I was one of those people who used to say “I don’t see colour”, thinking that I was a shining exampl

I was one of those people who used to say “I don’t see colour”, thinking that I was a shining example of acceptance, rather than a glaring beacon of erasure. Growing up, it never occurred to me for a second to be afraid of the police. And because I grew up white in Canada, that comfortable, middle-class ignorance was usually correct. It was only through time, research and very patient friends, partners and colleagues who experienced discrimination on a daily basis for their entires lives that I was taught that my illusions of safety and equality were upheld by the dangerous fog of white privilege. I got taught, I got humbled, and I got real, I hope. And I’m still learning, every day, to check my privilege. I know now that it’s not the job of my friends, partners and colleagues; and again; I got lucky. I was privileged to be surrounded by patient, caring people of colour who schooled me on the real world. So I’m taking responsibility now, to address fellow white people: it’s your responsibility to examine closely and ensure that every day, your actions do not contribute to systematic oppression. There are resources out there.  So today, for whatever it’s worth (it shouldn’t be nearly as much as it is, actually,) I’m using that completely unearned white privilege simply in an attempt to express my empathy, my grief, my solidarity and my outrage at what’s happening in the world today, most notably in the US of late in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. We Canadians like to think we are exempt from violence, from hatred, from bigotry and racism. In fact, it is a point of national ego, of ignorant Canadian privilege if you will, that we delight and congratulate ourselves for being ‘better’ than the USA. “At least we’re not as bad as the US” we always say. Newsflash: We are. Every name before George Floyd on this list was a person of colour, many Indigenous, many of them suffering from mental illness, who were murdered by Canadian police. Most of them in my hometown of Montreal. There are more, and there will continue to be more unless we actively stand against violence and racism, and get our collective heads out of our asses, white people. Racism exists. Bigotry exists. Violence exists. It happens on huge scales, to immeasurable, inhuman and mind-shattering degrees, but also in small, insidious, every day sort of ways. So check yourselves. You are guilty, I can almost guarantee it. So try to be better. I’ll leave it at that, because there are voices far more valid than mine who can and should be heard on this, but I just wanted to say: My heart is broken, and I am so sorry.—- Help here. -- source link

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