I see life like a ski hill. We’re all standing at the top, waiting for life’s ride, deciding which run to choose, excited and scared about where it will take us.
If you’re white, you’re thinking about things like…
Should I go to post secondary education? Where will I live? What job will I have? Will I have a family? You can take any run that you like, really. You may have challenges on each or, more likely, all of those runs but you still have choice.
You can pick the green run with its easy slopes. It’s the one most of us start off on as we get used to being adults. Some of us graduate to harder runs quickly and some of us just stay here, comfortable with enjoying the ride for a while, not wanting to take bigger risks.
You can choose the BLUE run. It’s got some longer, steeper slopes. You may need to take a few runs to get used to the faster pace and you may even need some lessons to develop some skills to properly navigate the bumps and turns. Perhaps this is the post-secondary run. Here you can develop skills and knowledge that will help you tackle this run and harder ones.
You can choose the RED run. Now things are getting interesting; longer, faster, interesting curves and turns, maybe some slaloms and ooooohhhhh what a beautiful view! It has been hard work to get on this run but it is worth it. It is fast and fun. Challenges appear and you can navigate them with efficiency, you’ve had enough experience on the slopes to be able to predict what is coming and have some fun with it.
There will come a time when you will fall, crash, break a limb. This is the ski hill of life. It happens to everybody, no matter how good at it you are. So, you get carried off of the ski hill, you get yourself patched up, take some rest and rehabilitation, have people taking care of you and then, slowly, find your way back to the slopes again to heal your bruised ego. As you take more and more runs you get stronger and quickly find you’re back to your old self, maybe even willing to take bigger risks. Or you may choose to go back to the BLUE or even the GREEN run for a bit, maybe even the rest of your life. The choice is yours.
If you can relate to any of this, I am betting you are white. This scenario is the white version of life.
What if, on the ski hill of life, your choices are limited? Due to many factors that may include socio-economic status, lack of access to effective education, inconsistent family support, mental health (yours and/or your family’s), challenges with financial support, or lack of societal support, you are barred from certain runs.
What if your only choice is to go down the Black Diamond first?
Imagine standing at the top of the ski hill. You have on rented boots, helmet and skis. They don’t fit exactly right but the attendant said ‘they’ll do the job.’ These are the boots and skis (expectations) of white society and they don’t fit you quite right.
You’re not quite ready for life and all the challenges it brings. You grew up on reserve with limited ‘life’ experiences outside of that context. You are scared of what lies ahead. But there is only one way down the hill.
You haven’t had the practice, the experience or the lessons that many of those on the other hills have had. There are limited opportunities for the development of the ‘well-rounded‘ child on reserves. Extracurricular programs like music, dance, soccer or karate do pop up, they run for a season or two and then disappear. You don’t have the experience or confidence to navigate life’s bumps and slaloms.
You have limited choices as to where you can live. There is always the reserve but there is a long list of needy families waiting for housing. The government only gives so much money at a time, and does it not reflect the need. You end up finding a room with family.
Standing at the top of the hill, you have to ski.
You may try to go on the GREEN or BLUE runs but because of a variety of reasons, you always end up back at the BLACK DIAMOND.
Standing at the top of the hill, you have to ski. No matter how scared or ill-prepared you are, life doesn’t let you just stand at the top of the hill.
You push off, taking it slow. You navigate the steep slope by cutting across from one side to the other, stopping with shaky legs at the sidelines to take a breath and brace yourself for the next run.
Challenges appear and you can rarely navigate them well. You haven’t had enough experience on the slopes to be able to predict what is coming. Instead of being prepared, you simply react to the dips and turns. You manage to stay on your feet but you know there is another set of slaloms or steep runs ahead. It is exhausting.
Then comes the time when you fall, crash, break a limb. Again, on the ski hill of life it happens to everybody, no matter how good at it you are. So, you get carried off of the ski hill, you get yourself patched up, take some rest and rehabilitation. Your people take care of you the best they can. They are bruised and broken from their own skiing adventures. They give and support as much as they are able from their own limited supplies. Eventually, you find your way back to the slopes again because there is no other choice. Hesitantly, you take more and more runs. You get stronger and more confident, knowing that you will fall, crash and break another limb.
There will always be the one or two people who make it to the bottom relatively unscathed. They seem to be able to navigate life’s challenges well, despite all the setbacks and obstacles. Their efforts are celebrated, and they should be, but they are the exceptional few.
What would YOUR life look like if your chances of success were 1/100? What risks would you have taken with those odds and no safety net?
White privilege is not a measure of hardships in your life but a reflection of your place in society. It’s not your fault. Admitting that you personally profited from white privilege does not make you culpable. Opportunities that society provides you are not your fault. Your own decisions and choices had nothing to do with it. It’s not about you.
Comments
Post a Comment