The final shot of Poussey Washington’s lifeless face sent chills down my spine. Her cold body—the end result of a blonde haired, brown-eyed white woman using her white privilege to maintain a monopoly on her illegal panty-selling business in the hit Netflix’s series Orange Is the New Black (OITNB). This final shot exemplifies the current issues in our county concerning law enforcement, white privilege, and black lives.
For those not familiar with the show, Piper Chapman, the white protagonist, ran an illicit panty-selling ring at Linchfield Correctional Facility. Maria Ruiz, after being rebuffed by Chapman to join forces, elected to start her own panty-selling business. Chapman, economically threatened by Ruiz, reported to the chief prison guard Piscatella that gangs were forming in the prison, and specifically pointed towards people of color. Piscatella instructed the guards to conduct random and discriminatory searches of all minority inmates, allowing the white inmates to roam freely. Additionally, Piscatella order that the minority inmates could not gather in groups of four or more, while allowing the white inmates formed a white supremacist group. This bigoted treatment, among other things going on in the prison, caused the prisoners to protest, which resulted in Poussey’s death. Is Piper prejudice? Maybe. Did Piper use her white privilege as a weapon to maintain white supremacy? Yes. Is that just as bad? Absolutely. Is this a problem that white people need to address? Unquestionably. Piper probably does not believe she is prejudice. She probably did not believe that she has personally benefited from white privilege, and she would probably argue that she is “colorblind.” Piper is probably “tired of hearing about race in America” as well. However, her actions demonstrate that not only is she conscious of race, but she is also aware of the prison guard’s prejudices, his power within the prison system, and manipulated his bigotry for her own personal gain. That is white privilege; and as a result of this blonde-haired, “color blind” woman’s manipulations, a young black woman died. White privilege is a mythical concept to some White Americans. Whitney Dow, a documentary filmmaker, producer, and director best known for Two Towns of Jasper, is currently working on an interactive investigation called “The Whiteness Project.” It explores how White Americans understand and experience their race. Thus far, the project reveals that while some White Americans are extremely aware of white privilege, others believe that they do not benefit from white privilege, or that it does not exist. The Whiteness Project also revealed that White Americans are as tired of hearing about racial injustices as African Americans are of suffering from it. However, any sentient …show more content…
You 're saying it was when someone insulted you because of that.” Bush replied, “no, and I also make it clear that the misery in Louisiana affected me deeply as well.”
No, that is exactly what he was saying.
“You’re racist.” The two words most white people fear. So they cling to being “color blind” and claiming to have “a close black friend,” to shield himself or herself from the responsibility of challenging their beliefs, which in fact, might be prejudice. If there is one thing worse than being black in America, apparently it’s being a racist—the White man’s burden.
George Bush’s response to Kayne’s comment illustrates the problem with White American’s response to racial injustices in this country. Instead of reflecting on how Kayne’s comments had merit, he was upset about being labeled a racist. And instead of hearing to the cries of injustice, dissecting micro-aggressions, and listening with an open mind to the minority experience, White American’s are silent because they are more concerned about being labeled as a racist instead of seeking …show more content…
In the 18th century, white people brought Africans over to America for free labor and told them they were three-fifths of a person. In the 19th century and throughout the 20th Century, blacks were beaten, raped, killed, hung, humiliated, denied fair wages, loans, jobs, education, and healthcare, all because of our skin color. All the rights that Black Americans have today are because they fought for it. Now, in the 21st century, while still battling systemic oppression, White Americans want it to go away based off of 60 years of “integration?” That is