I think a lot of the vehement denial in accepting racism and institutional racism is that it will force the beneficiaries of systemic racism to acknowledge that perhaps the great things they've achieved weren't solely because of their own talent and merit. A lot of people work really hard to get where they're at, and the idea that even just a smidgen of that success can be attributed to white privilege and institutional racism rankles their feathers. It's a shattering of their world view. A world view in which we're all told that all we have to do is work hard, keep your head straight, and you'll achieve your dreams. The little caveat is that being a white male in America will give you a few extra stat points and XP to get a leg up. Being a minority generally has you enter the game with negative stat points and zero XP.
That idea is upsetting to those people. It's easier to just deny that they have had a leg up by virtue of being born white, because accepting the truth of that makes them feel dirty. I can understand it. Nobody wants to be told that what they've worked really hard for has a taint on it. There are self made people from every walk of life, for sure, but it's undeniable that being born a white person in America grants you a few extra concessions. I mean, look at the story earlier this week, where that young white guy was talking some mad fucking shit to police, and being overall belligerent, and what did he get for it? A smug mug shot and some time in jail. This black man, who was pulled over for a busted tail light, told the officer that he had a permit to carry a firearm, was armed, and was just reaching for his identification like the officer ordered, and what did it get him? Four bullets and a trip six feet under. I can't fabricate a clearer instance of white privilege than what has happened in reality just this week.
You had people in that thread praising the guy as a hero for sticking it to the man, but there are already people digging in the dirt to victim blame this young black man and father. It's sickening, and depressing, and, as a black man, frustrating.
Black people aren't asking that white people get brutalized by police in order for things to be equal. Black people are asking that police officers stop brutalizing them and treat them like human beings. Suspects, sure, but human beings none-the-less. This isn't some eye for an eye call to action. It's a call to empathy. I know criminals are criminals, but they are still due some level of human rights when being apprehended and brought in. A routine traffic stop shouldn't end in their deaths, whether saint or sinner.
