Down the rabbit hole....

The subject of race in this country is always a prickly issue. So much so, that I tend to wade in only very occasionally.

This is even more true, when the subject at hand, has some relation to the societal/institutional force referred to as "white privilege", a topic that is always certain to get strong responses.

With that said, I came across a post this morning that I found fascinating. It was titled "An Object Lesson in White Privilege: What if Sarah Palin were Black?". A provocative title to say the least. The article-OpEd, is highly worth the read. I would also recommend reading the comment section to see the sorts of responses that are made (Preemptively if you compare the Republican and Democratic parties of today with those same parties from the mid 20th century, you are already on shaky group. Back then there were liberal republicans and well the dixie-crats broke off from the democratic party in spectacular fashion over civil rights. So a straight comparison is misleading at best.)

This passage in particular spoke to me:

To be White is to be "normal," "invisible," and quintessentially "American." It is also the freedom to be an individual. When crazy white people bomb buildings, kill cops in the name of radical right wing politics, go on shooting rampages, or more generally just act like fools, it is never framed as a "White" problem. I would suggest that these actions are rarely, if ever, interrogated for what they reveal about Whiteness and/or white folk at large. In short, there is no "I hope that person isn't white" moment. Why? Because a given white person's actions are usually a reflection of their individual shortcomings, not a commentary on white people as a whole.

This is a very hard thing to convey to someone. How do you explain the sort of hurt you feel, when all your accomplishments are judged through an "affirmative action" prism? As if you are always part of some sort of collective.

It is saddening how internalized this is. When Mike took his job in news, one of the first things I asked him was to, "...never interview that black guy in the tank top and missing teeth, about anything. Ever.". I felt something similar to that after the recent tragedy in Arizona. My thoughts in order were:

1. I hope this wasn't political
2. Man I hope those people are alright
3. Ugh..I hope he (cause they predominately are "hes") isn't Muslim.

That may seem strange to most people, that someone would think in that fashion. But ask yourself how the coverage would have been different if Jared Loughner had instead been Muhommed Fahad, Jose Calderon, or Tyrone Jackson.

Anyway, I really don't have much to add to the discussion, but thought it was an interesting thought experiment.

But in answer to the challenge of the linked post I guess my response would be: If Sarah Palin were Black we would have never heard of her. The details of her life combined with ethnicity would have made her toxic from day one.

Simply put, the standards that ethnic minorities are held to is always directly related to the stereotypes they live under.

-Cheers