White Privilege

“I am white. Most of my immediate ancestors came out of the Ukraine or from England, my skin is pale.  I am Caucasian.  I was born and raised in very white parts of Canada.  I am as white as a Canadian can get and in my neighborhood, if you are not white, you are under suspicion.  My life has been lived in white communities, in almost exclusively white schools and in mostly white churches, Yet, for most of my life I was completely unaware that I was white.  I did not think of or consider color, I did not experience racism first hand and had only a vague understanding of what it was and how it was experienced. “(A Self-Study: Being a White Psychologist in an Indian World, Todd Sojonky, Peter Lang Publishing, 2010, p. 25)

It seems to me that we have made every mistake possible in how we treat each other.   We have enslaved, belittled, beaten, killed, raped, stole, beaten, warred, abused, starved, cheated and neglected.   Perhaps it is because we have lived our lives through the primary emotion of fear.   Fear is the source of all negative emotion.    We live either through Fear or Love.  It seems to me that we have lived through fear.

The Black Lives Matter movement has brought focus to decades of hurt and shame that as oppressors, those with white privilege have an unwillingness to see.   White privilege is like carrying a pocket full of money we are unaware of and grants us access to rights and privileges we ignore.  In my hometown it is usually racism directed at First Nations people. 

The protests of our present times should resonate deeply within our souls and awaken the kindness that we have access to.    Kindness rooted in our soul.   The very essence of who we are.   Kindness is the response to death and violence.   All change comes from the kindness.  Through Love. 

It begins in your home.   In your shoes.   In how you buy groceries and how you do your job.   In how you talk to those you meet and how you look in the mirror.   Kindness brings change.   Peace.  Dr. Todd Sojonky, Ph.D.