Throughout this semester, I have clearly established my privilege as a white cisgender male with means. This recognition has made me try to think of a time that this didn’t work out for me. I can think of just two examples.
As a teenager, I was pretty vocal about my atheism. I got pretty deep into Nietzche at the time, a decision that I regret now since I didn’t balance it with studying Aristotelian virtues. At the time, I didn’t realize the arrogance Nietzche’s rhetoric held. I was in Irving High School, which the student body and teachers were mostly Christian and looked at me like an alien. The only time this actually made me feel like an outcast was when, upon graduation, we were assembled to talk about the possibility of having a prayer during the ceremony. We met in the cafeteria and had a vote on the issue. They did it by asking that if anybody had a problem with the prayer, they should raise their hands. I wasn’t going to raise my hand. After all I knew that me and a couple of my friends were the only non-Christians, and it would just make us a target. It didn’t seem to matter much; when they made the ask, the entire class snapped their heads at our table, expecting a fight. While this didn’t impact my life in the least, I now see it in a completely different light. I know look at the issue and see how the domination of a single religion can be so oppressive. I think back to all the Christian propaganda that populated the walls, the prayers before every event, teachers using the bible in their classes that were the one (and) only way to be a “good” person in society. It gives me one touchstone of what oppression feels like.
The other time this came up had to do with class. I have always driven the same old Jeep Cherokee. I buy a cheap model from 1990-1998. I’ve owned 5 in 20 years, the reason is not important. It is old. Therefore it looks cheap. Almost every time I drive in rich neighborhoods like Highland Park or Trophy Club, I just assume that the police will pull me over. The reason for this assumption is that I have been over 10 times. Only one of those times did the police officer bother to give a reason. The officer and I always knew the reason, “you don’t belong here.” It is an obvious classist reason and has no basis in the constitution. At no time did they ever search the car or put me in danger. They only asked me what I was doing there and let me on my way. I do not doubt that if I were a different shade, things would have gone differently. “Racial profiling is based on the premise that most drug offenses are committed by minorities” (Harris). While this is quantifiably untrue, the stereotype perpetuates itself with large number theory. The more times people are pulled over, the more times you will find drugs.
In no way can I compare these things to going what people of color go through every day. I am merely pointing out that this was the only gateway that I have a real-world understanding of the dynamics of being other. I point this out to try to make my experience a model for approaching this subject when I talk to other people. In my case, I plan on teaching journalism; therefore, these issues will come up.
Racism and stereotyping are an escalated form of bullying, so it seems that lessons could be drawn from this experience. I am not proposing it would be a good thing to single out people in class all of the specific differences they have and have them gang up on each other. I’m pretty sure this approach would lead me to the unemployment line. I do, however, like how this class started by at least alluding to the point by having us take the “what’s your privilege” quiz. By forcing us to see how others are “othered,” it is a great first step to allowing empathy into our decision-making processes. It will become one of the first things I do to start them continue or start understanding how powerful empathy can be for real understanding.
https://www.aclu.org/report/driving-while-black-racial-profiling-our-nations-highways