20190907 Julia's White on Privilege Rant
I generally try to avoid race issues. I sometimes thought people who bitched about white privilege were a bit racist. Today I saw what they were talking about.
I have a wide variety of friends. Some of my friends are very wealthy. One thing in common with all my friends is we are trying to make a better world, each in their own way.
Most volunteer their time to worthy causes and donate to charities. Sometimes they put themselves at risk helping at disasters or volunteering at scouting troops or literacy groups in dangerous urban areas. To summarize my friends are awesome. Like the Beatles said, "We are all doing what we can."
Today I saw "White Privilege," and it pissed me off. It was just a little thing. It was the arrogance that was shocking. I understand why people get bent out of shape about this "white privilege" stuff.
I was going into the Publix grocery store. The people who shop there are racially diverse. There was a softball team of about twenty young teenage girls outside the store. They were collecting donations for their team. Nothing wrong with that.
Then there were the parents. I have never seen any of these people shop in our store. They were the Whole Foods crowd. Obviously, men and women of means, out of the forty people there, not even one person of color. But that is not my complaint.
They had their folding chairs totally blocking the walkway into the store. This was not a little walkway; it was twenty feet across. Instead of putting their chairs against the walls so people could get by, they created a solid blockade from one side of the walkway to the other. One lady was sitting in the walkway with her legs sprawled out. I actually had to ask them to let me pass. Which seemed to irritate them.
They also blocked an old man with a wheelchair trying to get into the store.
Two older African American ladies were having trouble getting out of the store. I had this strong urge to tell some of the people in the store, "On behalf of the white people in the world, I want to apologize for those jerks out there. We are not all like that."
The lady who worked inside told me she has already talked to them a few times.
While I was in the store, she went out again and talked to them. They created a little passage so people could get through but as I was leaving, two big buff men arrived and filled the passageway with their chairs.
I mentioned to the parents that they were setting a bad example for their kids by blocking the walkway. They did not appreciate my comment and made all kinds of hostile remarks to me. I went to my car.
Then another lady came charging out of the store like a rabid Pitbull, she must have been the ringleader. She screamed across the parking lot to me, "What is going on here?"
I drive over to her and told her, "The parents are setting a bad example by blocking the walkway."
In the nastiest voice, you could imagine she said, "Well you have a nice day." Just to make sure I got it, she repeated it again. This time the mob chimed in with more hostile comments.
In any group of people, It is normal for some people to be asses but this was a whole gang or rich white inconsiderate middle-class assholes who were teaching their daughters to be rich white inconsiderate assholes.
I hope the girls on this team are fortunate enough to find a better place in the world then what their parents are creating for them.
End of rant.
I generally try to avoid race issues. I sometimes thought people who bitched about white privilege were a bit racist. Today I saw what they were talking about.
I have a wide variety of friends. Some of my friends are very wealthy. One thing in common with all my friends is we are trying to make a better world, each in their own way.
Most volunteer their time to worthy causes and donate to charities. Sometimes they put themselves at risk helping at disasters or volunteering at scouting troops or literacy groups in dangerous urban areas. To summarize my friends are awesome. Like the Beatles said, "We are all doing what we can."
Today I saw "White Privilege," and it pissed me off. It was just a little thing. It was the arrogance that was shocking. I understand why people get bent out of shape about this "white privilege" stuff.
I was going into the Publix grocery store. The people who shop there are racially diverse. There was a softball team of about twenty young teenage girls outside the store. They were collecting donations for their team. Nothing wrong with that.
Then there were the parents. I have never seen any of these people shop in our store. They were the Whole Foods crowd. Obviously, men and women of means, out of the forty people there, not even one person of color. But that is not my complaint.
They had their folding chairs totally blocking the walkway into the store. This was not a little walkway; it was twenty feet across. Instead of putting their chairs against the walls so people could get by, they created a solid blockade from one side of the walkway to the other. One lady was sitting in the walkway with her legs sprawled out. I actually had to ask them to let me pass. Which seemed to irritate them.
They also blocked an old man with a wheelchair trying to get into the store.
Two older African American ladies were having trouble getting out of the store. I had this strong urge to tell some of the people in the store, "On behalf of the white people in the world, I want to apologize for those jerks out there. We are not all like that."
The lady who worked inside told me she has already talked to them a few times.
While I was in the store, she went out again and talked to them. They created a little passage so people could get through but as I was leaving, two big buff men arrived and filled the passageway with their chairs.
I mentioned to the parents that they were setting a bad example for their kids by blocking the walkway. They did not appreciate my comment and made all kinds of hostile remarks to me. I went to my car.
Then another lady came charging out of the store like a rabid Pitbull, she must have been the ringleader. She screamed across the parking lot to me, "What is going on here?"
I drive over to her and told her, "The parents are setting a bad example by blocking the walkway."
In the nastiest voice, you could imagine she said, "Well you have a nice day." Just to make sure I got it, she repeated it again. This time the mob chimed in with more hostile comments.
In any group of people, It is normal for some people to be asses but this was a whole gang or rich white inconsiderate middle-class assholes who were teaching their daughters to be rich white inconsiderate assholes.
I hope the girls on this team are fortunate enough to find a better place in the world then what their parents are creating for them.
End of rant.
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