We don’t all know what to do…but do something

September 19, 2007 | Filed Under Moment of Truth 

This past weekend, I attended a Sowing Seeds workshop by the Institute for Humane Education. The workshops are about introducing humane education practices into current teaching practices, activism, etc. It’s such a beautiful premise that we would all benefit from if this type of education were introduced to as many people as possible right now. Humane education is about nurturing what are considered the best qualities of human beings and providing students with the tools to act accordingly.

Throughout the weekend, we had a variety of activities to complete. One sticks out the most because of the profound epiphany it provoked. The exercise was about effective communication. We had to write a strong statement that we believed, e.g. “I believe everyone should think critically.” Our group members were to take an oppositional stance, whether real or pretend for the sake of the exercise. The point was to create a bridge of understanding between two opposing beliefs. The problem was that my group members were of like minds so I’m not sure it was an effective exercise for any of us…not immediately anyway.

In a moment of pure honesty, strength, and comfort, I confidently said, “I believe that white people can’t say that they aren’t racist unless they’re willing to give up their privilege and the wealth they’ve amassed from stealing from others.” I meant what I said and I was glad that I said it, but I didn’t think about the most likely reaction it would cause. Fortunately, I was in the company of like-minded people, but were I to say that the average person walking down the street, there would be no empathy or the most remote attempt at understanding; there would be defensiveness. And in the listener’s quest to validate that defensiveness, I’d probably get defensive and neither of us would be listening–we’d be defending. Communication ends when the receiver does not get the intended message. There’d be no communication and definitely no effective communication.

As I sat with the women in my group who were to oppose what I was saying, I could hear myself getting emotional in my argument. I was “right” and that rightness certainly couldn’t be argued against because it was authentic, but what if I was speaking with someone less evolved? The goal of empathy would never be reached. The conversation that emerged wasn’t one of necessarily intended for the exercise. It was a very real and honest conversation about what white people with privilege can do. What does it mean to forsake your individual privilege as a white person? Are you ever to enjoy a life full of things you want? Do you constantly check for preferential treatment on the basis of race?

I don’t know. I have no idea. I haven’t considered the “what now?” effect of my question. Perhaps to start, we can as a collective openly engage in answering these questions and the ones they lead to. White, black and otherwise.

It was an aha! moment for me because in light of the Jena Six episodes, I’m hypersensitive about race, especially because people want to act like it’s a non-issue. Well, it is an issue. A deep-seated and ‘only ignored by white people’ issue. I’m sick of racial problems. Are they ever going to truly be a non-issue? Yeah…no. (The recovering cynic in me wins against the practicing optimist.) What I experienced that weekend, though, were a handful of people that really empathize with racial issues and don’t want to participate in a racist system…but don’t know how to escape it. That was beautiful and meaningful for me to see because as I was starting to take a more militant, Malcolm X-esque stance, I realized what he was coming to at the end of his life: even in our disunity, there are inherent unifying principles. White people are being lied to about their superiority just as everyone else being educated by the same sources are being lied to about their inferiority. It’s a big game that we’re all a part of. The real goal of the game isn’t to have money stashed away for rainy days and retirement, the big house, 2.5 kids, and a couple of cars; the real goal is to–as much as possible–create the world you envision for yourself and others. None of the other stuff matters.

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