…..And the Toxicity of Being Passive in One’s Own White Privilege

Paul Cienfuegos’ February 16, 2016 Commentary on KBOO Evening News

 

(His weekly commentaries are broadcast every Tuesday evening. You can view or listen to them all at PaulCienfuegos.com, CommunityRightsPDX.org/podcast, or subscribe via ITunes. Listen to this one HERE.)

 

Greetings! You are listening to the weekly commentary by yours truly, Paul Cienfuegos.

 

Today, I'm going to do something completely different with my commentary. I'm going to read excerpts from the lyrics of a song released just a few weeks ago titled “White Privilege 2”, written by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. In the words of journalist Taryn Finley, the song lyrics “touch on racial tensions, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the toxicity of being passive in one's own white privilege.” And now, excerpts from “White Privilege 2”:

 

Pulled into the parking lot, parked it

Zipped up my parka, joined the procession of marchers

In my head like, “Is this awkward? Should I even be here marching?”

Thinking if they can't, how can I breathe? Thinking that they chant, what do I sing?

I want to take a stance cause we are not free

And then I thought about it, we are not “we”

 

Am I in the outside looking in, or am I in the inside looking out?

Is it my place to give my two cents? Or should I stand on the side and shut my mouth?

“No justice, no peace,” okay, I'm saying that

They're chanting out, “Black Lives Matter,” but I don't say it back

Is it okay for me to say? I don't know, so I watch and stand

In front of a line of police that look the same as me

Only separated by a badge, a baton, a can of Mace, a mask

A shield, a gun with gloves and hands that gives an alibi

In case somebody dies behind a bullet that flies out of the 9

Takes another child's life on sight

 

Blood in the streets, no justice, no peace / No racist beliefs, no rest 'til we're free

There's blood in the streets, no justice, no peace / No racist beliefs, no rest 'til we're free

 

“Hands up? Don't shoot!” …….... “Hands up? Don't shoot!” ………. “Hands up? Don't shoot!”

 

Damn, a lot of opinions, a lot of confusion, a lot of resentment

Some of us scared, some of us defensive

And most of us aren't even paying attention

It seems like we're more concerned with being called racist

Than we actually are with racism

I've heard that silences are action and God knows that I've been passive

What if I actually read an article, actually had a dialogue

Actually looked at myself, actually got involved?

If I'm aware of my privilege and do nothing at all, I don't know

 

Hip-hop has always been political, yes

It's the reason why this music connects

So what the F has happened to my voice if I stay silent when black people are dying

Then I'm trying to be politically correct?

I can book a whole tour, sell out the tickets

Rap entrepreneur, built his own business

If I'm only in this for my own self-interest, not the culture that gave me a voice to begin with

Then this isn't authentic, it is just a gimmick

The DIY underdog, so independent

But the one thing the American dream fails to mention

Is I was many steps ahead to begin with

My skin matches the hero, likeness, the image

America feels safe with my music in their systems

And it's suited me perfect, the role, I've fulfilled it

And if I'm the hero, you know who gets cast as the villain

 

White supremacy isn't just a white dude in Idaho

White supremacy protects the privilege I hold

White supremacy is the soil, the foundation, the cement and the flag that flies outside of my home

White supremacy is our country's lineage, designed for us to be indifferent

 

My success is the product of the same system that let off Darren Wilson – guilty

We want to dress like, walk like, talk like, dance like, yet we just stand by

We take all we want from black culture, but will we show up for black lives?

We want to dress like, walk like, talk like, dance like, yet we just stand by

We take all we want from black culture, but will we show up for black lives?

 

“Black Lives Matter, to use an analogy, is like if... if there was a subdivision and a house was on fire. The fire department wouldn't show up and start putting water on all the houses because all houses matter. They would show up and they would turn their water on the house that was burning because that's the house that needs the help the most. … My generation's taken on the torch of a very age-old fight for black liberation, but also liberation for everyone.

 

Injustice anywhere is still injustice everywhere. … The best thing white people can do is talk to each other, having those very difficult, very painful conversations with your parents, with your family members. … I think one of the critical questions for white people in this society is, ‘What are you willing to risk? What are you willing to sacrifice to create a more just society?’”

 

Your silence is a luxury, hip-hop is not a luxury

Your silence is a luxury, hip-hop is not a luxury

Your silence is a luxury, hip-hop is not a luxury

 

What I got for me, it is for me / What we made, we made to set us free

What I got for me, it is for me / What we made, we made to set us free

What I got for me, it is for me / What we made, we made to set us free

 

I’ve been sharing excerpts from the new song by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis titled “White Privilege 2”. You can check out the entire six-minute song performed live on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, from his February 9 show.

 

You’ve been listening to the weekly commentary by yours truly, Paul Cienfuegos. You can hear future commentaries every Tuesday on the KBOO Evening News in Portland, Oregon, and on a growing number of other radio stations. I welcome your feedback.

 

You can subscribe to my weekly podcast via I-Tunes or at CommunityRightsPDX.org. You can sign up for my ‘Community Rights Updates’ at PaulCienfuegos.com. You can follow me on twitter at CienfuegosPaul. THANKS FOR LISTENING! And remember: WE are the people we’ve been WAITING for.



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