Introduction
While my
early life was riddled with neglect and struggle, I was lucky enough to be
taken in by a nice family, in a beautiful quiet town, where I was provided with
all the necessities to grow and prosper. I grew up in a white, conservative,
middle class family. While early on, political issues were not something that
was discussed very much, lately it is among the most frequent topics shared.
Political or social activism, in my family, is viewed as an extremely radical
idea.
As the time
has passed however, I have generated my own beliefs. I would still say I am
somewhat conservative, however not to the extent of my parents, which upsets
them. While I am forever grateful and in debt to my Aunt and Uncle for their
sacrifices, I simply oppose some of their radically conservative beliefs, and
there is nothing wrong with that. People can coexist having different beliefs
and opinions. What I am getting at however, is that I am just now discovering
what it is that I am passionate about, which I will get into later. As a way to
gain some perspective, I decided to read many of Tim Wise’s pieces on white
privilege.
Tim Wise
Tim Wise is
a middle aged, white male of southern decent. Typically, anti-racist activist
does not jump to mind as a trait of this profile, but that is just what Tim
Wise is. Tim Wise holds an extremely powerful opinion about how a good portion
of America still harbors feelings of racism. While this claim could turn heads
and result in swift denial, as it did with me when I read it, however Wise’s
words are revealing. He explained two types of racism, and what their impacts
could be on the country. Of course, the immediate type of racism that jumps to
mind is white supremacists, the Klu Klux Klan and many other groups like it. It
is very easy to oppose these views. Their thoughts are so radical, that the
courage to stand up to them is almost natural. This is what I think turns all
of our heads, because we do not agree with this type of person, we are secure
in thinking that there is no way we are racist. Then Wise explained another
type, a type that, maybe unknowingly, follows along with a racist system.
Without standing up and fighting to change that system, we are just
collaborating with it, participating. In his Wise’s own words; “The second type
is like an invisible gas: you don’t know it’s there until you’ve been lulled
unconscious by it.” (Cook, 2009)
Wise possesses a very strong
personality which enhances his ability to catch the reader. His bold words,
grabbed me instantly, he uses wit and shocking statistics to back his points.
In a piece of his, he attacked white suburban societies for continuing to hold
themselves as a microcosm of America. He used the tragedy of school shooting,
to bring to light the skewed perspective and denial of a portion of middle
class, white Americans. The way he explained the issue, was that these
communities are so sure that crime and violence are a trait of minorities, that
they cannot believe it could happen in there isolated all-white towns. In fact,
they have it completely backwards. Wise points out several statistics opposing
this blind assumption, brining to light the fact that white kids are much more
likely to use cocaine, crack, heroin, and LSD. Wise goes as far to point out; “there are more white high
school students who have used crystal methamphetamine (the most addictive drug on
the streets) than there are Black students who smoke cigarettes.” (2001).
Because these “All-American” towns believe minorities are the main catalysts of
this behavior, they ignore the dysfunction in their own backyards. Wise
warns: “unless you address the emptiness,
pain, isolation and lack of hope felt by children of color and the poor, then
don’t be shocked when the support systems aren’t there for your kids either.”
(2001)
Wise is a renowned scholar, author, and educator. He
spends his energy traveling the country and abroad, speaking and teaching about
racism. His teachings touch all of racism, from issues in education and
religion, to politics and labor; he brings to light the issues in these
systems. Perhaps the most important thing he is doing however is bringing
awareness to white privilege. There are many advantages that white people, who
without being told, may never realize it. It is the idea that simply having
pale skin in our society, entitles you to certain advantages over minorities.
Whether or not people want to believe it, it exists. Wise points out statistics
in the justice system, labor force, education, housing and so on (2001). Wise
has spoken at hundreds of colleges and high schools, has taught professionals
about antiracism all over the country, and has written and published five books
(Cook, 2009). The true scope of his impact cannot be measured. It is impossible
to know how many people he has inspired, and how many people that person will
inspire. With a brash attitude, witty sense of humor, and remarkable
intelligence, Wise has inspired me. While the issues I feel most passionately
about are in a different area, one can only strive to match the passion that he
feels for ending racism.
David Oaks and My Passion
David Oaks is the Executive
Director of MindFreedom International, an International human rights activist
group, with its main concern on psychiatric abuse. David Oaks is a psychiatric
survivor, during college he was hospitalized on numerous occasions and
diagnosed schizophrenic and manic depressive. During one of these
hospitalizations a doctor told David he would have to me on powerful
psychotropic medication for the rest of his life. David has since lived without
medication for 35 years. (Mindfreedom.org, n.d.)
Experiencing firsthand, the flaws of
the mental health care system, David set out to make change. Since graduating
college, David has made it his mission to reform the mental health care system.
As one of the founders of MFI, David has played the leading role in ending the
psychiatric abuse that runs rampant in the current heath care systems. For
years providers, and even states, have mandated psychotropic medicine on
mentally ill people, against their will. While good intentions they may have
been in the beginning, the public is not being served. They are handed a bag of
pills, and sent on their way. In even worse occasions, symptoms and dosages are
experimented on these clients. This is where our passions are linked. While
David’s path was through firsthand experience, survival and maltreatment, mine
has been forged by eyewitness account. I have lived in a family that has seen undiagnosed
mental health issues result in serious substance abuse issues, which has peaked
my interest in the subject, but more so it is my work experience in child
welfare.
During my employment at a
residential home, I began to see how powerful medications were altering these
children. With no real advocate, these children were more or less being
experimented on; if one dosage were too low, they would kick it up, if that
same dosage had a certain side effect, they would add another med to deal with
that, all totaling cocktails of upwards of ten pills. I remember thinking,
“this is not right”. As a 19 year-old kid, taking my first full-time job, I did
not have the knowledge or courage to question the authority. The doctors made
the decisions and we, the support staff, dealt with the children. Children in
the system are sometimes not fortunate enough to have a responsible parent
looking after them. This was never more painfully evident than in my current
placement within a small adoption agency. Particularly with one child, she had
a medical history that would be daunting had it belonged to an elderly person,
never mind a 10 year-old girl. Thankfully our agency intervened and advocated
for this child, demanding a review. Over medication of children is a huge
issue, even more dangerous when dealing with children without parents.
Learning, Leadership, and Lasting
Impressions
Child
neglect and abuse is by far the issue that I am most passionate about. While neither
of these agents particularly touches on these issues specifically, much can be
taken from their approaches. Wise and I have similarities in our personalities;
however what I can take from his approach is to boast this personality. I have
a tendency to be bold and brash in my personal life, however, much more
reserved professionally. He has shown that these traits can be a valuable asset
in influencing others, it worked on me. The most important piece to have,
however, is a vast knowledge of the scope of the issue. The impression taken
from Wise, is that he knows all about the issue, how effects not only the
oppressed individuals, but also all other people, and their perspectives on it.
This is now something I believe is vital in reaching out to as many people as
possible.
Oaks on the
other hand, while bold and passionate in his convictions, has taught me more
about the importance of organizing. Oaks brings together groups of survivors to
protest agencies and lawmakers, and also to support agencies and lawmakers. The
way he captivates and convinces is with eye opening truths, with rawness and
purity. He has organized sit-ins and hunger strikes in order to challenge the
American Psychiatric Association and their policies. (Davis, 2003). It takes
tremendous courage to challenge the authority and that is something I did not
possess in the past.
This is the
only leadership quality lacking in my skill set. As has been the case with many
of my recent assignments, my eyes have been opened to the importance of courage
and almost fearlessness. I have always been taught to please as many sides as
possible, without generating any confrontation, which is not entirely possible
in this work. My style is typically to be a leader by example, hard work and
dedication go a long way in inspiring people to do the same. I care very deeply
for the well being of children, specifically children dealing with poverty and
neglect. This is where I hope my impact will be felt.
While I
feel I have all of the qualities it will take to change at least a small part
of the problems affecting communities and systems, developing the courage to
fight for them openly on a larger scale is what I am in the process of doing
now. When thinking broadly about what I want to do with my career as a social
worker, it has always been about helping individuals one at a time, improving
their lives and those around them. In doing this I have always settled for
doing as much as I could, or was allowed to do. What these activists are
teaching me however, is that the greatest change needs to happen systemically. My
biggest question to movements like this has always been; “why’. Why fight so hard
when the odds are completely stacked and the goal is unachievable? Reading one of
Wise’s pieces, this question was answered with a letter he received from the archbishop
of South Africa, thanking him for his efforts, which stated: “You do not do the
things you do because others will necessarily join you in the doing of them,
nor because they will ultimately prove successful. You do the things you do
because the things you are doing are right.” (Wise, 1999). I can only hope that
when I am finished with my career, I will have fought for causes that I knew were
right, regardless of their prospects of victory.
Barrett, R., & Munro, N.
(2007). Paved With Good Intentions. National Journal, 39(17),
60-62.
Blackburn, G., & Wise, T.
(2009). ADDRESSING White Privilege IN INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS. Independent
School, 68(3), 114-120.
Wise, T. (2001). School Shootings and White Denial. Multicultural
Perspectives, 3(4), 3-4.
Wise, T. (1999). The Threat of a Good Example. Social
Justice, 26(2), 182-184.
