I think I have learned from my entanglement with discrepancy that we all want to see ourselves as overcoming the impossible. What has been difficult to share with people who don't come from the barrio, people who have light skin, people who are middle class, people who are the dominant culture, and people who are mainstream is the idea of advantage, a.k.a privilege. As soon as you come across a person who argues the idea of social privilege, I come to the conclusion that their idea of success is a simple formula of hard work and dedication. How do I argue that? I don't!
I am learning to thank God that there are those out there that don't have to experience the barrio life, the suspicious appearance, the limited lifestyle, the inferior ideas, and the margins of acceptance. I have learned to stop convincing, debating, and advocating for the disadvantaged. I have learned that perception is the most powerful psychological tool a person can see with. I have learned that we all like to see ourselves as overcoming the impossible, even the privileged. I might even say that people like to believe that they have had a rough enough journey to qualify as an underdog. I have come to the idea that privilege doesn't need an advocate, I am learning to accept that fairness is not measurable.
So what I can do is wonder and be curious. After this song played, after the video settled into my psyche, I began to identify with the limited visibility we base our perceptions on. Maybe even as limited to our own memories or sad stories. If so many folks believe that hard work and dedication are remedies to poverty, than so be it. I start to critically remember that this video uses the metaphor of "pizza man" and a "no delivery zone", and I can expand on how that is only a thin slice of the pie.
If its too dangerous for the pizza man, then it sure is too dangerous for the mathematics tutors, college preparatory programs, after school programs, a young man to grieve, Wholefoods, a fitness center, Yoga, parks with grass, hoops with nets, Fro-Yo, sentences without cuss words, family with parents who have flexible work schedules, friends who can withstand peer pressure, employee or parent sponsored recovery programs for addicts, lawyers for misdemeanors, books on a bookshelf, walls without sprayed paint, dogs with collars on leashes wearing cardigans, selling drugs as a as a hobby because here its a career, a habit called responsible drug use, boy scouts tying knots, girls scouts selling cookies, patience, compassion, investment, or attention.
If its to dangerous for the pizza man then it sure ain't too dangerous for the payday lenders, the bondsman, the cigarette shop, the liquor store, the quick mart, planned parenthood, soup kitchen, house flippers flipping houses, the drive by pharmacist dropping baggies, the Dollar Mart, pawn shop, train tracks, vocational high school, random traffic stops, DWI check points, and police sub stations.
But this might be because the privileged like to believe that privilege doesn't discriminate. Often I hear, "why shouldn't I benefit from my family's successes". The privileged don't feel obligated to question the advantage their ancestors created. Sarcastically, it might be because some inferior peoples prefer to increase their discomfort. Satirically, it might be the opportunity for some foolish peoples to create a chance for themselves to work even harder. Maybe its that people add challenges to life for the chance to test their dedication. It could be like an exercise for wherewithal.
So it is possible that we all have privileges. Again sarcastically, it might be that some of us prefer to alter our availability to it. Maybe some of us are just not as motivated to work hard. Maybe some of us just don't have the discipline to remain dedicated. Or maybe having privilege makes it inconvenient to reflect back on how it was created. Maybe we might see that our peeps, daddy, grandpa, mamma, grandma or mi patria took short cuts, cheated, payed the right people, sold out the right people, sold out the right cultures, took advantage of the right markets, or capitalized on the right insecurities. It might be easier to believe that I deserve the privilege available to me because my peeps worked harder and had more dedication. I can dig that, but I don't. Its complicated, right?
Privilege is when I take a blessing and turn it into an advantage to elevate my social value at the expense of others. Responsibility is a word that I am committing my life to. Responsibility is when I take a blessing and enhance my life so that it enhances the life of those around me. As long as there is disadvantage or discrepancy I will have to critically evaluate how I leverage my blessings. There is a beautiful paradox between learning to understand privilege and knowing how to be responsible to the living, because far too much value has been depended on or inherited from the dead.
