Arielle's Wonderland

White privilege is a word that's been thrown around for days, weeks, and years. It seems like most of society is finally waking up to the fact that our law enforcement and government system is stacked up against certain races and favors others, and by favors others, I mean predominately and only white people. Let's talk about white privilege, to where it's a concept that everyone understands. White privilege is the fact that if a white person smokes weed they're consider cool, when a black person does it they're automatically qualified as a juvenile delinquent. White privilege is when a bunch of white people riot at a pumpkin festival and there's hardly any public scrutiny, but when black people do it, it's violent and primitive. White privilege is when a white man takes a picture with a gun, he's considered a good American patriot, when a black man poses with a gun he's a thug and a threat. White privilege is the fact that in your neighborhood, you won't see an eighteen year old shot twelve times and then left there for four and a half hours, as his family, friends, and neighbors watch his dead body lying motionless on the street. That is white privilege. This system is not white peoples' fault, though. It was built long ago and has been implemented since then. It's hard to break away from something, when it's honestly all we know. This system is not only in government. It's a series of beliefs, attitudes, and double standards, that can manifest themselves in ugly ways. Example, an eighteen year old white boy goes and shoots up a school, society tells us he was a good guy, made good grades, he just snapped. The police apprehend him safely and he's treated with sympathy. Let's just forget the fact that he brutally killed twelve people. An eighteen year old black boy who talks back to an officer and supposedly "attacked" him(says the killer) is now worthy of death, not just a death, but an execution and an unfair grand jury trial. Despite the fact that he was unarmed. Like I said before, this system is nobody's fault, it was created long ago. However, that does not excuse ignorance to the fact that it does exist, and in order for white people to stay advantaged, other people have to suffer. Also, just because you were born in a certain neighborhood, talk a certain way, or have a good income, that doesn't mean you're life is more valuable than others. It doesn't mean you're better than someone. It just means, you're privilege. 

Again America, we have a problem.

We can fix it, though. We can start by rebuilding a faulty system and the way we think about each other. First of all, I don't think most people know that in underdeveloped areas, many people feel hopeless and stuck. They want more, but they lack the tools to receive more. Let's give them hope and the ability to know that their quality of life can be so much more. I truly do believe that our education system is just one of the keys to building up this country once again. It's not fair that some children have the benefits of going to well-funded schools, just because they live in the right neighborhood, while other children are left with the scarps of our already horrible public school system. We need to let these children know that we care about them! We want them to succeed. We want them to do great things! We need more teachers who care. Teachers who love to teach and legitimately care about their students progress and well-being. Let's teach our children, the real history of this country. The good, the bad, the ugly. Don't pick and choose certain events and historical figures you want them to learn about.(Texas board of education, I'm talking about you!) Ignorance to our history will only breed more ignorance. Which leads me to another point, critical thinking. I know historically this country has been afraid of deep thinkers and great minds, but we should want our children to be able to think for themselves. Our students should be more international. Tell me why, we're still not trying to teach young children a different language. Learning a different language puts them at an advantage later on in life. We need to focus on making kids more well-rounded to find out what they excel in. That also means, putting an emphasis on the arts as well as the dearly beloved sports. If kids have a reason to want to go to school, they'll come to school.