The Miseducation of the Privileged; a short essay.

12 Aug

It’s been a while since I wrote my thoughts across a page, this particular thought has been one that I’ve held inside for too long. The title of the piece (The Miseducation of the Privileged), is something that came to me in 2019, as I was writing my university dissertation on the Black Lives Matter movement. I found that rather aptly, the behaviours of some (– stress on some…) privileged people (I’m talking about privilege in the context of racially, socially, politically, and economically) demonstrated an air of ignorance, to how their privilege and proximity to power meant that the less privileged suffered. For instance - financial constraints would not be a factor in the quality of life of a wealthy person. Better yet, that a condition of their proximity to power and privilege was to (and continues to) rely on miseducation – “the fact or process of educating people in a way that is not correct”.[1]

Put simply, the ‘miseducation’ (integrated by White Supremacy, to oppress socio-intellectual development) in question is in regurgitating the incorrect knowledge that the social, economic, and political privilege (afforded by White Supremacy) is a complete and direct result of a meritocratic society (working hard and receiving a reward of the same value). Racial privilege is reinforced by racism - the social categorisation, socio-economic systemic subordination, discrimination and prejudice of a racial group on the basis of their race, another product of White Supremacy. For clarity, I am speaking about White Privilege, when talking about racial privilege in this piece.

Furthermore, the miseducation of the privileged continues presently through the suppression of correct education and rejection that the common denominator in the miseducation of the privileged is White Supremacy. Yes, in 2023, everything is political and everything is to do with Race.

What I feel should be articulated is this; Being alive (thank you Stephen Sondheim), having bodily autonomy, gender-affirming healthcare, a place to call home, liberty, self-expression, self-identification outside of the hetero-patriarchal construct of binaries and “traditional” men and women, are rights. Alternatively; Wealth, political hegemony, academia, going shopping without being harassed because of the colour of your skin[2], and living free of the experience of Police Brutality, are privileges. Conflating rights as privileges exacerbates the cycle of deliberate, and systemic oppression of many, for the pleasure of a few.

The miseducation of privileged isn’t insular, it can’t be attributed to a single act, because like stones skating across the water, the ripple of consequences grow. Rewarding the (continual) misdemeanour of socio-political inequalities and brutality against Black People, Women, Disabled People, LGBTQ+ People, the working class, and people of the global majority.

Here are some examples of what I mean by “The miseducation of the privileged” that I have seen over my hiatus:

1. The miseducation of privileged emboldens Whiteness to centre itself, and ask “What about me?” when the vibrant voices of Black, Brown, LBGTQ+, Disabled, Asian, and Indigenous people showcase their right to be seen, and respected.

2. The miseducation of privileged enables Whiteness as a construct and maintains White Supremacy as the ‘natural order’ of the world. It affirms the assumption that Whiteness is akin to innocence, value, and superiority, and conversely that Blackness is akin to evil, meaninglessness, and inferiority.[3]

3. The miseducation of privileged permits politicians to declare their twisted fantasies of personal slaves[4], to be faced with little-to-no legal, social, or political consequence (f*ck you, Andrew).

4. The miseducation of privileged repeats the capitalist cycle of exploitation of the Working Class, where the underpaid and striking working class are blamed for the inability to feed themselves, and their families, and pay ‘contributions’ to the multi-billion pound profits of greedy energy corporations[5]. Albeit, the power to increase living wages, provide adequate state welfare, and lower household bills are seemingly reduced to pleas to “recognise the economic context we are in"…[6]

5. The miseducation of privileged empowers incompetence, like the unwarranted deaths of 200,000 people, neglecting care homes, 5% nurse pay-rise[7], breaking lockdown regulations to then be rewarded with a cheque for £400,000, a self-pitying, self-serving, sympathetic edit on reality TV, to then place as a finalist. (Sounds a little too close to home, no?)[8] Ironically, the poet Jasmine Gardosi iterates, “They cry about being silent, but the next day they’re on TV”[9].

6. The miseducation of privileged amplifies the audacity to assault a co-captain in a small town (*side-eye* Jason Aldean…) with conviction, and then question why self-defence shows up in Black resistance and community. Who knew? White allyship can look like a folding chair.[10]

7. The miseducation of privileged affords people to weaponise their uniforms and regimen, to flourish in “predatory behaviours” [11], like the rape, assault, murder, and disrespect the lives of innocent women[12]. On paper, the abuse of power[13] (24 years after the McPherson Report), further characterises the harm perpetrated as institutionally “racist, misogynist, and homophobic”[14].

8. The miseducation of privileged allows people like me, to provoke to construct of Whiteness, and White Supremacy and the harm it continues to facilitate. To challenge the audacity of those privileged enough to live a life in close proximity to racial, social, political, and economic power, who weaponise their power to oppress, and suppress the voices of those less privileged.

Undoubtedly, this list will continue to grow (and I will add to it) as the continued efforts to protest against heteronormative, patriarchal, white supremacist, class division and economic inequality, also continue. The miseducation of the privileged are long-overdue a class period in self-evaluation, acknowledgement, and acceptance that the time of weaponised ignorance is long gone, and that the ‘Class of resistance, power, and accountability’ are here, with honours.

[1] https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/miseducation

[2] https://psychology.umbc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2016/10/White-Privilege_McIntosh-1989.pdf

[3] https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/uploads/4/3/5/7/43579015/okun_-_white_sup_culture_2020.pdf

[4] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/andrew-edwards-tory-racist-pembrokeshire-b2318637.html

[5] https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/british-gas-centrica-profits-who-owns-energy-water-suppliers-b1021239.html

[6] https://news.sky.com/story/rishi-sunak-hints-at-blocking-public-sector-pay-rises-as-he-attacks-completely-unreasonable-doctors-strikes-12909782

[7] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nhs-staff-receive-pay-rise

[8] https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/in-the-news/what-did-matt-hancock-do-wrong-during-covid-dislike-resign/

[9] ‘Dancing to Music you Hate’ Show – Jasmine Gardosi https://www.jasminegardosi.com/

[10] https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvp6Kn9r9pZ/

[11] https://www.met.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/met/about-us/baroness-casey-review/update-march-2023/baroness-casey-review-march-2023a.pdf

[12] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/feb/07/david-carrick-jailed-life-rapes-met-police-officer