I fear we are headed for an impasse. To compare Black privileges in this country as if they are on a whole on par with the privileges of the white majority (in particular, white men), is just patently ridiculous and fullsail in denial.

Also, it is very common for white people who hate to have the mirror of systemic injustices held up to them to fall back on some quote by MLK, often taken out of context for the time and situation. Also, conveniently forgetting how much hatred and backlash he got from the government and the country at the time. MLK was as lot more closer to Malcolm X than some people today would like to think. He had harsh criticisms for even the white liberals of his day (read his letter from a Birmingham prison).

I also don’t have the time to explain what it means to criticize upward vs. downward. Suffice to say, no one at a company would have a roast where they make fun of the janitor, but they would have a roast where they poke fun at the CEO. Whenever people from the privileged demographic (and I’m talking generalities here) want to know why they can’t make fun of, or criticize people from the lower demographic on the same basis as how they’re criticized, it shows a lack of this understanding and the balance of power effects what is decent.

At the end of the day, either you believe that there still exists systemic racism in this country that negatively affects POC, or you don’t. Either you believe there are privileges and advantages afforded white people (in particular white, male, cisgender heterosexual Christians), or you don’t. Either you’re willing to help make changes in practices and policies that still bend towards that imbalance, or you’re not. And if you’re not, then we are indeed at an impasse. Words can only go so far. And I fear our respective experiences may make the chasm between us unbridgeable.

I appreciate the dialog.