we're not all white

Lorde demonstrates how white people may want to fight against systemic racism by acknowledging her privilege and how problematic it is. Wow queen!

In circumstances other than this one, I wouldn't say that it is particularly brave to use your platform that reaches an audience of 5.51 million to speak out against the discrimination of people of colour. I'd say it was more of a moral responsibility. However, what makes this situation the exception is the existence of a phenomenon called the stuff.co.nz comments section. Lorde's ties to little old Aotearoa mean that when she tweets, whatever she tweets, it is likely to show up in a stuff.co.nz article on a slow news day. There, attached to the bottom of these articles or to their respective Facebook links, is this place that exists much like Dante's ninth circle of Hell exists just above it.

Let me be clear: this is not a condemnation of stuff.co.nz. This is a wail of anguish (and of rage) inspired by the readers of stuff.co.nz that believe their terrible, horrible, no-good opinions are worth being archived in the same place pictures of puppies are saved. But, I digress.

It is late early. I am tired. Most of all, I am angry. I am angry because of these people:

Jason, reverse racism is like the tooth fairy. It is a lie used by people to placate small minds.

Susan! What is an ethnic basket? Is my one made of bamboo or of rice paper?

Keziah... this whole mess started because a group of people didn't care about another race.

These people are also angry, but only because of three words... "all white people".  For some reason, when some people see this phrase, they forget how to read. They forget how to think critically. Certainly Jason, Susan and Keziah did. Somehow they missed the "are responsible for this system's thrive and fall" part of that sentence. I would say, and this is me thinking critically, that this is the part of Lorde's tweet that is the most important. This is the part of the tweet that does not blame all white people for the Charlottesville marches, nor does it "blame all the white people for everything that's wrong in the world" as Jason might think it does. It does not ask Susan to apologize for being white, and it definitely doesn't blame you for the actions of others, Keziah.

I single out stuff.co.nz commenters specifically because it's easier to grasp how pervasive the misunderstanding of systematic oppression is when the examples are from New Zealand. Confusing, I know. But we know that America has race-relations problems, we can see it in the media every single day; there are Nazis marching in the streets, for one. But New Zealand, sweet small New Zealand doesn't have neo-Nazis or the 'alt-right' or any such glaring examples that show us that we are ignorant of our privilege.

It is great that you are not actively racist, that you do not hurl abuse at me or other POC. It is great that the actions of ancestors do not bear any resemblance to how you conduct yourself now, in that you do not own slaves and you do not try to claim the lands of indigenous cultures as your own. Congratulations! However, these are not the only possible forms of oppression. Oppression can be passive. This is what Lorde is telling 5.51 million people, though in many more words. When you do not condemn the Nazis of Charlottesville for marching, you are oppressing people of colour. When you do not admit that the promotion of Nazi ideals is terrorism, you are oppressing people of colour. This is the systemic oppression of black people in the United States of America in live moving colour, and it is happening under the guise of 'freedom of speech'. The Declaration of Independence and the country that is supposed to protect its citizens is implicit in their mistreatment. That is institutionalized racism.

Put into a more local context, the denial that the actions of colonists some 180 years ago have anything to do with you is the kind of mindset that allows systematic oppression to thrive. This is what Lorde told us, Susan; "all white people are responsible for this system's rise and fall." Perhaps, because some people might not get past the phrase 'all white people' again, I should elaborate. The Treaty of Waitangi is the most important document in Aotearoa's history, and it has everything to do with our actions today. In terms of the future, look to New Zealand's 2017 general election, where the colonialists responsible for that Treaty are still trying to be corrected by all but two of the country's political parties. (For those that like to roll the dice, you get three guesses as to which parties they are. See the end of this post for answers.) The act of voting and participating in a general election is the most pure form of trying to change an institution and therefore the systems that form beneath it. Voting for Green Party because you want to see their 4 different policies regarding the Treaty of Waitangi put into action is an example of standing up to institutionalized oppression in New Zealand. You are using your power, your privilege as a voter to actively abate the oppression of Maori people.

It should be noted that institutionally-endorsed privilege is a heady though invisible power, and is misunderstood almost universally. I do not pretend to understand it completely, though I do somehow believe that I have the authority to write about it ad nauseam. One thing that should be understood is that privilege versus oppression is an all or nothing situation. A party that is 'passively' but systematically oppressing the other cannot then 'sometimes' be oppressed by the one with less privilege. Prejudice does not equal oppression; racism is a form of oppression, not prejudice. Basically, reverse racism isn't real.

Once more, with feeling: all white people are responsible for this system's rise and fall. Today's white people are not responsible for the actions of every other white person that has ever existed, including all that bad racist stuff. We are all only ever responsible for our own actions. What we choose to do with our own power is our business, but as it has been said before: with great power comes great responsibility. Thus, you are responsible for making well-informed decisions. Look to your policy-makers, your news media, your friendly local blog. If you have to think about whether or not you are being oppressed, you are likely to be in a position of extreme privilege. Wield it wisely. Be active, not passive.



(The two parties that do not currently have any policies related to the Treaty of Waitangi are United Future and ACT.)

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