KENTON’S CORNER

Kenton’s corner: Dear White People

The screening of Dear White People and the conversation that followed brought on a mixed bag of emotions. But the ones that stayed longest for me were anger and disappointment. I didn’t feel dejected from the event itself but hearing what students had to say before and after was tragic. Before the event even kicked off, there were signs with quotes from the movie. For example: “Dear white people don’t touch my hair” or “dear white people, stop dancing.” Some people made comments about how divisive and upsetting the signs were. Students and parents alike called members of Division of Academic and Student Affairs as well as sent emails about how uncomfortable their kids were made.

To them I simply say first off those are direct quotes from the movie, so unless you expect UAB to go back and change the script they can’t change that. Second, the signs were meant to be upsetting because discomfort is often the beginning stage of growth. Lastly, the nerve of people expressing the discomfort of their everyday experiences! If the signs made you feel bad, imagine how it must feel to live those experiences.

Hearing the utter denial of words from a panel consisting predominantly of black people and an expert was expected, but nonetheless deeply frustrating. According to what I saw and the news article done by the Technician on the event, a pair of brothers and NC State students by the name of Jeremy White were all too ready and willing to display what Jane Elliott refers to as “white people’s second best privilege.”

White made sure to note his financial obligation to the program and how he was hurt by the event. He said, “Tuition money is going to dumb stuff like this.” I found that interesting for two reasons. First, Kamri Risku explained that less than a dollar per student was added onto student fees for the event. Another thing that made his complaint amusing is that 50 dollars in student fees is dedicated towards lost/stolen silverware. I doubt that he complains about that “dumb stuff” but an event challenging privilege, societal inequities and inequality aren’t worth it? Okay.

The ability to be blind to one’s own privilege is a dangerous drug.

Another thing that I found interesting was them giving the Merriam-Webster definition of racism and acting as if that’s the end all be all. I will be the first to say that I love a good Webster definition, but the world of academia often has different meanings for something based off of research and data analysis. Merriam Webster is often based on popular usage.

The funny part is White made it a point to state that no one answered his question even though he only asked one question which was buried in commentary before and after. It is the nature of those who enjoy white privilege to question the authority of experts and the experiences of others. White stated that the only privilege is economic privilege. I was flabbergasted to hear the Kenton gibbs idea that there is no privilege other than economSTAFF WRITER ic. Since White is so fond of Webster definitions, let’s take a look at the one for privilege. Privilege is defined as a special right, advantage or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people. So just out of curiosity, is the black experience filled with self-created strife or is the white experience littered with privilege? Is it a coincidence that 1 in 17 white men will be incarcerated in their lifetime as opposed to 1 in 3 black men? Is it also completely random that nearly every survey done on the stop and frisk shows it disproportionately targets black people? So here’s a quote you can take straight from me: Dear white people, if you choose to ignore insurmountable evidence and endless amounts of data that proves black people in America are oppressed, please also exercise your right to to sit down and keep your mouth shut on black affairs.