Julie Theis, Sauk Rapids
Columnist Ron Scarbro, your white privilege is showing and it’s embarrassing in the column you wrote in the May 13 Newsleader about white privilege being a myth, according to you. White privilege is not a crutch the lazy created in place of “hard work.” It’s an issue deeply embedded in the framework of society. Very simply put, it’s the benefit of being part of the majority. White privilege is often misconstrued to mean white people are immune to struggle or people of color are excluded from success but it is much more nuanced than that. Being white means not having to speak for an entire race or culture, like expecting Muslims to condemn terrorism in every conversation with non-Muslims or presidential candidates campaigning for the “black vote.” It means being able to move into a home without worry of devaluing of an entire neighborhood just because of skin color. It means having access to better public schools by not being denied housing in the first place. Yes, it means white people are less likely to be jailed for crimes committed. Statistically, whites are more likely to sell and consume drugs yet blacks are more likely to be jailed for similar nonviolent drug offenses. White privilege is the difference between the push for treatment in the current opioid epidemic (white people’s drug) and the mandatory prison sentences for the crack-cocaine epidemic that predominantly affected blacks and Hispanics in the 80s. People of color are more likely to be issued and jailed for traffic tickets and consequently put in a never-ending cycle of profiteering by local government. White privilege is the epitome of Donald Trump’s campaign to make America great again, presumably when white men were the best, when blacks couldn’t vote, when interracial couples could be jailed, when Native Americans were molested and abused in boarding schools, and when a whole group of people could be put into camps because they were suspicious. It allows a white man to write an asinine article about a topic he clearly has no idea about with a tone of superiority. The ability to deny white privilege IS a privilege. Being aware is not synonymous with guilt.