Okay.

I realize, all too often, my go-to response tends to be, “I’m not very political.”

I have a very laissez-faire attitude when it comes to the subject of politics. I shy away from answering questions about my own political ideology, I don’t challenge anyone about their own. Largely, I just never paid any mind to politics.

I also realize, that this response, is a quintessential product of my white privilege.

“White privilege” sounds like such a trite phrase anymore. People throw it around, people get offended by it, some are empowered by it, but what does it really mean?

I’ll tell you.

When I am pulled over by the police, my first instinct is to cry.

Not because I fear my life. Not because I fear the life of the loved one sitting next to me.

But because I fear getting a ticket. I fear points on my license. Car insurances rates skyrocketing. My good drivers discount becoming a distant memory.

And sometimes, crying actually gets me out of the situation all together.

That is the definition of white privilege.

That is my reality.

This is not the reality faced by minorities, people of color, or any other marginalized group.

I say I’m not political because politics have never been life or death for me.

https://instagram.com/p/BX1uaVogXzO/

If white people don’t start speaking out against this injustice, we are no better than the white supremacists marching in Charlottesville last weekend.

This whole “not my chair, not my problem” mentality we have, actually makes you part of the problem. Whether you’re aware of it or not.

I may have always avoided the topic because truthfully, I don’t identify as 100% Republican or 100% Democrat. But I do identify as 100% human, and I know right from wrong. It’s time we all speak up for what is right, and take steps beyond just talking about how bad things are. Let’s all be better.