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American racism is our greatest embarrassment and gravest sin

By Emily Vassar - Guest Columnist | Feb 13, 2021

“White privilege” is a powerful term. Out of ignorance and, yes, inherent racism, it invokes incredulity and disdain in too many white people: “I’m not privileged! I struggle, too!” For Black, indiginous and people of color, its meaning is surely a useful tool in the never-ending conversation about and movement for racial justice. For white allies, it is a fully acknowledged aspect of our very existence, and let it be clear: “white privilege” does not mean that your life isn’t hard – it means that the color of your skin is not one of the things that makes it harder.

When this is acknowledged and understood, much more begins to fall into place. The light comes on in the attic. The gears start turning.

If you are reading this while white and find yourself in disagreement, I’m not surprised. It’s easy enough to deny something that does not impact your life specifically. But therein lies one of the many nuanced details of inherent racism: When you refuse to acknowledge the bigotry that affects every Black person, every indiginous person and every person of color, you are in fact making a decision rooted in a deeply ingrained disrespect for them and the quality of their time on this earth.

In your denial, you are saying that their lives matter less than yours, and that’s racism.

That could be a tough swig of reality to swallow, but if you swish it around in your mouth a little first, you might pick up the oaky notes of truth just yet.

A reckoning with our sins, past and present

Black slaves were shipped and sold like livestock, tortured, raped and murdered; their descendants marched for voting rights, civil rights and justice and equality generations later, and now the descendents of those descendents still to this day have to continue to march for those very same things, and to demand that their lives be as valued as those of their white peers.

Indiginous North Americans were forced off their ancestral lands, killed en masse through physical violence and biological warfare via the synchronized spread of smallpox and sexually transmitted diseases; they were starved and raped, children were ripped from the arms of their mothers, “whitewashed” and integrated into white society for the sole purpose of the eradication of the native culture.

The indiginous tribes of Latin America suffered the same fate at the hands of Europe. With the determination to achieve a better quality of life, Latinx folk have been coming to America generation after generation, fighting the odds, only to be met with a uniquely American style of bigotry, centered in white nationalism, fortified by socioeconomic disparity. Latinx people aren’t stealing jobs. They’re doing the jobs that white people don’t want to do for abhorrent wages paid by employers who are empowered by politicians living lavish lifestyles financed by flippantly playing Monopoly with people’s lives.

All too often, sentiments are voiced that accuse immigrants, especially those who may be undocumented, of living off of government assistance. This is a boldly racist, ignorant, ridiculous belief that is not even remotely based in reality. Undocumented immigrants don’t qualify for health care, food benefits or financial assistance. Immigrationforum.org states, “Undocumented immigrants, including DACA holders, are ineligible to receive most federal public benefits, including means-tested benefits such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, sometimes referred to as food stamps), regular Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act and are prohibited from purchasing unsubsidized health coverage on ACA exchanges.” Furthermore, as for those who are documented, “Only those with lawful permanent resident status (qualify for limited benefits), but not until they have resided as a legal resident for five years. LPRs – sometimes referred to as green card holders – do not have full access to all public benefit programs and are subject to limitations before being eligible for federal means-tested benefits, including Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, TANF, SNAP, and SSI.”

But most unauthorized non-citizens and all authorized do pay taxes. According to research that was reviewed by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, “Between 50 percent and 75 percent of unauthorized immigrants pay federal, state, and local taxes. Illegal immigrants are estimated to pay … about $7 billion per year into Social Security.”

So who exactly is taking care of who?

If you have made it this far and feel particularly attacked, rest assured that the fragility of your ego is of no concern in the face of centuries of determined and calculated attacks on Black and brown lives for the advancement of the white cause. Whatever that is.

We hold these truths to be self-evident: White privilege is real. Racism is real. Black lives matter. Immigrant lives matter. No human is illegal. White nationalism is not patriotism.

Where does it start? Where does it end?

Racism is typically born and nurtured within the family dynamic and manifests from there like the cancer that it is. It takes form in our words, our actions and, in fact, our lack of action. Racial disparity rears its ugly head in every aspect of life for BIPOC. But through education and experience, white people can be allies and be present in making the necessary changes. Surely, it cannot happen without our direct participation. Whether it be calling out racism when we see it, supporting small businesses owned by BIPOC or protesting peacefully, arm-in-arm with our Black brothers and sisters for the Black Lives Matter movement, every action holds power and inspires change.

The glass is half-full: There is room for more compassion, more empathy, more love, until the cup runneth over and hate is not only pushed out, but snuffed out.

I am an ally, because it is my moral duty to stand and speak out against the racism of the past and that which fuels the injustices made against Black and brown people. I accept and acknowledge my white privilege because it is real. I have experienced personal struggle. I still struggle from time to time. But it has never been a result of the color of my skin. I am privileged in that way, and I own it.

I am an ally, because I cannot deny racism as it exists and somehow flourishes in America to this day. As a white person, I do not experience racism, but that does not mean that I get to turn a blind eye to it.

And from perhaps a more selfish approach, I am an ally because I am simply sick and tired of feeling embarrassed to have been born white in America.

Emily Vassar is a resident of Nashua.

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