Once upon a time I was a white privileged male. I had privileges at home. I had privileges at school. I had privileges at the bank. I had privileges in real estate. I had privileges at work. I especially had privileges with women, both black and white.
Then along came the 13th amendment. Then along came the 19th amendment. Then along came Brown versus the Board of Education. Then along came Roe versus Wade. Then along came Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Where have all my privileges gone?
Long time passing
Where have all my privileges gone?
Long time ago.
Then along came more and more minorities. Along came the Mexicans; along came the Chinese; along came the Koreans; along came the Japanese; along came the Vietnamese; along came the Hmong; along came the Sudanese; along came the Iranians; along came the Muslims; along came the Buddhists; along came the Hindus.
Where have all my privileges gone?
Minorities have picked them every one
When will they ever be satisfied?
When will they ever be satisfied?
Then along came 911. Then along came the terrorists. Then along came Obamacare. Then along came Occupy Wall Street. Then along came LGBTQ. Then along came Black Lives Matter. Then along came #MeToo.
Where have all my privileges gone?
Women and Gays and Liberals and Arabs
have picked them every one
When will they ever be satisfied?
When will they ever be satisfied?
Now they are coming for the Second Amendment. They want my guns. They want to take the rest of my privileges away from me. But I won’t go down without a battle.
- When guns are allowed, only outlaws will have guns.
- Guns don’t kill people, people do.
- You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold dead hands.
- Only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.
I need my guns because I am afraid. My fear breeds self-hatred. My self-hatred gets turned on others. I despise the world. I hate you. I hate anyone different. I hate minorities. I hate women. I hate liberals. I hate homosexuals. I hate those who have more than me.
Where have all my privileges gone?
When will they ever return?
When will they ever return?
Time for Questions:
What is the golden rule? Do we apply it to only those people who are like us? What did Christ mean when he said, “Love everyone, Love your enemies?” Do we practice tolerance and kindness to only people who look like us? When do we accept others who are different?
Life is just beginning.
“Tradition has it that whenever a group of people has tasted the lovely fruits of wealth, security, and prestige, it begins to find it more comfortable to believe in the obvious lie and accept that it alone is entitled to privilege.” — Steven Biko
Aging Capriciously 