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xiphiasLike all examples of white privilege, this was an example of things going the way they should go, in an absolutely unremarkable way, and I didn't notice it as white privilege until afterward, when I thought about it.
So, I was outside in my front yard, attacking the weeds. Now, when I say, "attacking the weeds", I mean that I had a sword and a hatchet, and was trying to hack through the undergrowth. I'm basically trying to clear enough space to put up a sukkah in a couple weeks. I had a sword because I don't have a machete, but I was using it as a machete. Mostly, I like the weeds -- we have a meadow in our yard, but we will need to put up a sukkah, and we need a place to do so.
So, a police officer comes up and asks if I'm actually doing yard work with a sword, and I confirm that, yes, that is exactly what I'm doing, and show him the sword. He says that a couple people walking by were a little worried by that, and so asked him to check it out, and I say that, if I'm worrying people, I'll go do something else, and he says that that won't be necessary, he just wanted to make sure that I wasn't some psycho or something, and have a nice day and go ahead and continue to do yard work with a sword.
As in all examples of "white privilege", what happened was precisely what should happen. People saw a potential situation, the police checked out the potential situation, discovered that it wasn't a problem, and everything was cool. Everyone acted appropriately and reasonably.
But I started to wonder what would have happened if I was black, Latino, or Middle Eastern, for instance. If the police officer who came up recognized me, and knew that I lived in that house, I think that about the same thing would have happened. But if the officer didn't know me (as this officer didn't), there might have been more difficulty. But I was afforded the presumption that I belonged there, and the officer entered the scene expecting that I might be eccentric, but was not dangerous. The officer was entirely correct in this, and that's what "white privilege" means.
So, I was outside in my front yard, attacking the weeds. Now, when I say, "attacking the weeds", I mean that I had a sword and a hatchet, and was trying to hack through the undergrowth. I'm basically trying to clear enough space to put up a sukkah in a couple weeks. I had a sword because I don't have a machete, but I was using it as a machete. Mostly, I like the weeds -- we have a meadow in our yard, but we will need to put up a sukkah, and we need a place to do so.
So, a police officer comes up and asks if I'm actually doing yard work with a sword, and I confirm that, yes, that is exactly what I'm doing, and show him the sword. He says that a couple people walking by were a little worried by that, and so asked him to check it out, and I say that, if I'm worrying people, I'll go do something else, and he says that that won't be necessary, he just wanted to make sure that I wasn't some psycho or something, and have a nice day and go ahead and continue to do yard work with a sword.
As in all examples of "white privilege", what happened was precisely what should happen. People saw a potential situation, the police checked out the potential situation, discovered that it wasn't a problem, and everything was cool. Everyone acted appropriately and reasonably.
But I started to wonder what would have happened if I was black, Latino, or Middle Eastern, for instance. If the police officer who came up recognized me, and knew that I lived in that house, I think that about the same thing would have happened. But if the officer didn't know me (as this officer didn't), there might have been more difficulty. But I was afforded the presumption that I belonged there, and the officer entered the scene expecting that I might be eccentric, but was not dangerous. The officer was entirely correct in this, and that's what "white privilege" means.