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Work 4 Peace,Hold All Life Sacred,Eliminate Violence! I am on my mobile version of the door-to-door, going town-to-town holding readings/gatherings/discussions of my book "But What Can I Do?" This is my often neglected blog mostly about my travels since 9/11 as I engage in dialogue and actions. It is steaming with my opinions, insights, analyses toward that end of holding all life sacred, dismantling the empire and eliminating violence while creating the society we want ALL to thrive in

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

White male privilege


I unfortunately am seated in the middle seat (that’s not unfortunate – at least I got a seat) between two very immaculately groomed, ritzy examples of prime white males. My presence between them doesn’t stop their conversation bloated with self-importance only white males can swell with. Both are businessmen off to make other (white) business men richer: one is going to Detroit (well, really just outside) to help launch some real estate ‘opportunity’ in Detroit; the other is going to conduct a workshop on fraud. Fraud.

I remain as quiet as I can, staring at the unturned pages of my book – I’m a fast reader – until the one on my left starts reiterating in great detail how he gets his class involved in identifying fraud. I turn and ask him with as much neutrality as I can muster “Do you begin with racism and sexism?” He stumbles a little and states more slowly this time with a little laugh “Fraud, I’m teaching about fraud, how people get around the system…”  “To make money,” I nod and continue, “Right, sexism and racism, do you begin with those?”

The two remained silent for the rest of the flight, thank the goddesses.