The Problem With Privilege(?)

Simple Town

From the age of about nine to twenty-six I lived in Clarksville, Tennessee. Clarksville had a military base and a college, where I also went to college. I ended up in Clarksville because of two military parents. Though my life from birth to age nine was full of diversity, travel, and having to adapt to different experience due to the military life, my time in Clarksville was very much the opposite. Clarksville was a simple town in a pretty simple region of America about the time when I was there. Nothing much went on there to make a kid question the norms of every day routines. Sure, there were racists, segregated parts of the town, stories of that black guy that dated that white girl (and vice versa) and how the white kid’s parents freaked when they found out, stuff like that. But all in all life was pretty slow in Clarksville, nothing that made you really question things in life. It was a good time. It was a simple time. Grade school was a blur. College was not a blur but still simple. Sure, things got a little more diverse when I entered college, even though I went to the one in my home town. I had friends that were soldiers and college students while in college. We all just hung out, read the Bible and talked about it, did road trips, played way too many video games, stuff like that. We did things that normal red-blooded teens to twenty-somethings in college should do. I guess it was weird that college and military kids would hang out and get along so well but we thought nothing about it. The diversity amongst us felt good, it felt natural, and we were bonded together in our belief and fellowship in Christ. It was the Kingdom of God. It was a good time. But, even in those times the big questions like, “why is the world the way it is?” or “why did unjust things happen to people?”  Things that seemed to happen to people because of the circumstances of the family they were born into or the places in which they live, stuff like that never really came up or were really talked about in depth. I think we just believed a very simple way of thinking, which was something like, “read your Bible, trust what people say that read the Bible, and good things (things that you think are good things) will happen.” But when life gets more complicated, this train of thought starts to break down. This happened to me when I left Clarksville.

Into The World

I left in 2010 to take a ministry call with an international ministry called the Navigators. I went to a town I will just call Illinoisville, Illinois to minister as a college student minister at a major university there, sixty miles outside of the heart of Chicago. It was my first time experiencing a place that was not southern nice. There I learned it was weird to smile and hold doors for strangers, how to play Texas Hold’em poker, and my first real experience of oppression. It did not come directly or only from people oppressing other people but more so from a spiritual darkness that inhabited the air. Illinoisville was a dark place. A spirit of lifelessness kind of lingered over the town and locals there were even aware of it. I remember talking to a friend I met there about it and him saying how obvious it was and characteristic of Illinoisville. However, because I was a Christian I found myself in a place of privilege when I experienced this cloud of darkness amongst the students and locals. I had the Spirit of life and God used the Spirit to help bless, and free others from their oppression to this “darkness” in ways that I still marvel at in remembrance now. God did healings via prayer sessions there that I will forever remember and be encouraged by as I look at the present tasks that I am currently engaged in with ministry with others. I remember praying for a man that had an extreme speech impediment to then hear him speak clearly. I remember praying for a college student to get relief from carpel tunnel that was causing her pain to then hear an immediate “pop” in her wrist after praying and afterwards never seeing her wear a wrist brace again, which she would wear regularly before that. I remember it got so intense for me that I started to get personal requests, text messages and phone calls from friends and friends of their friends asking for me to come by and pray for them. I became nervous with what God was doing when I prayed for people. It was something I did not understand and could not control. It was supernatural. It was for lack of a better word “freaky”. Yet it was all real. At times it was all too real for my weak faith, because of my desire to understand everything that God is doing before I follow Him into doing it. I did not want to own my privilege that God has un-expectantly given me. Looking back I would often ask, “God what was that all about in Illinoisville?” “ Why did you allow me to do those things?” I know now in after times of reflection that it was because the things that people were saying about Illinoisville were true.  Illinoisville was under oppression and God wanted someone that was willing to use their privilege to help those that were oppressed be freed. I un-expectantly was that person, along with others I am sure.  One memory out of many good ones form my time in Illinoisville still plays in my mind. The man that God used me to free him from an extreme speech impediment said one time, “man, you are like a super-hero.” I remember laughing at that back then, but is that not what a super hero is, a being that knows their privilege and decides to use it to help others? Look, I know talking about a topic like this is hard to digest. I am as rational as the average guy, so I get it. All I am saying is that forces of oppression exist and God gives men and women the ability to free others from those forms of oppression with His amazing gifts, and I have memories that are forever burned into my synapsis that testify to this truth. So the only question that remains for me today as I see so many different kinds of forms of oppression in our cities, country, families, and world is if I am aware of my privilege and if I am will I decide to use it to free others from their oppressions or use my privilege to bring bondage and suppress. Basically, am I to be a hero or villain.

Heroes and Villains

There is no coincidence that the most economically grossing stories in film and literature today are ones about individuals with supernatural abilities, influence, or privilege that decides to use that ability to free or oppress others. From Superman saving humans from alien and other human oppressors, to ancient Greek literature, to the Biblical story of Jesus, we are captivated by the story of a being of privilege freeing those who are not as fortunate. Marvel, Star Wars, Star Trek, DC, Harry Potter, Lord of The Rings, Pride And Prejudice, The Bible, all the same story retold over and over, always making a big impact on our hearts and our wallets. We long for the privileged to know and save the underprivileged. We hate those that do the opposite. We hate Lex Luthor, Voldemort, Darth Vader, Gaston, Satan, The Borg, etc., those that use their privilege to harm and oppress others. The story of the privileged and how they use their abilities over humanity is as good as gospel, and indeed it is. By the way, most of these stories and all the genre of super heroes are an American invention, there is something in the core of what it means to be an American that spurs on a spirit to create characters that have privilege and that desire to use it to do good for others, for the world. More on America and her identity in the world within this context in a moment. Right now I want to ask the question of do you know that you are privileged and are you using it to help or oppress?

We All Have Privilege

A common phrase that is used today in the discussion of racism, systemic racial oppression of minorities, and inequality is white privilege. It is used a lot to basically say that white people are highly privileged individuals and that they are more so than any other race in America, even the world at large. I agree that this is true on a logical basis as well as from personal testimonies I’ve heard from whites and non-whites, from living in an underdeveloped region of the inner city of Houston that is predominantly black and Hispanic, yes I agree. My logical basis for believing in the existence of systemic racism is based upon the simple fact that European settlers were the ones that settled North America, formed colonies, ratified documents for governing the land, and developed the land. When you make the house you can customize how it looks. When you make the game you make the rules by how it is played. For those that were not included in this process, they are not inherently heard, supported, and vouched for. This creates the framework for systemic racial issues that pervade in America and it is only logical. Aside from that I can tell you about the fact that people in our community have vied for speed bumps to be placed on neighborhood streets that are too heavily trafficked for the protection of children and pedestrians and that those request go repeatedly unheard by the city. Yet, when I go to other neighborhoods that are more gentrified in Houston I see fresh speed bumps laid. Well, I guess I just did. I also can write a whole lot longer telling you stories of how my Caucasian friends speak of issues in which they were given reprieve from crimes that they feel would have been more severe if they were not white. So when I think of these things I become convinced that oppression via the privilege of others exists. My question however again is if we are aware of our privilege and are we using it to free or oppress?

The problem with the term white privilege is that is makes everyone a victim to those that are white and no one sees themselves as privileged to act unless they are white or have white friends, as well. So, here is some truth for you. Are you ready? We all have privilege. We all have been given something that will allow us to benefit others and ourselves or oppress others and ourselves. That privilege may be that you are a male in a society that is biased to promote males over females. It may be that you have education. It may be that you have a better self esteem, a faith in God, whatever. I, as a black male, have a privilege depending on the street or social group that I decide to walk down or join simply because I am a man of color. I just saw a video online recently about a child that has no arms or legs and that was struggling to do a basic task that I could do without even thinking. After watching the video I was humbled and felt my privilege deeply. I believe the issue with the conversation about racism, inequality, and privilege today is that it has a pervading sense of victim mentality and powerlessness undergirded within the discussion. We do not see our own privilege and therefore do not know how to use it. Yet, instead we spend too much time gazing and craving the privilege that another person has that we do not, the whole time we are missing the purpose and potential for our lives. A potential that only our life can have, or even that only or ethnicity or gender can have. I greatly enjoy the fact that I can relate to my black brothers and sisters as deeply and authentically as much as with my Christian and white Christian brothers and sisters simply because of the ethnicity I was born into. I am even able to relate to Muslims on the perspective of being a minority and feeling the anxiety of oppression due to current events going on today with Radical Islam and the World’s response Muslims and how all Muslims feel about that. These are my privileges and I use them. What is your privilege? Do you use it or do you instead simply crave the privileges of others?

When I think of privilege used well I cannot think of a better image than Jesus Christ. If you have read the Bible or at least the New Testament you know the gist of the story, but perhaps not deeply enough. He was with God yet decided to use his God privilege to bless, teach, and eventually save mankind from all forms of evil, earthly and supernatural oppressions imaginable. Philippians 2: 5-8 says,  “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God,  and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” And why did he give up his privilege? It was not just for show. Why would anyone die for a show? Ephesians 4:8 goes on to say more clearly why. It says, “However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.” Those gifts, from Christ are privileges given. God gives gifts to all people and for those who have Christ, even more. Do you know you are privileged? What are you doing with your privileges? The example of Christ giving up his privilege for the benefit of the underprivileged has been played out in movie blockbuster after movie blockbuster and in every book that has had a significant hold on our human conscience since the beginning of time. It is as good as gospel and indeed it is Gospel replayed over and over. Lastly, America herself seems to personify it or attempts to.

America The Privileged Superhero And Savior

There is no coincidence that many of the original superheroes created from American culture have some semblance of red, white, and blue in their costumes. It means something about American culture to constantly portray the hero freeing the oppressed, it is a part of our DNA, or at least it used to be. Perhaps it is because of America's Christian roots or a sense of manifest destiny or both, we desire to be free and free the un-freed. The recent chemical attacks in Syria were answered by a cruise missile attack from the U.S. and though the reactions to this by the world and America are mixed I can not help but remember the video accounts of Syrians thanking America for giving them hope from Assad's terrors, even for just a moment. I am not promoting America's actions or condemning them. I am simply using it as a forward to communicate that the privileged are meant to use their privileges to lift up those under oppression. It is as good as Gospel. I do not know what America we are today or what America we are turning into. However, the question again that I have is that do you know that you are privileged? Do you embrace your privilege? Are you using it to benefit yourself or others that are in need? Privilege is meant to be used to help others. A world where this is understood and done is a beautiful world, a world that shows the Gospel. So go. Own it. Use it the right way.