White Privilege Upsets White Privileged

Photo: Luke Weir, The Appalachian

There are a lot of difficult things in the world. Deep sea fishing, Mandarin Chinese, saying the alphabet backwards. I couldn't do any of those things without royally fucking up several seconds in. Luckily for me, I'm not expected to do much. I'm white, male, heterosexual and, to my knowledge, have fully functioning limbs. One of my very few duties in life is accepting that I have it easy. Unfortunately, the myriad others like me do not always share this sentiment.

Recently, in an attempt to humorously educate his residents, Reggie Gravely, a resident assistant in East Hall at Appalachian State, put up a bulletin board highlighting the different types of privilege and urging his residents to "check [their] privilege." Seems reasonable enough. You don't even have to put on underwear! But white people are prickly and sensitive after years of rubbing money on themselves in the bathtub and offense was taken.

Sparking the ire of a couple of East Hall's residents, the board had its picture taken and sent in to Campus Reform. To briefly clarify, the only people who know what Campus Reform is are people with "Ted Cruz 2016" posters and Campus Reform writers. The website, hilariously and incorrectly labeled as "the #1 Source for College News" is actually a product of The Leadership Institute, a Conservative activism group.

Campus Reform, who took a predictable "this board is offensive to white heterosexual men" stance, also likes cultural insensitivity, does not like undocumented immigrants, and apparently has no fucking clue what privilege is, but hates it all the same. In its article about the bulletin board, it frames the narrative in a way that pits the board against the free expression of ideas and opinions.

According to Mike Herbert, a sophomore communication major who lives on the hall, coming back to school after Spring Break to see the bulletin board only added to the already contentious relationship between students on the hall and the RA, who took over only a few months prior.

“It was like a slap in the face,” Herbert told Campus Reform in an exclusive phone interview Monday afternoon. “Although a lot of us have similar views as he does, we feel like it’s a giant middle finger to us.”

(Bolding mine)

"Exclusive phone interview." EXCLUSIVE. PHONE. INTERVIEW. I digress.

Campus Reform and their ilk would have people believe that any challenge to the status quo of white privilege (or any kind of privilege for that matter) is an attack on American ideals and some crazy new form of racism that the kids are trying out these days. They don't like to acknowledge that particular members of society have it better than others because it detracts from an idea that their culture is the only true American culture. To acquiesce to the idea that being born a particular way comes with its own set of privileges and lifestyle butts heads with the Reagan-esque notion that anyone can work their way to the top in the United States, regardless of race, class or creed. Its precisely this drivel that fills young conservatives' heads with delusions of a fair playing field and thus, justifies their refusal to check their privilege.

And that's precisely what it has become: stubborn refusal. In an article by The Appalachian, it was reported that students gathered to discuss the board in a hall meeting. The opposing opinions were, predictably, stupid:

“Talking about a controversial topic [like privilege] should be voluntary, it shouldn’t be brought to your front door,” said Matthew Desantis, second floor resident and freshman accounting major. “Of course certain groups of people have privilege, but the presentation is what bothers me.”

Another second floor resident, senior history major Michael Hebert, said he did not think the board achieved its goal of being educational.

“The content of the board is not inclusive, which is what an RA should be,” he said. “I have a hard time believing that I should learn at [3 a.m.] on my way to the bathroom."

God forbid you should acknowledge that you do still, in fact, have it easy on your way to your 3am piss. It's literally a board that states "you're better off than most people!" and this still somehow manages to piss people off.

Bitching about privilege because you're just not in the mood to think or talk about it is, essentially, the point that the board is trying to get at. You have the privilege to put off inconvenient things or to not engage in them at all. That you can avoid the concept of your own privilege at all is an incredibly privileged thing. Sure, the board comes off a little snarky and perhaps even a little holier-than-thou, but the message is an important one regardless. And, no, it shouldn't be fucking voluntary. How would that even fucking work? "Hi, thank you for calling the privilege hotline. How may we explain how great you have it today?"

As Mr. Herbert, above, points out in both articles, he agrees with the sentiment but not with the way it is introduced. I answer back: Alright; do it better. Make every resident in East Hall aware of their privilege and convince them to merely acknowledge that it exists. If you can manage that, then you will have accomplished something beautiful.

But as for right now, you're just bitching up the wrong tree.

Please Don't Attend the Circus

It's no secret that Appalachian has a PR problem. With everything from diversity issues to less-than-effective counseling programs rearing their ugly heads, one would think that the university might be keen on treading carefully. One would be wrong, though. In a remarkably gauche move, the university has decided to host the Garden Bros. Circus for an afternoon of high-flying animal abuse!

The moral outrage aside for a moment, look at that fucking show time: 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm? What sort of sadomasochism do they think we're engaged in up here on the mountain that they think we would ever want to sit through three full goddamn hours of a fucking circus? I digress, however.

Circuses are, in case you are still living in the 1950's, generally awful. With countless organizations advocating for their abolition, citing the awful abuse undergone by animals, it's a wonder that people still file into giant, humid rooms and subject themselves to the dull and sadistic spectacle that is a circus. Most notorious for its rampant depravity is the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. Once mostly known for animal crackers in nifty packaging, they've come to be associated with allegations of horrible abuse of their animals.

Granted, Appalachian has not invited the Ringling Brothers to its campus (though I imagine that might be more of a financial decision than one based in moral outrage). Indeed, it has invited the Garden Bros, an organization that yields very little on Google beyond petitions calling for a boycott of their performance. Admittedly, I know absolutely nothing about this traveling troupe and I am being a bit preemptory in my condemnation of their show. It's not necessarily the Garden Bros. as an individual organization that I am taking moral umbrage with. Rather, it's the circus institution as a whole that sparks my ire.

The concept of a circus rubs me the wrong way in the same vein as "polite" racist comments made by old southern ladies. It keeps itself alive on the basis of tradition, waving away the harmful aspects and moral outrage with an aging hand. Circuses are as outdated as gladiatorial combat, harkening us back to a time when people gathered to receive entertainment at the expense of life. Am I being hyperbolic? Perhaps, but I find the lives and well-being of innocent and confused animals far more important than the reputation of an organization that profits off of abuse.

Here's what I do know: These animals have no fucking clue what's going on. They don't know why, every night, they are subjected to bright lights and loud noises. They are scared out of their goddamn minds because they are, essentially, still wild animals that were plucked from their native lands and forced to run around in circles or face the whip. I cannot express how angry it makes me that a university I pay to attend has decided to allocate its money towards further legitimizing of this sort of behavior.

Please, if you will be in town this Sunday (and I understand many won't be, including myself) take part in the picket protest that will take place on King Street. Will this stop the circus? Probably not. But it will keep the conversation of animal abuse alive which in an important development in the fight against it. Let's work towards making this world a better place to live in for the literally 99% of its inhabitants that aren't shithead humans.