Katiera Sordjan | All together now

The Melting Pot | Standing up for the marginalized is not exclusionary — society is

By Katiera Sordjan 12/08/14 11:58pm

P rivilege is a word I don’t like using. Especially at a place like Penn where many of us are “privileged” in some way or another. I have too often seen it break down to a contest: who has the most qualities that society has deemed secondary, be it race, gender, ability, sexual orientation or socioeconomic class.

But privilege is the only word that comes to mind when I see the backlash against activism movements and rallies that only ask for better treatment for groups who have been mistreated in this country for too long.

The phrase “Black Lives Matter,” for example, is now sweeping across the country through social media and community protests to speak out against the proliferation of police brutality against the black community after the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

Despite your thoughts on these cases, it is important to realize the meanings of such a movement. One of the most harmful things you can do is dismiss it with the counterargument, “All lives matter.”

Statements like “Black Lives Matter” aren’t trying to say that black lives are more important than other lives. It is saying that black lives are just as important and valuable as everyone else’s, and urges mainstream society not to forget that. Of course, “all lives matter.” But that is not the reality of a country where mothers and fathers have to worry that their children won’t come home because of the color of their skin. That is not the reality of a country where people cannot empathize with someone who does not share their ethnic background, to the point of dehumanization.

You may remember similar movements that had a strong presence online, such as “Yes All Women.” It rallied women everywhere because all women, despite age, race, sexuality or class, have been victims of sexual harassment and sexism.

What was the response from men? Declarations like “Not All Men,” or statements like “men are victims, too.” Men are victims of rape and assault, and it is just as important that they feel safe enough to seek help and justice without fear of ridicule. But women do not have the institutional advantages that men do. Women continue to deal with domestic abuse and sexual violence in greater numbers than men, and because of gendered prejudices, silence often seems better than being further harmed by victim-blamers. Bringing attention to the unique circumstances surrounding women’s issues does just that; it is not a means of discrediting the problems of others.

Those who have the privilege of not dealing with a particular problem (e.g. institutional sexism, racism) are not used to having conversations where for once, it does not revolve around them. Yes, I know that not every man is a sexist or rapist. I know that not everyone will judge me for the color of my skin, or that of my parents. But I continue to live in a society where I am constantly reminded that injustice will prevail, so long as we dismiss the fact of its very presence.

The days of segregation, of anti-miscegenation, of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” are not far behind us. We have grown as a nation tremendously in a short amount of time, but that does not mean that we do not still have a long way to go. When you dismiss calls to action for victims of discrimination, you remarginalize an entire group all over again. Our prejudices are learned early. Look no further than a replicated study by professor Margaret Beale Spencer in 2010, where white children tended to associate drawings of children with their skin color with positive attributes, such as intelligence and beauty, and negative ones to darker children. Black children too, have developed this bias towards white children to a smaller degree.

It is easy to shut our eyes, close our ears and pretend the world isn’t the way it is. We all want equality. That is why it is so important to call attention to those who don’t have it first.

Katiera Sordjan is a College junior from New York studying communication. Her email address is skati@sas.upenn.edu. “The Melting Pot” appears every Thursday.

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