Privilege | Teen Ink

Privilege

January 17, 2015
By Mockingjay_54 GOLD, Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Mockingjay_54 GOLD, Mount Laurel, New Jersey
12 articles 0 photos 17 comments

White Privilege?

your privilege.

not mine.

blindfolded eyes covered with a sheet,

a sheet made of "I don't see color" and "Well if you people would just respect yourselves more" and "ALL Lives Matter".

You see white people have privilege because when a white kid steps out in to the sun he is not met with suspicion or fear automatically labeled a "thug" or a "terrorist" or an "illegal immigrant"(even though he's a fifth generation citizen)

Wary eyes do not greet him the moment he enters a store or steps foot in an airport.

People do not assume his intelligence only stretches far enough to dribble a ball, transfer your call, or mow your lawn.

they are not shot down for "fitting a description" because, how many black men wearing hoodies can there be?

See when a white kid steps into the sun, he is me with "The children are our future". He has more oppurtunity to get that education or recieve that promotion,

because we have to work twice as hard to get half of what they have.

When a little brown boy steps into the sun you can be damn sure his momma told him to "keep his hands out of his pockets in a store" and "if an officer stops you, be polite, don't talk back, and don't move too fast"

See when a little white girl watches tv, or plays with her toys she will see people that look just like her, with light, straight hair and fair skin that she won't want to scrub off or drown in bleach because another little white girl called it "dirty".

When a little white kid steps into the sun, he can feel safe because he knows the police protect him and the laws were made for him.

See when a little brown child steps into the sun, they don't have that security. See the little brown child wishes they could walk down the street without flinching when they hear those sirens racing by or stiffen as they walk by the men who serve and protect.

The white kid don't have to worry about being shot in cold blood or not being able to breathe be cause the men who serve and protect are draining you lifeblood away. He can be a child and play with a toy without being treated like a felon and murdered because police cannot tell the difference between a toy and the real thing. The little white kid will be apprehended alive or called a "human being that makes mistakes".

Didn't the brown boys make mistakes too?

Do they not deserve to be alive too?

The little white kid will have justice.

The little brown children do not have that privilege.


The author's comments:

I wrote this poem in response to the recent police brutality cases against unarmed black men, but it is about so much more. It is about white privilege, and the deeply rooted racism that still lingers in America. It is meant to be read as a spoken word with a certain flow and intensity, which is why the format is a bit wierd.I hope everyone enjoys it and understands the point it is trying to get across.


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