On Privilege, Racism, and Ferguson

My heart goes out today to the people of Ferguson, Missouri.  I cannot know your pain, but I sympathize with your rage.

I am not a person of color.

I am not one to speak often of privilege, because I feel there are people much better suited to speak about it than me.  But I am not a person of color.

It is not my place to take control of your movement or to subsume your anger into my own understanding.  I don't have to worry about what would happen if my son or daughter were shot down in a horrifying act of police brutality -- the color of my skin makes that incredibly unlikely.  I benefit from systemic racism which says that because I am a white woman, particularly a cisgender college-educated white woman, that I am not a threat.

There are places and times when gender is not a gift.  It has often made me afraid to be alone in public settings.  But it has never made me fear police brutality.  I will not have to raise my kids to fear police profiling or extra, unwarranted attention.  I do not have to fear that reaching for my wallet may be confused with reaching for a gun.

The situation is not the same, however, for the black population in America.  I cannot say I understand, because I don't.  I don't get it.  I was not raised with the same fear; I do not face the same threats.  My privilege protects me from understanding the pain Michael Brown's mother must be feeling right now.  But I am sympathetic to your pain, your cause, and your rage, and I will do my best to use my privilege to help things change.