Last week, a quarter of a million Chicagoland residents lost power because of a storm. We were without electricity for a little over 24 hours, so we decided to spend the night in a motel rather than endure the sweltering heat. While we lost all of the food in our freezer and refrigerator, we counted ourselves as extremely privileged in having the means to simply pack up and head to a motel for the night. And I wondered about the elderly and infants, who may not have had the means to find a cooler place to stay.
Bart Campolo recently shared his experience with a low-income family while trying to find housing for them. He also reminds us of basic things that most white middle-class folks simply take for granted. Campolo says:
Without my car, my computer, my money at certain offices, and my white male privilege at others, the whole endeavor would have been utterly impossible for Helen – who is herself in need of some home health care. Even with my help, we needed a few kind folks to bend a few silly rules in our favor. By the time we got everything squared away, I was worn out and cranky. Being poor is an awful lot of work.
While I'm thankful that I've been reminded of my privilege lately, I hope that I can actually translate these realizations into action. I didn't even think to see if our neighbors, who have small children, needed anything during the blackout.
So what would taking action look like? Kathy Escobar wrote a great post a few days ago, "white privilege, male privilege, straight privilege, economic privilege," that provides a few pointers:
when we hold the privilege we must do our part to listen to those who don’t.
this is no easy task, but we will need brave men & women who are willing to lead these conversations–to provide listening posts to hear from those on the underside of the privilege. to learn what it feels like. to learn what might help shift things. to learn a better way.
we do not need to do feel guilty for being white, male, or straight or having money in the bank; that’s definitely not the idea here but is the easiest place for us to default. we each are who we are, were born how we were born. but i do believe strongly that we need to understand the power that comes from it instead of pretend it doesn’t exist or shoo it away as someone else’s problem. re-thinking power is important.
in the kingdom of God there should be no white privilege, male privilege, straight privilege, economic privilege. Christ breaks down all of those barriers. but the kingdom of God won’t just drop out of the sky. we will have to work hard, sacrifice our time, ego, hearts, and pride to create it. we will have to let go of assumptions that “it’s not that big of a deal” when we’re the ones with the privilege.
I really appreciated Escobar's suggestions: to not let my guilt ensare me, to listen, and to acknowledge the power I possess. But honestly, just because I appreciate her pointers doesn't mean I will like them when the opportunity presents itself for me to sacrifice. Next time, will I stay at home in the heat, and instead give that money to our neighbors so they can stay in a motel?
When I think about what it means to work toward the kingdom of God, big, grandiose, sweeping matters come to mind. You know, those important life-changing career decisions or donating gobs of money. But I'm realizing that the kingdom of God comes out of the little things more often than not. Like Escobar said, it doesn't just drop out of the sky. Ushering in the kingdom involves real, personal, sacrificial, and yes, even seemingly little everyday decisions. And those decisions will usually cause discomfort for those of us who have privilege.
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