white girl privilege, parts 1 and 2
Jan 27, anti-war protest, downtown LA: Finished the march, milling at the rally. Ready to go home, but disoriented. So, holding my double-sided sign: ("Another dyke against the war" / "C'mon, people, USE LESS OIL"), I walk up to a cop guarding the federal building:
"Scuze me, which way to Union Station?"
"Follow that street, it turns right into Union Station".
"Thanks!"
As I walk away, it hits me: I have just marched up the LAPD (the LAPD!!) at a protest rally and asked for directions. Because in my head, the police are here to serve. The police don't put 50 rounds in people like me when they reach for a wallet. I am such a white girl.
Last night it happened again. I needed walk off some insensitive comments from a tipsy friend. So the wif and I are walking through the quiet sidewalks of our neighborhood (me in a black biker jacket, the wif in a sweater), I'm ranting a bit, the wif's sympathetic. Headlights, we look up -- police cruiser. Passes right by, doesn't even slow down. Did they see we were women, or was it enough that we were white?
3 comments:
The first dyke I ever arrested (for beating her wif) was one of the loudest foulest sleazebags I ever arrested. I did my best to avoid them after that.
And they call US pigs...
So, presumably, every other dyke in the world is going to be exactly like that one?
A.D., I was going to say: I wonder if the LAPD would have an easier time not unconsciously profiling non-whites if non-whites on their beat were to make a conscious (conscientious?) effort to introduce themselves be cordial/neighborly towards their local law enforcement officials? Not that I think they ought to, I mean... I was just wondering if it's something proactive that could be done, something an individual could to do to change the outlooks of a few other individuals... the way you've been slowly changing your little corner of the worlds by being completely and totally out.
I'm pretty sure I saw a news article recently about a police department (gah, I can't remember where...) that had a program to send officers to neighborhood meetings as way of trying to build trust and open lines of communication. I have no idea if it's working, mind you... but I wonder if it could work both ways?
Not that any of white girls can really help with any of this. So now I'm not only useless, I'm a busy-body know-it-all, yay.
(And I have a story about a white guy who got himself beaten up for walking his dog off-leash. Or rather, for running when the cop came to ticket him, and getting half the force called out on his butt. And I thought, you ran? Why the hell would you run, you dip?
Such white girls.)
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