white like me...response to 'activists' and beyond

The Persistence of White Privilege
From Wikipedia

In her personal account of experiencing white privilege, Heidi A. Zetzer, the Director of the Hosford Counseling & Psychological Services Clinic in the Department of Counseling, Clinical, & School Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara explains why white privilege is such a persistent problem. She categorizes it as an “institutional and individual manifestation of racism, however indirectly or unintentionally.” This indirectness of white privilege is what makes it so prevalent. If people are not educated on the matter, it is unlikely that they will take note of it. Secondly, those that are aware of it suffer under the stigma of benefiting from an unfair system. Zetzer asks “How can I see myself as a just person when I willingly participate in a system that is inherently unfair?” The guilt formed by this opinion creates a spirit of inactivity in solving the problem. “White guilt,” as Zetzer deems it, is an impediment to change. Consequently, even if people become educated on white privilege it is unlikely that they will take action to change it and instead allow the problem to persist.
Zetzer also specifies the type of changes necessary to make progressive steps in dealing with white privilege and its implications. She notes that most people who become educated on white privilege undergo a first-order change in which they gain increased awareness, knowledge and skills. However, for progress to be made in equalizing problems such as white privilege, individuals need to undergo second-order change. Second-order change is characterized by a paradigm shift in which people use their awareness, knowledge and skills to take action. Zetzer believes the first, and easiest, way to initiate this transformation is through dialogue. Honest and multicultural dialogue is the first way to build alliances which can then “transform people and systems and turn intention into action,” thus slowly changing the persistence of white privilege.
-from Wikipedia's article on White Privilege

While I agree with Zetzer's argument, those few white folks who are aware of their privileges, don't know what action looks like. White guilt often places 'well intentioned' white people in teaching positions in urban schools, most of whom ultimately leave after a few years to return to the 'civilized' world of non-profits, law firms, etc. and who speak of their 'white knight' teaching experiences like military heros returning from war with purple hearts for valor and bravery.

Ultimately, those white people who are aware of their privileges, and who have seen the effects of such privileges (and lack thereof) on certain communities of people of color need to RETURN to their communities and EDUCATE white people not aware of their privileges, but especially those white folks who see themselves as the 'white knights.' I consider them to be the most dangerous, the wolves in sheep's clothing. They are individuals who have dipped their toes into some of these issues, and consider themselves authority figures on what 'poor children need.' They are not open-minded to their own racism and flaws. But then again, how could they be? I know firsthand that the education of white children in most predominately white schools promotes a sense of white superiority and faultlessness.

white folks need models of direct action against white privilege. But do such models of direct action against white privilege exist within white america? Yes, the intention might be there, but white people don't know how to act. Some direct their action towards people of color, and while I clearly understand the importance of understanding the 'other america,' the logic of this action makes little sense . As I try to better myself as a human being, I seek to find other such individuals to learn from, and sadly, I can't seem to find them. This only confirms to me how deeply white privilege and power is ingrained in our national consciousness. I think a lot of my frustrations come from the disconnection of american society due to residual effects of segregation. When there is a lack of understanding, there is distrust. Of course, many white people would deny any distrust. My approach to these issues is considred so radical that even 'progressive' whites accuse me of being racist against white people.

So I realize such tactics of anger and TRUTH will not work on the vast majority of white people. The rules of the game need to change. But...I AM ANGRY. And yes, I question if I, too, am a wolf in sheep's clothing, unknowingly. And until I can get rid of some of this anger and find productive ways of action and dealing with white people of all kinds, I cannot return. I am young and learning. I am passing. Insider/Outsider. Looking for strength because yes, this is a battle.

A struggle against silence

I recently read about yet another journalist who died in Iraq. This time the slain journalist is a female, 35, who was shot to death on Sunday as she was coming home from work in Mosul. She is the second female journalist killed in Mosul in the past 30 days. Her name was Zeena Shakir Mahmoud, and she wrote about women's affairs for a newspaper that was associated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 109 journalists have been killed since the Iraq war began in March 2003. Mahmoud, ironically, died on "Journalist's Day."

Upon hearing of Mahmoud's death, I immediately thought of the death of Anna Politkovskaya in October of 2006. Both female, both striving relentlessly to tell the stories that otherwise wouldn't be heard, both troubled by the circumstances facing their countries, and who aimed to use writing to speak for the dead, the silenced, and the powerless. Yet despite these lofty goals, both died violent deaths, shot by cowards who ultimately know the power of words, and who believe that fear will stop those who aim to expose the powerful with blood on their hands.

News is news, and it will ultimately be reported by few, read by some, and forgotten by many. There will always be something new to read and hear about. But I cannot forget these women, even though I read neither of their work before their deaths. I strive to write in the memory of Anna Politkovskaya, Zeena Shakir Mahmoud, and every other writer and journalist who has ever died, or who will die by using their words to spread truth.

As Carlos Fuentes said, "writing is a struggle against silence," and as long as people continue to write in the pursuit of truth, who refuse to let fear cripple and deaden their senses, the voices of slain writers will never be silenced.

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