I Had (Past Tense) A Dream
White privilege sucks for white people, too. An MLK Day meditation.
I am an Italian-American, but that rounds up to White, and I get all the privilege that comes with whiteness. White privilege, however, is a vampire turd. Here's what you get when you accept white privilege into your heart: nothing. White privilege serves itself. All of us who benefit from white privilege do so blithely, at a price that would’ve made Faust blush.
I will do my best to explain. When I get pulled over by the police, I'm white. It doesn't matter if the cop is black or if the cop is white. I am a white guy driving a car when it comes to the police pulling me over.
I don't have to be afraid of driving my car through any neighborhood in America when it comes to the cops. When I go to Greenwich, Connecticut, which is just swarming with police officers, I get to drive around and think, oh, thank God, this is a safe neighborhood. Look at all the law-enforcement officers here to keep the riff-raff out. Thank goodness, it is such a safe co…