I leave for Haiti tomorrow morning with a crew from Pilgrim Lutheran Church for our Haitian Timoun Foundation Immersion Trip. There also happens to be Hurricane Matthew in the Caribbean. Now, before anyone worries... Yes, I have been in conversation with HTF's director. Yes, we are watching the weather and are in contact with the HTF leaders in Haiti. Yes, we are making plans for safety.
And that, folks, is what has brought me to the topic of privilege. I know it's a buzz word that creates a milieu of emotions and defensiveness from some people. I am aware that the idea of privilege is very misunderstood and therefore elicits strong reactions. Guess what... we need to discuss it anyway.
Right now, I'm sitting in a position of first-world privilege. I have a plane ticket to Haiti. I am watching television. I am hearing news about the weather. I am able to prepare for the different scenarios. Ultimately, I have the choice on whether to go as planned or cancel. (By the way, it would take a lot and a dire circumstance for me to cancel.) I am sitting in a position of privilege. Even if a hurricane was headed toward my community here in the states, I would still have many options. Boarding up my home, sandbags, evacuation.
While I have not yet been to Haiti, I can imagine what must be happening. There are probably people in the more developed areas that are aware of the impending weather. Some might even be able to make a few preparations. However, my gut tells me that there are probably many of the people that have no idea that a hurricane is churning just South of their county. Even if they were aware of weather heading their way there are no resources to safeguard their families and homes. Evacuation certainly would not even be an option for them.
Here I am, sitting in my privilege. There is nothing that I did to receive this privilege. I just happened to be born in the United States where these resources happen to be available to me. It just is. And because it just is, I have the responsibility to recognize it, acknowledge it, learn from it and speak up. Privilege exists in so many forms. It is not isolated to one group, one country or one era. Here are some things that we need to know about privilege in all it's forms...
- Privilege is a set of unearned benefits that are given to a certain group of people. It can come with identity, race, class, gender, sexual orientation, language, geography, ability, religion, etc. However, it is so much more than this basic definition.
- When we talk about privilege there is a conversation about oppression and power that can quickly follow.
- Having privilege doesn't mean that aspects of life weren't hard for us. Even through adversity there are still privileges that we have. This is a complicated concept.
- When we discuss privilege we must set aside our own defensiveness and fragility and look at the holistic scenario.
Conversations about privilege are hard and complicated. However, that doesn't mean we can shy away from them. This is just the beginning of a deeper, longer, genuine and sensitive dialogue. A conversation that must take place on multiple levels so that all may have life, and have it abundantly.
