If you have privilege, you can:
Leave someone who
is poor and disabled and to whom you promised a ride standing on the sidewalk for fifteen minutes
while you rush into a family member's
house. Suddenly, you remember you were going to take them home.
Whoopsie! Sucks to be them!
Refuse to give someone who is on welfare and
who is moving to another city a
reference because their housekeeping
isn't up to your standards. Not that
you ever do any housekeeping.......your maid does. And the person who is moving has been very,
very ill - but gee - their apartment was
messy. Who'd want to rent to them?
Tell a woman that your grandmother was a strong yet feminine
woman and all women should match that standard. Shrillness isn't necessary! After all, you get to decide how all women should behave .....
Try to keep the poor and marginalized and old out of your neighbourhood. Lie about your motives. After all, this is Little Rhodesia and standards must be maintained!
Kiss your date on the lips ANYWHERE in this country without ever, EVER worrying that doing so
might attract nasty comments or even be dangerous.
Signal in lots of different ways that people of colour are
not welcome in your neighbourhood - including turning your head when you're
greeted. After all, this is Little
Rhodesia and standards must be maintained!
Have a cupboard full of food. Stare astonished, at a little girl who says
"This must be a RICH household! My mom never has enough money to buy extra
food. Sometimes we have nothing to eat but rice! " (The little girl's mother
lives on welfare.) Explain you're not
rich - no, no, not at all.
Make comments about how First Nations should be PAST all
that stuff about residential schools, shouldn't they? Call First Nations people "Indians."
I've witnessed all of the above - or done them myself.
It's great having privilege, isn't it? We who have it get to set the rules......
No comments:
Post a Comment