Into The Wild, And The Privilege Of Escaping

 Funny:

 

Unfortunately, your mail was not delivered to the following address:
 
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142.250.9.27 failed after I sent the message.
Remote host said: 552-5.7.0 This message was blocked because its content presents a potential
552-5.7.0 security issue. [When I included your post which I have here deleted.]

 

On Tue, 11 Aug 2020 21:06:04 -0500 <m.mk@...> writes:

Irrefutable, Kelsey. Very well done.

 

The problem with the term "white privilege" is the second word puts a white person on the defensive since so few people feel privileged (even if they are), and if one wants to win friends and influence people, putting them on the defensive is not a best first step.

 

 

...when that feminist told me I had “white privilege,” I told her that my white skin didn’t do shit to prevent me from experiencing poverty.

 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/explaining-white-privilege-to-a-broke-white-person_b_5269255

 

And often we are actually talking about rights not privileges, such as anyone's right to drive in whatever neighborhood one likes no matter one's race.

 

What term would be better? Hard to say.

 

Maybe "white advantage(s)"?

 

I happen to believe in reincarnation per the following which is not meant to serve as an excuse for all the injustices now and in the past:

 

"This of course involves considerations of race, and you must realize that your present race is the one into which you were born, in your terms, in this place and time. Each of you have been members of different races, and so each of you have shared in both the advantages and ignominies attached, in historic terms, to such conditions of birth."

—Seth/Jane Roberts, The Nature of Personal Reality, Chapter 12: Session 649, March 19, 1973

 

--Mark M

 

P.S. Some of your cool art reminds me of this guy:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Michel_Basquiat

On Tue, 11 Aug 2020 22:04:17 +0000 Racine Writer-In-Residence Program <comment-reply@wordpress.com> writes:

Kelsey Marie Harris posted: " One of the books I’ve read recently, which I’ve referenced in previous blog posts, is “Into The Wild” by Jon Krakauer. I enjoyed it, for what it was. I have to say, I get the appeal. The idea of escaping the poison of society. The intention of getting lo" Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on Racine Writer-In-Residence Program Into The Wild, And The Privilege Of Escaping by Kelsey Marie Harris One of the books I’ve read recently, which I’ve referenced in previous blog posts, is “Into The Wild” by Jon Krakauer. I enjoyed it, for what it was. I have to say, I get the appeal. The idea of escaping the poison of society. The intention of getting lost in God’s woods with no map and a 10 lb bag of rice. Convincing yourself the ground you trod is uncharted land. The challenge of self sufficiency deeply resonates with my soul. “Disassociate” Kelsey Marie Harris However, as I read about the perilous adventures of the self proclaimed “Alexander Supertramp” there was a recurring thought that bit at my ass like flies. Even knowing he died in those woods on that bus alone. Knowing it was the same nature and seclusion he romanticized, that took him out. The fact that he even made it that far, can only be attributed to white male privilege. “Generational Wealth” Kelsey Marie Harris A black man or black woman, or a woman of any race for that matter, would have been facing a whole different kind of danger than bears or rapids, or poison plants. “Bound” Kelsey Marie Harris The recurring theme in the book is the hospitality of strangers. A hospitality that I cannot be convinced would have been extended had Chris McCandless been black and/or a woman. Had I been tramping those same roads I probably would have been found raped, left for dead in a ditch, way before I had the chance to starve on an abandoned bus. “Self Portrait as a Rain Gutter” Kelsey Marie Harris I have serious doubts any of the people he met along the way would have pulled over or offered a job to a black kid who wandered into their town. Especially if he showed up dirty and unshaven, the way McCandless did. “Inverted Reasoning” Kelsey Marie Harris It’s very unlikely they would have looked at this black kid and felt a soft spot in their heart (or seen him as a kid at all). He wouldn’t have reminded them of their dead son (though he wears the eyes and skin of many dead sons). They wouldn’t have compared him to the likes of Thoreau or Tolstoy. They wouldn’t think to themselves, he looks like he comes from a “good family”. They certainly wouldn’t have offered their credit card number and address in hopes of hearing from him upon his return. “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” Kelsey Marie Harris The truth is, if Chis McCandless had been black, it’s likely he would have been arrested or shot just for being out there, and no one would have written a book about it. “When all else fails” Kelsey Marie Harris It is a privilege for the bane of your existence to be your rich daddy’s infidelity. It is a privilege for your only regret to be the mountain you couldn’t quite scale. It is a privilege for your only concern to be your capacity to preserve meat. It is an overwhelming privilege to feel alien in society and have the opportunity to escape. “Root Bound” Kelsey Marie Harris Black folks, especially dark skinned black folks, especially dark skinned black women, only get to escape mentally. Black folks can only dream of becoming lost in the woods. The gag is, everytime we walk out our front door, we go into the wild. This free site is ad-supported. Learn more ​ Kelsey Marie Harris | August 11, 2020 at 5:04 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: https://wp.me/p8GYwQ-nT Comment    See all comments