Why are we talking like it's a privilege to not get shot at a traffic stop? That should be a Right, not a privilege. True, some people don't get to enjoy that Right, so we got a lot of work to do. But calling Rights privileges is setting the bar pretty low. It implies that, in a just society, everyone would be at risk of getting shot at a traffic stop. That's why this discussion remains in the domain of activists and academics, and leaves out the rank and file whose support and voting power is needed to make real changes.

I'm old enough to remember the Civil Rights movement of the 60's. We fought for Rights, not privileges. We obtained mass support because any decent person of any color could see that some people are denied their Rights because of their color and that’s not Right! We got it done: the Voting Rights act, the Civil Rights act, and the Fair Housing act. True, these gains did not go far enough, and have been eroded, but I don't think anyone here wants to go back to the time before.

Now we're saying that getting treated decently in public and not getting shot at a traffic stop is a privilege, something a bit shady and shaky that no one deserves and that can be revoked at any time. No wonder the regular white folks call us libtards and reverse-racists.

Know who invented the term "white privilege"? A white academic, in an attempt to describe Black experiences. And the term has caught on in activist and academic circles. But I don't hear my Black neighbors out in the courtyard talking about "white privilege." Instead, I hear "that ain't right" and "that's the way it is … not the way it ought to be."

Rights.

Communication is about making ideas understood to a target audience. Real words for real people.Using a word from a white academic does not compute with the people that we need to be taking to: the masses who vote, and the bigshots in power who can get things done with the stroke of a pen.

We all know what Rights are. We all agree that it’s good when Rights get respected, and bad when Rights get denied. Privilege … not so much.

So let's talk about Rights, and Righteous anger over Rights denied. And how we can restore these Rights to all. That means Reparations. Check it out:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/

Peace out -- Justin Olhipi