Election 2012: Overcoming the Blindness of Privilege

      When Conservatives and Republicans awoke the day after the most recent election, they experienced a new reality reminiscent of Dorothy’s awakening in Oz. Their vision shifted from a world of black and white to color. Until election day, Conservatives and Republicans were able to talk in the culturally monochromatic language of the 1950s , and believe they were describing reality as it is or should be. The politics of privilege is going the way of the tornado.

We are not in Kansas anymore. As a white, male, protestant, lawyer, I fully understand the power of privilege. I understand how people of privilege are raised, how networks of privilege operate, and how the power of privilege blinds me to the views and needs of folks without my privilege.

The colors of our world are coming into sharper focus for those of us with privilege blindness. Very literally and figuratively the world is not black and white. Latino and Asian immigrants are less and less marginalized and are now a permanent part of our political reality. The same is true for the unique concerns of women and the LGBT community. Class inequality now figures prominently in our political dialogue, and we now talk in terms of the 99%, the 1%, and the 47% . With the growing acceptance of gay marriage around the country, religious diversity and tolerance also is now established as a legitimate counterweight to those who aim to legislate their religious views.  It is no longer sufficient for a political candidate or party to mobilize enough homogenous privileged white people to dominate the centers of political power.

This is a unique moment in our history, and we have a lot to learn. As a person who has struggled to overcome the blindness of my own privilege, I have some lessons to share with our political “representatives.” I hope these thoughts can help people of privilege become acclimated to this brand new world that has existed before our very eyes for a long time, without our notice.

First, most people experience both privilege and oppression across different identities at once. An upper class black woman experiences the privilege of wealth, and the unique oppression that comes from being African American. She also experiences the unique confluence of the way being a woman intersects with her privilege of wealth and her oppression as an African American.   The privilege creates power and benefits, and a certain kind of blindness. The different axes of oppression create a unique experience of being voiceless, humiliated, and mistreated. Most of us experience both privilege and oppression. And each unique combination creates a unique perspective that is not easily described, categorized, or placed neatly into a political category.

Next, people of privilege should prepare themselves for some deep discomfort. There is a lot of unseen suffering in this world that cannot remain at bay.  The gated communities will not keep the voices of oppression at bay much longer. The people with privilege have neglected their responsibility for the suffering of folks with less privilege. There is a lot of anger and hurt that has been unseen. Once the person of privilege opens themselves to this new reality, one immediate reaction is guilt. Guilt is an appropriate first response, but it is just a beginning. Guilt alone is debilitating. It is the first step from being a person blinded by privilege to an ally for folks with less privilege. The goal is not to surrender power and privilege. The goal is to find a way to use the power of privilege in a more responsible, caring, and connected manner. 

The path from blind isolation to ally is a path of joyful adventure coupled with deep discomfort.  At first the varieties of views, perspectives, experiences, can be disorienting. But with the help of willing guides, the path becomes rich with a greater and more nuanced truth about us and our community.  This path requires deep listening. It requires a commitment to open ourselves to critical evaluations of our world view without becoming defensive. We will bump against views that we have never fully experienced or accepted. These are growing pangs that can be painful, but they can also be exhilarating and liberating. The key to this process is trust, respect, and love for the folks we regard as very different from ourselves. If we can hold on to our commitment to this trust, respect and love, then we can engage the very hardest of differences and emerge wiser and more connected with our community.

As people of privilege we need to be quiet, take up less space at the table, and make room for other voices.  People are tired of hearing us talk like we know everything, like we control everything, like we are the centers of the universe. We need less “I know how to fix this problem,” and more “let’s hear as many perspectives on these complicated issues as we can, and collaborate on a common approaches.” It is time for us to share in setting the table and cleaning the table, instead of just eating from it.

The folks on the left have a lot to continue to learn about the emerging coalition they have stumbled upon. There are people within this new coalition who care deeply about some economic conservative issues; and there are others who have honest disagreements on moral issues. It would be a mistake to simply broaden the black and white world to include brown. Rather than drowning out opposing voices, or blending our colors, we should make room for divergent views. We should also make room for reasonable compromise on the journey to common ground.

The power of privilege will not go quietly into the history books. There will be last gasps, rear guard actions, and apocalyptic prophesies. But no amount of yelling or avoidance will stop the movement toward a more inclusive and integrated multi-cultural, multi-religious, multi-class political reality. Those who are wise will learn to adapt or be left in the isolation of their own willful blindness.