I know White Privilege exist because I have seen it, in live action, right before my eyes. It can be very subtle and if you are not paying attention or don't know what to look for you will probably miss it happening. Never fret because in the next 500 words or less I will have you prepared for the next time.
Exhibit A: If you are ever in the car and let's just say you are alone, driving through what is perceived to be a "White" area and you are pulled over for speeding; if you do NOT automatically fear that that moment will be the last minutes of your life, you are probably benefiting from one of the many perks of White Privilege.
Exhibit B: You probably have never made the conscious decision to not have children for the devastating thought that you might have a son. A son that will never have the opportunity to develop into the Black King he had the potential to be, because he was walking down the street with an Arizona Tea and a pack of Skittles with his hood up or playing outside with his toys--like normal kids do.
Exhibit C: When a man is shot to death in the seat of his car or tackled to the ground for "breaking into" his own car and you can choose to not watch it or be affected by it at all, not only are you continuing to reap the benefits of White Privilege but you are just heartless. You don't stand up for what is right because you don't have to. Must be nice.
Exhibit D: Or let us talk about in the classroom, where you may not have one clue about what is going on in the class but yet you stand out to the teacher only because you and him have one thing in common: your skin. That can apply to the job you really did not qualify for as well.
Exhibit E: You probably had your experimental college days and may have ran into the law. You probably walked away with a slap on the wrist or for more serious offenses you were sentenced to a short term punishment with community service attached. According to Identities.Mic, although POC only make up 30% of the US population, 60% occupy the prisons. POC are jailed at higher rates for nonviolent drug offenses even though drug use in White communities is much more prevalent. Only 14% of Black people use drugs, 37% of people that are arrested for drugs are indeed black.
Let us not pretend that the dirty truths of our society are nonexistent. We should face the way we treat one another and truly self-evaluate. We will only truly advance when everyone can agree that it is wrong to both favor or disapprove of people due to their color. No, this is not a cry to feel bad for POC but instead a suggestion to open your eyes to the struggles of others and be conscious of not adding to them.
