Making the national conversation about privilege is missing the boat. I don’t think it’s so “black and white”- pun intended. Sure there is white privilege. Sure there’s black privilege. But compared to 30 years ago being successful has a lot more to do with personal choices and the consequences of those choices. Everyone has the ability to make choices in life and those choices will have an impact. Are there an outsized number of black young males in prison? Yes. Unfortunately there is a high incidence of crime in that demographic. When I take my late night jog will I do it in the Ghetto? No, I don’t want to get my head bashed in. I’ll do it in the suburban area. Remember the GPS app?
https://www.npr.org/2012/01/25/145337346/this-app-was-made-for-walking-but-is-it-racistThere’s a reason that there are a lack of normal retail and grocery options in those neighborhoods. There is a high incidence of shoplifting and crime so it doesn’t make sense to open from a business standpoint.
The NYC public school system isn’t doing anyone any favors by not disciplining African American kids who misbehave for fear of going over their quota and appearing to be biased against African Americans. They are teaching these children that actions don’t have consequences, and setting them up for failure later in life. New York City’s reluctance to crack down on quality of life issues in minority neighborhoods it’s only hurting the residence of those neighborhoods. These, and other well meaning liberal policies are contributing to the continued issues that African Americans face.
And there are so many other areas where privilege is blamed but in reality putting in an effort to educate oneself and acquire necessary tools are the real issue. Are there Judges that are biased against minorities? Perhaps. But by and large that is not the issue. Judges are trained to gauge the veracity of those in court based on visual and body cues. If you have a put-together individual who articulately states his claim and then you have an individual who is not presentable for court and mumbles half sentences without making eye contact it’s obvious whose words the judge is going to give more weight to. And those are tools that can be acquired.
I firmly believe that in 2020 an African American who applies himself, dresses presentably, stays clean of drugs and alcohol and has a drive to succeed, will achieve upward mobility regardless of IQ. And a white with an IQ of 100 who doesn't will end up in a homeless encampment in SF. It’s not politically correct to attribute the issues the African American community is facing to anything other than white privilege, but until those factors are acknowledged, all of the lip service to white privilege, all of the affirmative action programs, all of the bias sensitization in the world will not move things forward.
