mind I always feel like I will never truly understand how those without my same privileges perceive me.
ReplyDeleteI also really perked up when you pointed out what you saw as the strongest line in the Black Lives Matter article. “The moment we stop reminding the world that black lives matter, black lives will not matter.” They also said “If no one is looking, do lives matter?” These two lines almost had a physical effect on me. They made me feel the weight of the history of my privilege and all of the oppression that it was built up on. This oppression seemed blatant as the article showed the fragile state that the communities in New Orleans were in even before Hurricane Katrina hit. Then after the storm arrived the United States did not rush to help, but rather delayed assistance because of the type of people who lived in the communities most immediately affected. This thought is so disturbing, especially when we focus on fighting for social justice. One thing is for sure though, in a country so corrupt as to delay aid to those most in need, social workers are most certainly needed.
Jarmarquis, your blog was very enlightening and I really enjoyed reading it. I also found the quote, “The moment we stop reminding the world that black lives matter, black lives will not matter” to be very powerful. This statement is so true and you can see just by looking at the news why we need to keep the Black Lives Matter movement alive. And what we see on the news is just a small portion of what is going on in these communities. In the article they went back and took a look at the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. What they found was that the upper-class white neighborhoods had been rebuilt and gotten a lot of attention but the primarily black neighborhoods really had not gotten much help. This is a pretty accurate portrayal of what our government and society is willing to invest in. Your comparison of Flint, Michigan to Katrina painted the reality of how our society prioritizes its communities. Like you said, had it been a primarily white community- they probably would have taken care of the situation a lot sooner. It is easy to forget that people are going through this kind of neglect when we are so wrapped up in our own lives, but it is important to do what we can to help the situation, even if that means writing about it like you have done. By using our voices and knowledge to discuss these matters, we are helping to keep Black Lives Matter alive.
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