zinfamous
No Lifer
- Jul 12, 2006
- 111,136
- 30,086
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Sorry, but I didn't buy her weird "400 year game of Monopoly" analogy. All of the people who put her great-great grandparents in chains died a very long time ago.
It's problematic that you don't understand that. I think the issue here is that, for all of us that are white, it's very difficult to appreciate not only the differences between our own personal life experiences, in this current time, but more importantly--the generations of our families before us and how their vastly different life experiences, compared to the families of your average modern day black person, were not only so incredibly different, but absolutely inform today's access, success, health, and every essential piece of life compared to what we have.
It isn't about being "equally poor" or middle class between two individuals of different races--You and I may have not much to our name, but we have family members that probably have a bit more. That have inheritance. That have a history of ownership and connections. If you don't understand those very real differences, and how monumentally influential they are in our very different life circumstances, then you have very little chance of ever waking up and seeing these very real differences in life experience between races in this country.
...It's not about appreciating it, either--I don't think you or I could ever appreciate it. We simple can't because we don't walk outside with a permanent mark on our skin that literally describes many, many generations of life in this country, and what others very much will perceive of you. But simply understanding it is important. At the very least, understanding that simple fact is important.
Maybe you can work at getting there? People have mentioned Redlining to you several times already. I get the sense that you just glossed over that without being interested at all at what that means. You probably think it's just a thing people are saying? You should probably start there. It's really quite important, and comprehensively explains why systemic racism exists, and how generational, institutionalized racism trickles down to today, quite visibly, despite any kind of modern laws that attempt to fix those issues.
