Week of 06/01/2020

Some More Than Others
– by David Matthews 2

As longtime readers of my online column know, one of my favorite authors is George Orwell.  And one of my favorite books from him is “Animal Farm”.

For those who don’t know the story, or don’t have time to read it for free, the story takes place on an imaginary farm where the animals grow tired of the abuse of their human masters and they chase the owners away.  The animals decide to run the farm by themselves, and supposedly do so being different from their human oppressors.  They come up with “commandments” that the farm has to live by.  Commandments that outlawed the trappings and privileges of the humans and also ensured that all the animals on the farm were treated equally.  However, not long after that, their idealistic leader dies, and a power-mad swine (no, really) takes over.  One by one, those commandments are subverted and mysteriously “revised” to permit those abuses that were hallmarks of their former masters.

The very last commandment for the farm was the one that was also the last to be “revised”.  It originally said: “All Animals are Equal”.  However, near the end of the story, all of the other commandments were removed, and in their place was a single commandment.

ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL

BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS

It is that scene that comes to mind anytime I hear about whether or not certain groups “matter”.

We start with a simple statement in the Declaration of Independence.  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.”

It is an idea that we in America has strived to make real.  Sometimes.  Because the ugly truth is that, back then, it didn’t apply to everyone.  People of color, women, non-Christians, people who didn’t own land, they weren’t included in that “all men are created equal” bit.  We had to fight to bring them in.  And, in some cases, quite literally fight.

And we are still fighting today!

The word that you are looking for today is “privilege”.  The idea that some – for whatever reason – are simply better than others.  That they are entitled to enjoy certain things in society that others cannot.

I learned the hard way about privilege.  I learned that there are some people that, for whatever reason, are treated better than others, that can get away with more things than others, that are never held to account for their actions, while I was always blamed for anything that happens, even if I didn’t do it.  It didn’t have to be about race or gender or religion or ethnicity.  Sometimes it was because I was the “outsider” in a community that did not accept people moving in at the time. 

And therein lies the problem.  Privilege and discrimination do not have to be about race or religion or ethnicity or gender or sexual preference.  Those are the low-hanging fruit; the easiest to identify.  It can also be where you came from.  What neighborhood you’re living in.  What kind of vehicle you drive.  What schools you went to.  What you do for a living.  How much money you have.  What organization you belong to.  Whether or not you served in the military.  All certain people need is a “them” to point to and believe that they are somehow better than “them”.

That is where “privilege” comes in.  “Privilege” means that you can do things that others wouldn’t.  If you believe that you are better than certain people, and you have a system that more or less reinforces that, even if it is not on paper, then “privilege” gives you license to go after those that you believe are lesser than you.

“Privilege” is not having to worry about getting a ticket for driving with a broken taillight even though certain other people in that same area would be.

“Privilege” is having a rule-breaker call the police on someone who simply asked them to leash their dog.

“Privilege” is calling the police on a family grilling in a park where it is permitted.

“Privilege” is calling the police on a delivery driver for the “offense” of being in that neighborhood to deliver a package.

“Privilege” is calling the police on four residents for using the gym.

And in that same city, in that same week, “privilege” is having a police officer with a history of abuse slowly murder an unarmed man with nobody stopping him and thinking he could get away with it.

“Privilege” is expecting to get away with shooting a man for jogging and claiming that you’re making a “citizen’s arrest”.

You’ll notice that all the people that were targeted by “privilege” in those above instances were African Americans.  But they are not the only ones that are targeted by “privilege”.  Puerto Ricans have been suffering since Hurricane Maria in ways that no other group of Americans have been following a natural disaster.  We have kids separated from their parents and put in cages for the crime of trying to come to America.  Native Americans in Washington State had asked for medical supplies to help deal with the COVID-19 global pandemic.  They got body bags instead.  New York City gets a medical ship.  The Navajo Nation get body bags.

And “privilege” is not just racial.  “Privilege” is bailing out corporations and giving them huge stinking tax cuts at the drop of a hat while screaming bloody murder at helping those who truly need financial assistance, especially during a global pandemic and financial collapse, and looking for every opportunity to make those people suffer.  Why?  Because they’re not rich.  They’re not “business people”, which are supposedly superior to politicians and, apparently, hard-working people who struggle to keep their lives going.  Yes, that group are also apparently “privileged” people.

Now let’s go back to that simple statement.

All men are created equal.

But we know today that some are apparently more “equal” than others.

So, yes, I understand and agree with the statement that “Black Lives Matter”.  Because they should matter, and they are being treated like they aren’t.

And I also take issue with those who chant that “All Lives Matter” as a retort, because let’s get brutally honest here... not “all lives” are being treated like they matter in America!  That is the problem, and the people who retort with “All Lives Matter” are a stinking part of the problem!

You tell me, when was the last time the police were called on you because you were with your family BBQing in the park like everyone else?  When was the last time the police were called on you and you were detained for simply trying to deliver a package as part of your job?  When was the last time the police were called on you when you told some stuck-up Karen to follow the rules and leash her dog?  When was the last time you had to worry about something like that happen to you?  When was the last time that a good ol’ boy and his son tried to kill you for jogging?  When was the last time you were looking for help and either just got a roll of paper towels tossed at you or got sent some body bags?

And while you are at it, please explain to the rest of us how red-hats armed with military weapons and body armor can storm a statehouse to protest being told to wear a mask in the middle of a global pandemic and not one gun is drawn by the police to stop it, but a group of unarmed protesters and even bystanders get rubber bullets, tear gas, and get rammed by police cruisers.  That glaring contradiction is the biggest and most infectious case of privilege that exists today!

Can’t explain it?  Then maybe you need to acknowledge that not all lives are mattering right now, and then sit the hell down if you aren’t willing to help fix that problem.

George Orwell was a stickler for warning people about the rise of totalitarianism and dystopian civilization.  People make the mistake of thinking that “Animal Farm” was just a parallel to the Soviet Union.  The truth is that the story applies to any society that operates on lofty principles and then slowly erase them.  The end result is always the same.  The same kind of abusive tyranny that people claim to oppose simply rear their ugly heads from within their own ranks.  In that regard, we are all truly Orwell’s “animals”.