Here's a list of 10 things that every white person knows or at least should know by now.
1. You know that, most of the time, when you go into a store, the workers aren't going to follow you around or stare at you the whole time.
2. You know that, most of the time, you don't have to worry about someone moving to the other side of the road at night.
3. You never have to worry about being questioned about your citizenship.
4. You never have to worry about not getting a job based on the color of your skin.
5. Or anyone in general treating you differently based on your race.
6. You don't have to worry about people questioning what your religion is and then labeling you a terrorist or ISIS.
7. Arguing with a cop usually doesn't result in you being body-slammed to the ground.
8. People aren't surprised or impressed when you are well-spoken, articulate, or good at writing and don't proceed to give you back-handed compliments.
9. You're taught your whole life that everyone is treated equally and has equal opportunities, and anyone who says otherwise just "isn't trying hard enough."
10. You understand that white privilege, despite how unfair it is, is still around and is very prevalent.
White people experience not just these but many other examples of white privilege without trying to. It is just, sadly, how our culture has been socialized. So please just stop denying or ignoring it and start to face the facts. This is why movements such as #BlackLivesMatter (and many others like it) are extremely important and should have the support of every white American. We have to get rid of this idea of "color-blindness" and not seeing other skin colors, because we absolutely do. It's one of the first things that anyone notices about anyone. Instead, we need a more "color-conscious" society in the sense that we need to be able to see and understand the differences in race and cultures and know that that makes us who we are, and that nothing can take that away from us. We need to be able to recognize that people have lived differently and have had different life experiences based on their race in order to actually combat white privilege.
