White guilt.

The very term is enough to evoke a nervous energy in the crowd, maybe even send a tremor down some spines, afraid they've committed a microaggression along the way. Personally, I'd just been through Residence Life training, and in one particular session, we found ourselves openly discussing the topic of white guilt: its existence, and why it remains a pertinent discussion today. Now, what usually happens during these instances is one of two things:

1. People shout out in anger and self-defense, or

2. People "check out", naively believing that what's being discussed couldn't possibly apply to them.

In either case, nothing is being accomplished. The targeted audience has already left the building (metaphorically) and the message falls on deaf ears. During my RA session, I found that a third possibility arises: nearly all the white men and women are silent, stone-faced and staring straight ahead while speakers from the audience could be, at one actual time, directly beside them. Which alludes to another point: only minorities tend to speak during these conventions.

If you're thinking "Yes! That's SO true!", then perhaps there is a reason for that. Often, minorities are subjected to aforementioned microaggressions every day of their lives, many of which go unnoticed(and could be committed by YOU, totally unaware and unintentional). Some of the "best" ones I've gotten are, "You speak so....eloquently!" as if surprised, or "You're always kinda angry," when I'm just one of the more energetic and passionate people I know.

The major point this piece is trying to get across is that while white guilt is present today, maybe it's not such a bad thing. So understand, I'm not stating white guilt is a great thing, or that it should even persist. I'm pointing out that the fact that it does allow for us to see people are not holding on to old, racist ideologies. I'm not petitioning for more of it, either; its extinction in favor or a greater understanding and commonality between many walks of life is ideal but will take time. In the process, is not prudent to have that social reminder that, yes, some people come from a different place/ state of privilege than you?

I'm not one to proclaim himself "happy" that white guilt remains present, but when I hear the word it reminds me that yes, some people DO think the same way I do: that slavery was one of the most horrid periods of human history. The guilt they feel may not be for themselves personally, but for the slavery of the past and how, in a number of ways, it affects society today. So, yes, white guilt is very much so real, and, in my opinion, not a wholly horrible ideal. As long as people feel revulsion for the horrendous treatment of an entire race at one point in history, it will not occur again. To look at the media today, or confederate flags out your window, or hear the rhetoric of some around you, keep in mind the only thing keeping evil from "winning", is when good people do something.