You know....I think I realized why the "he was a KID" thing really got under my skin. When it was Trayvon Martin who was just a kid walking down the street in the rain with a Snapple and Skittles in a hoodie minding his own business on the way back home gets killed....there were things said in this forum about how he wasn't a child. How he was tall and 17 and how we needed to realize that Zimmermann could have easily been threatened by his presence. Then a white kid comes along and does something horrendous (sorry it's not just stupid and foolish "kid stuff"). Then we get someone on the forum talking about how he's just a "KID". WTF!!!
TDK, I think I would say it's hard to see things CORRECTLY from a white person's perspective. You don't know what any WP thinks or feels unless you walk in his/her shoes. You can only assume by what you know or have observed or what they tell you. You will never be able to empathize. And neither will a WP be able to empathize with a BP or see things correctly. The thing I hate is how people rush to their conclusions based on what they think is truth, from either perspective. Like white folks assuming all black men who are killed by cops did SOMETHING to deserve it. Or like BP who are convinced that all WP know they have white privilege. I had no idea what that was until I joined this forum. Contrary to what a lot of black folks think, while we benefit from it, that all aren't cognizant of white privilege nor do most of us flaunt it. Putting race aside, it also goes for men assuming what women think or vice versa. Or atheists vs Christians. Skinny vs fat. Get my point?
Yeah, well I didn't say that. I defended Trayvon Martin. The only thing I wished he would've done differently is run instead of facing off with GZ. He was a KID to me. For the sake of argument, I'll say "young man who is still susceptible to peer pressure and who hasn't reached the maturity level of, say a 45 yr-old man." Does that sit better?
That's tdks realm of expertise/debauchery I'm not risking being banned from this place for typing the f word
I know you didn't say that. It wasn't just about the "kid" thing.....it was about many things and the hypocrisy of it all. It wasn't just one person saying something. Just as it really isn't about you saying what you said about the frat boy. You happen to be the one who is saying things that represent what is being thought and said that are hurtful in ways that are not being understood.
You definitely aren't paying attention or take sarcasm for my true feelings because I stay on my soapbox sister lol
Oh hon you definitely stay on that soapbox. That doesn't mean you stay consistent or that you don't twist things. But yah I'm willing to admit that I can easily miss sarcasm on the forums. I really try to not read inflection into things cause it's gotten me into BIG trouble in the past.
Well here's the thing with privilege it's hard to really notice how good you have it until it's either gone or someone does the courtesy of pointing it out. From the minute we are pushed out of the womb we as people of color are bombarded with the perspective traditions and ideologies of white people. Everything from cultural holidays to entertainment to education all from the perspective of white people. Its no coincidence that when we as people refer to anyone non white are use to describing their race, religious affiliation, or ethnicity because the default is white. Hey I was hanging with John oh the Spanish kid from the heights? Yeah. Opposed to if the conversation was involving someone white they would just be the kid from the heights (add another non racial identifier) So we start from the perspective that your reality is main stream and ours is often thought of as "exotic" How you feel about foreigners, how you feel about non Christians, how you feel about different political positions all taken from the white American perspective and we are well aware. So we have to do very little to walk in your shoes because we're all fitted with the same size shows just different colors and heels to make sure we know our place.
I respect this, TDK. My earlier comment was more directed to folks here, when a different POV is offered that goes against popular perception.
