135 Days:

Has the Bill for White Privilege Come Due?

Beyond Money and Power: The Privilege of Being Seen Human in a Supremacist State

The following is a thought experiment. It has to be, for me, because I have no lived experience as a white man, white woman, white child, or white queer. (I say this all of the time.) However, the European Americans who hear me say this become confused and try to explain their relationship to whiteness like there is some common ground between us. The United States of America is a racial caste system. There are an entire host of experience that European Americans can access that I can not: like being raceless. What I have are observations. I can acutely observe European American behaviors.

So, let me begin. Here is my question: Under this second Trump Administration, does “white privilege” still exist?

Because this subject is so emotionally charged, if you, in your white body, choose to not stay around, I understand. I don’t accept that you have the option to disengage this subject without there being any consequences, however, I do understand why you would want to. Like the word, “woke,” the term, “white privilege,” is interpreted within the containers provided by the racial caste system.

Inside the collective “white mind,” white privilege means, money and power.

Inside the collective “Black mind,” white privilege means, white people experience white people as human. (See Toni Morrison’s 1993 interview with Charlie Rose.)

On November 5, 2024 a group decision was made; 3 out of 5 voting European American men and 1 out of 2 voting European American women decided to re-elect Mr. Donald J. Trump to the Presidency. For the past 135 days, we have lived under an open white supremacy, which is why I have my question. Has the cost of white privilege increased to the point where it no longer exists?

In the public mind, being racist is considered a moral failing so great it is rooted in your nature. A white supremacist is someone who wants to harm Black, Brown and Indigenous people. They enjoy discriminating acts and committing violence. While we may discuss white supremacy in an intellectual manner - as an ideology - when someone publicly exposes white supremacy talking points, they land as incorrigible, meaning, there is nothing anyone can do to stop them from being racist. Why? That is who and what they are. The best anyone can do is get out of the way and avoid their presence.

When Stephen Miller is shouting his talking points on Fox News, that is how he lands. He is a true believer. He lands as a monster. And it is scary because he is in power. He has the ear of the President. He gets to write public policy. The President listens to Miller and orders “others” to implement his ideas.

Photo by Olivier Darny

And this is where my question arises.

Is it a privilege to be seen as human by white supremacists?

Is it a privilege to be “protected” by Stephen Miller and Donald J. Trump? Is it a privilege to benefit from “lies?”

In March 2022, it became a news article that Wells Fargo actively discriminated against Black homeowners. When it came to refinancing a home loan, 7 out of 10 white people received a loan. In contrast, 1 out of 2 Black people were DENIED a loan. For those who were Wells Fargo’s employees, was it a privilege to implement that business practice? Did it hurt them to create that white supremacy outcome? And, if, as an employee, you did not feel anything; if you were just doing your job: what does that say about how assimilated into white supremacy culture you are?

If you live in a white body, received a home loan from Wells Fargo, and read that article how does it feel to learn the only reason you received that loan is because you are “white?” Does that feel like a benefit? Or, if you shrug your shoulders, and accept the “necessary evil” as a “good” in your life, what does that say about you and how assimilated into white supremacy culture you are?

I used that example because it is class based and, from what I can observe, most European Americans can relate to class. They understand being denied access to resources or granted access to resources when the word “privilege” is used.

Discrimination is a harder conversation. Discrimination is seen as an individual choice that lies outside of another individual’s will to defy.

When Missouri Governor Mike Parson ordered the execution of a Black man named Imam Marcellus “Khaliifa” Williams on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, millions of European Americans went to work on Wednesday, September 25 like nothing had happened. It was argued that no DNA evidence associated Williams with the 1989 murder he was convicted of. It was argued Williams was wrongly convicted. Were millions of European Americans aware of these details and the situation? Yes. And, over social media, they could read Facebook statuses and watch TikTok videos of Black people grieving over a Black man that they could see as their Brother, Uncle, Father, Husband or Friend. Were millions of European Americans frustrated? Yes. And, yet, a current event of injustice had occurred, without it affecting their interactions with Black people at all. In fact, while grieving, millions of Black people went to work and treated the European Americans that crossed their paths as “innocent” lest the white privilege of being seen as human by Governor Mike Parson landed their Black bodies on Missouri’s death row. The “peace” and “calm” European Americans experienced on Wednesday, September 25 came at the cost of “tremendous violence and fear.”

Is such “peace” a privilege?

After 135 days of this second Trump Administration what is the cost of the “privilege” of being seen as human inside of an open white supremacy?

I don’t know. I live in a Black body. So, I am asking for answers. Do you have an answer? Or, worse, if you don’t have an answer, is it because neither you, nor I, can tell the difference between you and a white supremacist?