| The Black Lives Matter protests have spawned a number of interesting conversations with my kids. One is on the difference between "fault" and "responsibility". They are similar: both imply an obligation to make amends or otherwise fix a problem. "Fault" means you are responsible because you caused the problem. You break it, you fix it. But as we get older and take on a greater share of the burdens and rewards of social connections and community, we become responsible for things that are not our fault. If my stove breaks, I am responsible for fixing it. I didn't break it—stuff just breaks on its own sometimes—but I own it, and ownership comes with that responsibility. I see many people who, maybe from a lack of maturity, don't understand you can carry responsibility without fault. I think part of the pushback against Black Lives Matter is that when you tell white Americans that they are now responsible for systemic racism and the injustices of America's past, they hear that as "you should feel guilty for these". They get angry because they don't think it's fair that they should feel bad for something that isn't their fault. Black Lives Matter is not about saying that most white people today personally caused most of the problems black people face (though there are certainly a minor of awful racist people who do). It's about acknowledging that having ownership of all of the many many benefits of being a white American today comes with some responsibilities as well. If life is a videogame, it's like we're playing the game in easy mode and we spawned with a bunch of free loot. It's not our fault that others didn't spawn so lucky, but we do have the loot and it carries the responsibility that we use it to help lift up others. Our privilege is not supposed to be a source of guilt or shame, but a duty and opportunity to use it to help others. |