Take a moment to consider any privilege you might have.
In South Africa, thoughts naturally go to race and the privilege white people have carried so long simply because of the colour they were born.
But as a man, there is an unwanted, unchosen, unfought for privilege that I carry. I still don’t think I quite understand the extent of this, although listening to some stories my wife told when we lived in Philly of how she was harassed on the way to work (about a five block walk) when I wasn’t with her brought some of it to light. There was also the famous video made of a woman, Shoshana Roberts, walking around New York City for ten hours being secretly filmed and all the catcalls and harassment that was directed at her.
Part of my male privilege is being able to walk around freely and not fear that I will be catcalled, harassed, or followed in a way that makes me feel not safe.
Faith and body
There are certain countries where being a Christian would mean that I would be at risk, but that is not the case in South Africa. While the privilege being a Christian carries is not as strong as it used to be, Christianity is still the predominant religion in the country and much of its structure and law was created with that in mind and so there is still somewhat of a bias towards us. I certainly don’t have to fear that following my religion will bring overt persecution by and large.
Whereas we have seen around the world that being Muslim carries a certain amount of risk of persecution largely from the ways that Islam has been connected to terrorism via the media and various people and organisations.
As someone who is able-bodied, that is another form of privilege that I carry. A person in a wheelchair, for example, has to think twice about attending an event or going to a meeting in a new place, asking questions about whether that place will be wheelchair-friendly. Whereas my able-bodied privilege means that I can go anywhere I want to, confident that I will have access to all of the spaces and opportunities available there.
The choice
Often when we start talking about privilege, particularly when it comes to race I think, people think we want them to feel bad about having it. That is really not the case. When it comes to able-bodied privilege, the solution is not that everyone gets a wheelchair and only starts accessing places wheelchairs can go.
Rather, and this works with any kind of privilege, it is about recognising and acknowledging the privilege and then being aware of how I can use my privilege to better walk alongside and support those who don’t benefit from it.
When it comes to access to buildings, there might be an opportunity for me to help out someone in a wheelchair by going to a building they can’t access in their place. But I should be thinking creatively about how I can help that building to become more wheelchair friendly.
Bringing it back specifically to race, but with the other areas of privilege in mind, the main point I want to make today is about choice. As a white person who is trying to be an ally to people of colour in general, I get to choose when and how to get involved. The temptation can be that I start thinking I am so great because I am trying to make a difference. But the reality is that all I am trying to do is head things towards what should be normal.
People of race who face prejudice and obstacles and continue to come against structural and systemic violence where things have not changed, face those things on a daily basis. And I get to pick and choose. After a couple of particularly rough days where there has been a lot of push-back or someone challenged me or made me feel bad I can choose to take a few days off and then “pick up the fight” when I’m feeling up to it again. What a completely ridiculous notion.
As a person of privilege (in whatever area) I need to be constantly on the lookout for where I can ally and assist and interrupt structures and systems that help me more than those around me.
What is one area of privilege that you recognise you benefit from and one way in which you have been able to use that privilege to assist someone else? Let’s share some stories in the comments.