There is no such thing as “white privilege”.

If you listen to all those who say that “white privilege” exists be sure to ask them how they arrived at such a conclusion.  You may find that their arrival is strictly based upon those who are not held to the same identical account for the same crimes are disproportionally white.  Now while this satisfies those who wish to keep us so concentrated on race that we over look an obvious primary factor it is not the truth and it is time someone attempted to open the eyes or those who wish to learn.  If you ask those who think “white privilege” does not exist, you may find that the only reason they say it does not is to lessen the fact that many who are not held to equal justice are white and they do not have a better argument but they are too false in their assumptions simply because our eyes don’t lie and the story fills the headlines of our paper and news every day.  Again what both these groups of single minded individual miss is the unseen and ignored damage that is being done by all those selected to make justice equal and non-biases. 

Every day judges and hurries listen to lawyers who think that the job they are performing is in the best interest of their clients.  Parents rant and rave about how perfect their child is and those who are finally convinced by the overwhelming evidence soon reside themselves to think that it was just a one-time thing and everyone makes a mistake but what is missed by all those concerned is the harm that they have just inflicted upon those that they claimed to care so much about and it was their job to protect.  Now we must also include the media in this conspiracy to commit harm upon those who find themselves facing possible jail time for a crime that the evidence is overwhelming that they committed.  The media has a very heavy hand in this misconception of “white privilege” simply by the way they report on these crimes.

In an article titled “Teen sentenced in crash that killed two in Stillman Valley” written by Georgette Braun and posted on rrstar.com, it is reported that “The Stillman Valley High School cheerleader who was driving the car involved in a crash that killed two people was sentenced today to 200 hours of community service and probation until she's 21 years old.  Judge John B. Roe sentenced Alison Seiler, 18, of Stillman Valley, in Ogle County Juvenile Court. Emily Fleming, 17, who was in the back seat of the 2007 Mercury Milan that Seiler drove, and Andy Conderman, 64, of Amboy, were killed in the crash. Seiler ran a stop sign Sept. 4 and crashed into a pickup driven by Conderman.  She was sentenced on two counts of reckless homicide; the lesser two counts of aggravated reckless driving were dropped.  After the court proceeding, Fleming's father, Earl Fleming, and Conderman's sons hugged Seiler's parents and offered Seiler words of encouragement”.

Now God bless the families who hugged and comforted those left behind, their actions displayed how we all should act in times like these but also consider the photo of that teen and the fact that during all this time she was at home and not housed in any kind of facility.  Consider the status of her family and the position of those picking and choosing her fate.  The family of those hurt, injured or killed did the right thing by allowing the system to work and being forgiving but the lawyers, judges, juries, parents and media failed this teen and remains responsible for what happens next beyond the courtroom.

Now consider a similar though not exact same story in an article titled “Suspects arrested from fatal crash that killed Joy Lambert of Rockford” written by Jeff Kolkey and posted on rrstar.com in which it is reported that “A man and woman suspected in the Feb. 8 fatal car crash that killed Rockford resident Joy Lambert have been captured and are being lodged in the Winnebago County Jail. Laronda Graham, 22, of Rockford, is being held on $50,000 bail with charges of DUI causing death, reckless homicide and aggravated fleeing to elude among other charges. Eric L. Brown, 24, a Rockford man on parole from a 2014 weapons conviction is being held on charges of possession of less than 15 grams of heroin.  Winnebago County Sheriff's Police said a deputy was pursuing Graham's vehicle for speeding and terminated the pursuit moments before Graham's vehicle crashed into Lambert's white Buick Century at Springfield Avenue and Cunningham Road. Brown was a passenger in her vehicle.  Both suspects were hospitalized after the crash with serious injuries. They were released from the hospital before warrants were issued April 26 and April 27 for their arrest on a Winnebago County Grand Jury bill of indictment.  They could not be located immediately by police.  Graham was tracked to a residence in the 700 block of 5th Avenue where she was arrested Thursday. Officers located Brown on Tuesday night at a residence in the 4000 block of Flint Ridge Court, said Ken DeCoster, spokesman for the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department”.

The major difference here is the photos of both Graham and Brown was very unflattering while the one of the teen was one of her best poises ever.  The other is that these two are housed in the Winnebago County Jail awaiting trail while the teen may have been free to roam around her home, neighborhood and friends because there is no mention of her spending one night in jail or a booking photo.  Now is it truly because the teen was white and the others are black?  Many from both groups wish you to think so but look harder.  If you do you will find that it goes far beyond race and this thing of “white privilege” is nothing more than a smoke screen so that you do not look behind the curtain.  Oh yeah, it is a question of privilege but it is not defined by race, it is defined by money or status.  The teen family was affluent and had resources while Graham and Brown’s family did not.  That is the one and only true injustice played out in our so-called justice system today.  Find me someone with money, power and influence and it does not matter what color their skins is just as long as the color of their money is green and we all play along because we are so afraid that standing up, stepping up and speaking out will not benefit no one and why be a hero when you can quietly be a coward. 

The most prevailing truth of this article does not have to be taken from what I say, listen to the lawyer who defended the teen.  It was reported that "I am pleased for (Seiler's) sake that it remains in juvenile court," Debra Schafer, Seiler's attorney, said. "It gives a juvenile a chance to redeem themselves and not suffer a penalty for the rest of their lives."  Now of all of the non-justifiable justifications this one takes the cake.  Not only is her attorney not aware of the damages she and the others have just inflicted upon this teen but apparently so are all the others involved.  When you have spoken to your children and warned them about behavior that have severe consequence yet they still choose to partake in them, you have done our job as a parent, guardian, caretaker and you must now step out of the way and allow them to answer for that choice.  Calling yourself defending your child or saving them means you are setting them up for a much bigger fall.  You have them convinced that whatever happen mom and dad will be there to bail them out but what happens when mom and dad are no longer there.  Now that you have conditioned your child to believe that there are truly no consequences to their actions, what happens to them when they finally discover that this was a lie?  Will they now go back over everything you have told them their entire lives and wonder if those were a lie as well?  Will they now not trust anyone or refuse to have faith in anything because the most influential people in their life has lied to them?  Who will be there for the dreams and nightmares she will have for the rest of her life because she paid not measurement of price for it?  No one can save another and you cannot not protect any one during their entire existence, all you can do is share with them the lessons that you learn thereby providing them options if a situation arises which calls for them to think before they react. All of those mentioned in this article took it upon themselves to act in the manner that they did and it is only fitting that they stand responsible for those choices but to think that keeping a person from answering for the choices they make is nothing more than the arrogance of you.  Look closely at your chests, judges, juries, lawyers, parents, guardians and caretakers.  Take a step in front of a mirror and open your shirt or blouse, then answer me this, do you really see a big “S” on your chest?  And oh by the way, just in case a few is still confused why there is no such thing as “white privilege” check around your town or city for news stories and then look closely at what the results were, you may find that just as many poor whites or “trailer trash” gets the same exact sentence and treatment as blacks and other races do.