Adam Falkner, as part of Taylor Mali's Page Meets Stage Series at the Bowery Poetry Club met Philip Levine. Here, Adam performs "The Definition of Privilege".
You want to know what's a real privilege?: Not having to worry about if someone you're interested in "dates black girls." Not having someone ask you if your hair is fake because you surpass the "normal" amount of hair a black girl should have. Not having to be told that you should act a specific way because of your race Not having to learn from a young age that someone telling you that your pretty for a black girl isn't a compliment. Not having to worry if someone might mistake you for being a white girl on the phone because you speak so nicely. Not having to tell someone not to touch your hair constantly. Not having people make black jokes about you not liking to get the shoes that your mother paid for to get ruined and dirty. Not having someone tell you that you "speak white" because you sound educated. Not being pulled over by the police because of your race. Not being stereotyped as a thief and followed around a store. Not having people make jokes about you eating watermelon, fried chicken, and orange soda because your race isn't developed enough to have more interest in food. That's real privilege. I've had all these experiences before and then some. It really pisses me off when white people don't realize just how good they have it. Sure, there might be a few stereotypes along the way, but name one time that your people had to fight for their freedom in a country that they were brought to in chains to be beaten, raped, and discriminated.
The accent probably comes from years of use, as he narrated in his poem. He was slipping into his past (or a past) to add a level of authenticity to the work. I'm Hispanic, grew up in the Bronx, I've come a long way since then, studying comp lit and going to art galleries. But every now and then when I get excited I become the ghetto all over again. And my friends (who are white) love it, they think it's funny. It reminds me that accent is full of rich complexities, why not use it in poetry?
jessicajnsm tbh that goes both ways. There are people in every race who support the idea of only dating someone in their race. I'm not saying it's right, but it's something applied to all races.
privilege is having your friends not call who you are a 'made up theory', privilege is not having to ask "is it wheelchair accessible? are there single cubicle bathrooms? is it in a liberal area or a conservative one?" privilege is not being warned against wearing this or that and not fearing assault everytime you leave the house it is being able to walk home without fearing for your life it is to be able to stay out late without being told you're asking for something to happen, being able to strive to achieve without being told to ''give up because you're just black/asian/girl/not male/not white/other/different/don't fit/don't belong'' privilege is not having to 'come out' to people, to answer the 'what ARE you?' stares and questions, privilege is surrounding you in a blanket of protection and oblivion because to you, this way of life is normal, this way of life is how EVERYBODY lives, right? everybody gets to be white/straight/cis/male/normal/accepted, don't they? They don't. We don't.
***** how exactly was my use of 'cis' the cherry on top? it's a simple term to describe people who identify with the gender they were given at birth. why do you act as though this is all a joke instead of a pile of serious issues that me and my trans/genderqueer friends face every day. and i used backslashes '/' during my list of identities that contain privilege to divide them, due to the fact someone can be white like me, and benefit from white privilege, while be oppressed by being transgender, disabled, and queer, just like me. straight white cis dudes who are physically and mentally able are extremely privileged in society today. if you can't see that, it's because you're blinded by your own privilege. it happens to me too, when i don't realize how something could be offensive to a POC because it's not affecting me and my life. sure, for everything you tick off that list, you lose a privilege, but you still start out with more than most, yanno? open your eyes! even if you're disabled, queer, and homeless you're still privileged socially over someone who is black or a woman because you are still the baseline, the norm, the generic cookie cutter shape. and yes i am going to generalize if i need to! when i am in class, i will be chosen over black or other ethnicity students purely because i am white! when i am in public, police officers smile at me and offer me help, even when i'm walking home at 3am wearing a hoodie pulled over my head, while my POC friends get ignored, 'hey you watch it' comments, and sometimes followed into/through shops, unless myself or another white friend is with them! these incidents dont happen because i know these people or because i look better than the POC around me, it's because my skin's lighter, and therefore valued more and deemed inherently worth more! jesus christ, the noxious fumes in your ass must be screwing over your brain if you're really that fucking oblivious to reality. here's a tip; stop sniffing the shit and try paying some fucking attention to what's going on outside of your privileged playground of bullshit.
Just throwing this out there, some writers sound different when they speak to a person than when they speak to an audience. All of my friends think I sound like I'm putting on an act when I read any of my poems aloud and if you go to some of his other videos, he sounds different as well.
Its amazing how many issues beyond race that this can apply to. In my own case, it makes me think a lot about LGBT issues. Straight people have the privilege of not thinking about sexual orientation. Cisgender people have the privilege of not thinking about gender identity. They can say, with a straight face, that gay people should have the same rights to a straight marriage as them, and anything else is 'special treatment.' They can say things like "your gender shouldn't define you, just be a person" because they've never had to PROVE their gender. They've never had one of their parents list all the reasons why they're clearly wrong about their gender. Cisgender privilege is why cisgender people can object to the use of the word cisgender, claiming its a slur while calling transgender people 'trannies'. If a transgender person claimed that 'transgender' was a slur, they'd be met with the reaction of 'god, don't be so sensitive.'
This made me sad, angry, curiose, it made me think, it even made me laugh. This poem was incredibly moving. Really wish I was not in the library pretenting to read when I was listening to this though. Librarian: "excuse me Miss, could you please tell me what is so funny about the book you are reading entitled "Jutebox of an Apocalypse"? Other people beside you are trying to do their work, you are disturbing them." I'll know better for next time. :)
So I just think that there ought to be a difference between looking at a society that has one group of people better than the others or seeing the failure of a society that is meant to be a foundation of equality. I think this poem only proves that this culture is hurtful for everyone. I just drifted from the point, but I hope this makes sense. It is a complicated matter.
Indeed, there is unfairness in our society. People suffer from how they are perceived by their complexion or culture, which is even worse for people who understand how arbitrary it is (hopefully, all of us). But then what? It's been a while since I watched this video, but after the second look it seems to be about the implicit guilt that comes from being born into the group that does well while another gets kicked into the dirt. Who is to blame? I don't think that there is an answer to that.
I think you trying to insinuate that it offends someone , takes away from the point that the authors trying to make. When you ask is it "really pissing you guys off," who are the "guys" that you are referring to? Be careful in your decisions to spark up problems where they are not needed. The author is valid in his argument that is being made, and instead of believing that it alienates or offends one group , maybe, you should open your eyes and realize that the problem being expanded on is much greater than that. He may be talking about his privilege, but in doing so he is discussing an issue that affects us all. So no I'm sure those guys are not offended by a man -more than his white background- speaking on his privilege.
Privilege means 'above or better than standard.' To say going to a good school is due to privilege means that good schools are or should be above standard, which means that most schools are not or shouldn't be good. Instead of basing privilege theory on how things SHOULD be, and judging from that standard, privilege theory looks at how to make our current inequalities continue to exist, just with the ratio of winners to losers mirroring the racial ratio (for example) of society at large.
EVERYONE should get to go to a good school. PERIOD. My reaction to the inequality in our society is to Lift People Up, to make what is called 'privileged' standard. to Lift All Ships. Privilege theory as it is widely espoused and interpreted is very destructive to targeting that which does cause inequality. I think everyone should have a high standard of living, PERIOD.
I hear a nerdy white guy introduce the poem, and then a split-second later, he jumps into a horrible imitation of ebonics. I hate racially imperialist poetry. It's just so icky. As if there's not enough black voices speaking today... Falkner is no Faulkner. I hope he stops writing bad poetry.
This is all true. But Falkner's poem is still bad. And his ebonic accent is really, really lame. Introduces the poem in his, as he would put it, 'thoughtless' accent, and then go into a poem about race in this god-awful ebonics accent. Just pitiful.
So he's allowed to talk with a stereotypical black accent so long as he speaks about white privilege? Falkner can be racist so long as he's guilty. And to bring poetry into his screwed up psychology. Yuck. He's just awful.
