Before I proceed with my response to the article “Privileged” by NBA player Kyle Korver, let me install a little framework…
First… for those of you who have never heard of “The Players’ Tribune” (I didn’t even know it existed until I encountered it this morning), it is a media company founded by one of my all-time favorite New York Yankees: Derek Jeter. According to their “about” page (which you can see here – www.theplayerstribune.com/about), the site serves as a vehicle to allow players’ voices to be heard from a first-person point of view, which is in my opinion, a refreshing break from the “he said/she said” being constantly served by the mainstream sports media.
Secondly… Let me say that what you are about to read is an opinion piece based on an article (I’ll paste the link at the end), and is in no way, shape or form, and opinion of Kyle Korver as a person. Frankly, I do not know Kyle and other than knowing him as a deftly accurate 3-point shooter and seeing him in the occasional ESPN highlight reel, I don’t hear much about him. All I know is that in the realm of XBOX NBA2K, my younger brother would torch me using Kyle (back when he was a member of the Derrick Rose-era Chicago Bulls that appeared to be poised for a return to franchise greatness, but I digress). So, onto my response to Kyle Korver’s “Privileged” piece…
When I read “Privileged” this morning, the first thought that came to mind was, “Okay, so Kyle finally had a bit of an ‘Amazing Grace’ moment.” (I referenced the song “Amazing Grace,” because for those of you who don’t know, the song so gleefully sang in churches around the world, was written by an 18thCentury slave-trader-turned-abolitionist by the name of John Newton. I won’t spend any time going into the history—you can Google or Bing it if you like, but suffice it to say that after years of dealing in human trafficking, the “scales one day fell off his eyes,” and Newton saw the cruelty of the practice in which he was a major player. That epiphany moved him to write the song and the rest is history.)
Well, again in reading “Privileged,” it seemed to me that Kyle finally started to get it, a little bit. I have to say that sadly, the article didn’t move me as much as it may have moved some readers. To me, it was simply the sunlight shining through the window and hitting the eyes of a man who has enjoyed a comfortable sleep for some time. Still, the sunlight alone doesn’t always get us up out of bed, so let me get some bacon sizzling and coffee brewing—somehow those scents can get almost anyone up out of bed, no matter how groggy they are. Anyway, here comes the breakfast…
Understand something… This “privilege” that Kyle spoke of in his article (so-called “White Privilege”) is a device that cannot operate without a battery. Stick with me…
That battery might as well be figuratively called “Duracell,” because its colors are black and copper. (Still with me? Are you catching it? Still lost? Let me explain…)
When I say that white privilege is a machine that cannot operate without a battery, what I mean is that if you were to take away that proverbial power source, there would be no such thing as white privilege. Have you ever wondered what America might be like were there no so-called “Blacks”, “Latinos”, “Native Americans”, “Asians”, etc? Let me give you some insight…
The same people who are considered “privileged” today, are the descendants of the people who were driven to the Americas by the privileged of European society. They were people who were escaping what was for them, oppression being applied by people who were then considered, the privileged of those societies. The difference was that privilege in those days had little if anything to do with skin color, and everything to do with economics, religion and social status (not my idea or even an interpretation—I am simply citing what’s in the history books).
How ironic is it that the descendants of the underprivileged who sought to escape being made to feel like lesser human beings by the upper class, have become the privileged of this society? If I were to compare though, I would say that the comfy quilt of today’s so-called “White privilege,” is much more far-reaching than the one enjoyed by European high society of the middle-to-late ages. Anyway, back to the article…
So, during his journaled “awakening,” Kyle proceeds to offer the same, tired and passive response shared by so many who also enjoy the word I feel I’ve now exhausted within this article. Saying things like, “We have to listen”; “We have to hold each other accountable”; “We have to support leaders who see racial justice as fundamental,” are all great places to start; but they are general statements that do not address the ensuing question: how do you make those things happen?
So, how does a person of privilege begin to make a change? That change has to start with the person. Saying and doing are two completely different things. But you may be wondering, “Sure, I’m privileged; but what can I really do?”
Well, the first thing you can do is recognize the statement that I made earlier as being closer to true than not… the statement that so-called “White privilege,” in the absence of so-called minorities, would not even exist. Once you recognize that, you realize that you’re not really all that privileged. Once you align the historical significance of the beginnings of the American colonies with what is happening to people here today, maybe then you start to see people in the proper order: living soul first, wrapping-paper they arrived in, second.
After you’ve set that up as your foundation, you need look no further than the sacrifices made by people both today and yesterday, who have stood up and said, “What is happening to them is not right”; or “I’m sorry, but I cannot ‘unsee’ that!” I often remind my “fellow tribesmen” who get so frustrated by what’s happening of a few things:
Point #1:
The people who don’t look like you, who show their @$$es whenever it pleases them to do so, do not represent the majority of people who don’t look like you. Most people, regardless of their skin color or land of origin, are generally good people, who have too much going on in their personal lives to hate a person for no apparent reason… that most people genuinely love people, and are attracted to positive energy.
Now I will tell you that I am no stranger to racist behavior, but I refuse to ignore the 95% of good by focusing on the 5% of bad. The overwhelming majority of people who don’t look like me, with whom I interact on a regular basis (White, Latin, Asian, Native American, etc) all engage/interact on the same subjects: food, sports, cars, money, relationships, and even the occasional hot-button topics of religion and politics. That is not to say that none of us isn’t aware of our obvious differences; we simply choose to act as very young children who play together do, and not make those differences a point of focus.
Point #2:
The Underground Railroad could not have been successful without White Americans serving as “train stops”—risking their lives and livelihoods by standing up for the cause of righteousness.
Point #3:
There are so-called “White People” today, all around the world, that are “riding” for what’s right. Sadly though, those stories are not told nearly often enough.
So, to wrap this up. For Kyle and others, for whom the sun is finally shining through the blinds, if you are really wondering how you can make a difference, my suggestion is to follow the example being set by people who’ve been out there standing up for righteousness. Notice that I didn’t say “justice,” but instead, chose the word “righteousness.” Why? Because justice is not a heavenly principle, in my opinion, and that is why it so often gets screwed up. Mankind has created his own definition of just vs unjust; but righteousness? Righteousness is a Heavenly principle (if you believe in The Creator).
You see, righteousness, at its core, is quite simple. It is simply asking, “Is what I am about to do, the right thing to do?” We need to go back to the simplicity of looking at right vs wrong. The people who stood up for what’s right in the old times understood this. The people who are standing up for what is right today understand this. Sadly, it appears that the majority of those people today are women—I have several stories I could share where I have witnessed that myself, but that could easily be a short book! Anyway, maybe the guys could borrow a page or two from the ladies… May God Bless those courageous souls.
In closing this post, I would like to applaud Kyle Korver for his candor and honesty, something that the whole world could use a lot more of. And I will end by returning to the beginning: why I wrote this article.
To me, “Privileged” by Kyle Korver is an article written by the privileged, for the privileged. It is not an article for me, or for anyone else who is on the opposite side of that privilege. As such, Kyle’s article only provided 180° of the discussion on privilege. I hope mine serves to provide the other 180° for you.
God Bless!
—MT
The original article “Privileged” by Kyle Korver can be read here: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/kyle-korver-utah-jazz-nba
Matt D. Talford is a writer, narrator, and author of three books: “Stuck In An Elevator” – a fictitious tale of passion and self-discovery; “Captain’s Mate: A Practical Guide for Tennis Captains, League Players and High School Coaches”; and his award-winning debut title: ”From Fear to Faith: A Survivor’s Story” – a memoir about overcoming a rare form of what he calls “the C-word.” All three books are currently available in paperback on this website, www.talfordarts.com, or at Amazon; and in eBook format on Amazon Kindle and Apple iBooks. “From Fear to Faith: A Survivor’s Story” is also available in audiobook (narrated by Talford himself) at iTunes, audible.com, and at many other sites where audiobooks are sold. For information on these and other products, click the “Products” link in the menu or visit www.talfordarts.com.
