White Privilege?



So, a guy gets out of a BMW...........

No, not a joke. Yesterday, I happened to be outside the front entrance of a hospital.  It is a busy place, lots of people getting picked up, getting dropped off.  It is a "no-stopping" zone.  People doing their best to get out, get in quickly and move on because there seems to a lot of people waiting their turn. 

In the midst of this, a BMW parks and immediately it is causing congestion.  A white male steps out of the parked car.  "Excuse me, sir, you are parked in a no-parking zone" 

"I'm not going to be long." 

I am not going to be long.  Oh, well, of course, I didn't see the fine print.  The rules don't apply if you are not going to be long. 

It turns out, he was mostly correct.  He wasn't that long.  He was stopped by the screener and was told that he was going to be long and was instructed to move his car to the parking lot and then come in.

I wonder why he chose to park in an obvious no-stopping zone.  Perhaps he had never been to a hospital before?  I dismiss the notion that he could be illiterate and couldn't read the sign.  He is middle-aged and driving a BMW.  Perhaps he was oblivious to everyone else hurrying-in and hurrying-out to not cause congestion.  He also didn't appear to be walking quickly when he exited his car and he wasn't wearing a mask. 

I wonder why he didn't think the rules applied to him?  Was this an example of white privilege?  I took a picture of the car trying to get the BMW cresting but unfortunately, the licence plate was visible so I didn't use the picture. 

I am not really trying to shame this guy, but, I really do think this is an example of white privilege.  Someone thinking that the rules don't apply to them because of the colour of their skin. 

Regardless, it was not the time or place to try and have a conversation with this man.  But, I think we owe it to ourselves to see these everyday situations and question it.  We are never going to process on the subject of race unless we are willing to have these deep conversations.  Not arguments, just deep conversations where we can examine our own behavior and determine if we are part of the problem or part of the solution. 

Challenge our assumptions.  Move the conversation forward.  Sounds like common sense. 

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