It's Not Our Fault - But It IS Our Problem

Reading One: Allan G. Johnson – “Privilege, Power, and Difference”

 “The truth of this powerful force is everywhere, but we don’t know how to talk about it, and so we act like it’s always somewhere other than here and now in the room with us” (7). It’s interesting that we, as a society, like to talk so much about ourselves while, at the same time, try to draw as much attention away from ourselves as possible. Johnson points out that we don’t like to talk about the issues of privilege and power because we don’t know how to do so; maybe the more frightening truth is that we do know how to do so, but are afraid of what might happen as a result of voicing these issues.

Strangely enough, just this morning, as I was flipping through this month’s Cosmo (another guilty pleasure), I came across this and stopped, a little baffled and a little unsure of how to feel:

Finally, we are talking about white, heterosexual, male power (and using those exact words!), but only to acknowledge that those unearned privileges are what allow white, heterosexual males to remain in power. I think what makes me most confused as to how to feel about this blurb is the word “eventually.” It seems so vague, so faraway, that it’s like a dream that just might come true if we wish for it hard enough. Instead of this (obvious) statement, why isn’t Cosmo telling us how to make that “eventually” come sooner? Who will? More importantly, if this is the kind of thing our students are reading, especially black/homosexual/female students, are they going to expect the cultural change to occur on its own? We need to bring up these issues that Johnson addresses to our students so that we may change society ourselves. Articles like this one from Cosmo take the responsibility away from us; meanwhile Johnson addresses the fact that we cannot be blamed for the problem, but the responsibility to fix it has fallen into our laps.

We need to stop ignoring what research and human experience have revealed “about human beings and how [we] live” (4). By looking at the harsh truths and sad realities of privilege and power and talking about them, perhaps then we might be able to understand them and, more importantly, understand how we can begin to change them.  Johnson disagrees with the “popular assumption that people are naturally afraid of what they don’t know or understand” by pointing out that we, as humans, are all “drawn toward the mystery of what [we] don’t know” (16). If we don’t know, then why are we afraid to make a change and see what might happen? The problem is that we think we know what is going to happen, and for that reason, people with power (as a result of an unearned privilege) think they stand to lose the most, regardless of how much people without power stand to gain.

People in positions of power are not willing to put themselves in a vulnerable position for someone else. What they (and we, as a society) need to be reminded of is that vulnerability is not always negative. Brene Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston, has spent over ten years studying vulnerability, courage, shame, and worthiness. We could all stand to gain something from putting ourselves on the line for others. Why can’t we focus more on what connects us and makes us alike, rather than disconnection and what makes us different? Let’s start talking about white, heterosexual, male power so that we can start changing.

It’s 2014, and we cannot afford to wait for someone else to fix our problems for us, our students, and the world that surrounds us. We are in positions of power as educators – let’s use this power to help others talk about, understand, and change the problems of privilege, power, and difference.