From a privileged white girl

You know what they always say -- it doesn't matter where you come from, it matters where you're going. That's not always true. In a recent encounter I had with a bulletin board, I discovered that it matters very much where I came from.\nI'm a 21-year-old white woman from an extremely homogenous background. I had never known anyone of a race other than my own until I came to college. So do I struggle with race issues? More than most people will ever know. My situation is unique because I'm facing many of these issues as an adult. My message to the world: Don't assume I don't deal with race issues because I'm white. \nThat's why I'm so bothered by the "White Privilege" bulletin board at Briscoe Quad. I don't live there, but I tutor there every Monday evening. I'm not a full-fledged member of the community, but I am forced to see it. The board has socially acknowledged examples of white privilege and a white construction paper girl with a thought bubble that says, "Gosh, I do have it easy."\nI can understand what the CommUnity Education program was trying to do, but it's creating what I can only call a hostile environment. The examples come from the essay "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh, but this is the only context. The board doesn't provide any challenges for viewers to examine their place in the phenomenon, although this is surely what was intended. \nDo I oppose it because it makes me uncomfortable? No. Discomfort is inevitable -- even productive -- when examining a difficult problem or issue. Do I oppose it because it makes me think? No. It did make me think. I oppose it because it made me feel personally responsible for the examples. As far as the board is concerned, I am that white paper girl.\nIs it my fault that bandages come in peach but are called "flesh?" Nope. I know that the white rally cry has long been, "But I wasn't the one who did all this oppressing." I'm not saying that, exactly, but I don't like being made to feel as if I ought to apologize for society's perpetuation of these examples of white privilege. Should they have been changed years ago? Of course. If Crayola can get their stuff together and know that not all flesh is peach-colored, surely bandage makers should be capable of this, too. But as I said before: I identify with that white paper girl, and I don't think I have it so easy. I'm new to all this, and I still struggle with my own identity as a white woman in a racialized world. \nThe board also precludes the discussion of a large portion of what constitutes "privilege." What about straight privilege? I can kiss a boy in public without inviting protest. What about Judeo-Christian privilege? When I say the Pledge of Allegiance, I know it's my God they're talking about. In any society that is less than equal, there will be some sort of privilege enjoyed by a segment of that society. It shouldn't be that way, but ridiculing those in this position hardly seems to be the way to work toward correcting the problem. Should I have to have my nose rubbed in it? I don't think so. Hostility never solves problems -- surely we've learned that much in all our years. \nMy challenge to the Briscoe community: leave the board up, but provide a space for commentary. Hold a discussion session about it, and I'll be there. I can't be the only one this has hurt. I write about it because I'm in the unique position of having a forum for expression. How many others out there are quietly licking their wounds?