The Chandler Essays #5: PUTTING PRIVILEGE INTO PERSPECTIVE

When the Eagles won Super Bowl LII for the 2017 season, Philadelphians from all over the city (and outside) poured out onto the streets, blocked traffic, threw bottles, tipped over cars, and started fires. Yet, only eight people were arrested.

During the riots sparked after the killing of George Floyd, the Philadelphia Police Department arrested over 750 people protesting police brutality.

I walked down Broad Street chanting "Fly Eagles Fly," and over two years later, I walked to City Hall again, only this time it was "Black Lives Matter," chanted out.

The former was a drunken uproar from the very beginning. The latter began peacefully, yet eroded into a scene of chaos due to circumstances that Philadelphia officials could have avoided had there been better police training.

These two contrasting responses towards rioting behavior from law enforcement exemplifies one of the biggest problems in our nation.

We can all justify rioting after our favorite team wins a game, but when it comes to fundamental human rights, it's suddenly a debate.

The debate over human rights gets all the more heated when it involves Black lives.

The facts are all there. In America, we treat Black people with the most hostility and neglected Black communities for hundreds of years.

Due to systemic laws, such as Jim Crow laws, and individual racism, America has made it all the more difficult for people of color to live their lives.

Not only have our inherently racist systems disenfranchised Black neighborhoods across the U.S., which you can read about here, the numbers from COVID-19 show health inequalities within our nation.

A Times article reports, "African Americans make up just 12% of the population but account for more than nearly 26% of the COVID-19 cases and nearly 23% of deaths."

Why? According to a recent Axios article, many Black and minority communities lack adequate health insurance, housing, transportation, social services, access to quality food, and income.

In America, many of us are privileged, while others lack the necessary resources to live a full and healthy life.

My standpoint on privilege comes from my own experience.

If you've read my work, then you already know I'm a White cishet male who loves books and baseball and who's fortunate enough to have grown up in one of my favorite cities, despite its many flaws.

Because of my skin color, gender, and sexual orientation, I've never had to endure a lot of what other Americans have gone through time and time again. I haven't faced racial injustice, nor have I had to deal with sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, or any blatant bias based on the way I was born.

To put it plainly, no one ever needs to march down Broad Street for me.

Yet like millions of other Americans, I'm scared, outraged, and unnerved. Not just for my future, but others as well.

And 2020, which has taken its toll on every echelon of society, is one of the reasons why privileged people are struggling to come to terms with their societal advantage.

As tough as these times get, we must acknowledge that while everyone is hurting right now, some are hurting more than others.

Privilege must be put into perspective when Black people are marching for their lives, even during the midst of a global pandemic.

The new look to privilege is when you have a safe park for kids to play in despite your annual trip to the shore getting canceled. It's getting sick and knowing you'll have the medical support and proper treatment because of substantial health insurance. It's going hungry and simply walking to a nearby store that always has your favorite kinds of bread, meats, and craft beers.

Meanwhile, looters, reportedly from wealthy suburban communities, are destroying small businesses and grocery stores that have supported areas that other corporations refused to invest.

Nicetown—Tioga, a predominantly Black neighborhood in North Philadelphia, had its local ShopRite looted, despite its positive impact in employing and serving an underprivileged area.

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Maria Panaritis writes a great OpEd concerning this, which you can read here.

It's hard to feel privileged when everything sucks for everyone. It feels like aliens are going to attack from outer space right before the Earth crashes into the Sun.

But when disaster strikes, privileged communities will be treated first.

Being privileged doesn't mean you won't go through adversity or that you haven't gone through it in the past— it's when adversity hits you will be adequately supported before anyone else.

Stay safe.