The Danger of White Comfort
Everyone in America should be allowed the comfort of feeling safe wherever they go. It’s quite simply a tenant of living in a free society. Walking down the street or going to the park or doing anything shouldn’t be an arduous process. When that comfort comes at the expense of other’s safety, though? That’s a problem. But that’s exactly what is happening all throughout the country today.
White comfort matters more than black lives.
I never really thought about things from that angle until Tim Wise said it during the Everyday Racism Town Hall that took place earlier tonight on MSNBC.
We think and talk about white privilege a lot. It’s what gives white people an air of superiority over everyone else. It’s what blinds them to the injustices that minorities face on a daily basis. It’s why white people never have to feel on edge or in danger while going through their daily lives. Until they come into contact with a lowlife negro in the streets, of course.
It’s when they run into that person who happens to be a bit darker than them that white comfort comes into play. Coming into contact with black people makes many white people feel uncomfortable. And what do they do when they feel uncomfortable? They call on a force that is supposed to make them magically feel safe. The good old po-po.
Little do these people know, however, is that by calling on the police, they could very well be signing a death warrant. Well, these people actually should know what they’re doing. As Tim Wise states in the video above, cases of blacks being slain unlawfully by the police makes national headlines on a terrifyingly regular basis. There is no way a person could possibly escaped mention of at least one of the hundreds of instances that have come across our news and social media feeds over the years.
The question then becomes, if these people know (or at least should know) of these instances, why do they continue to wield the police like a personal system of bodyguards?
Because they don’t see us as equals. We are less than human. We have been dehumanized by the media and by society. It’s only gotten worse since they’ve been given the power by the man who sits in the Oval Office. If they see us as less than them, why should they care if we are killed in order to preserve some level of comfort?
White comfort matters more than black lives.
The fact that I have to be worried about possibly doing anything and end up staring down the barrel of a gun is a terrifying thought. It’s also a sad one because I’m not the only one who has to feel that way. Every black person in America has to be on their p’s and q’s at all times lest they be caught up in possibly life-threatening situation.
Actually, that’s false. The sad part is that we could be on our p’s and q’s at all times and still be seen as a threat. All because of the color of our skin.
So, to all the white people out there. The next time you feel uncomfortable in the presence of a black person, just remember that we feel uncomfortable all the fucking time. Whatever level of discomfort you might feel in the presence of a black person is only fleeting. That person will eventually leave Starbucks once their business meeting is done. They will eventually get in their cars and leave after exiting the Airbnb they were staying at. They will eventually go home after their cookout is over. It’s nothing more than a moment.
We, on the other hand, don’t have that luxury. There is no escape from the discomfort we feel anytime we are in public. You’ll never know how it feels to have someone clutch their purse closer or roll their eyes as they walk up to your register at the clothing store you work at. You can simply pass that person or leave that area and be free of that discomfort.
Please, do just that. Walk away. Let these people live their lives.
Please, don’t use the police as a weapon against black people.
Please, do not let your comfort come at the expense of the lives of my brothers and sisters.