June 21, 2020
I found this program on NPR and it answered a number of questions I’ve been thinking about my own “white privilege.”
“In this bonus episode, NPR’s Code Switch team looks at white activism in the wake of George Floyd’s killing. The video of his death is horrific, and the brutality is stark. But that was the case in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014 and Minnesota in 2016. This time, though, white people are out in the streets in big numbers, and books such as “So You Want to Talk About Race” and “How to Be an Antiracist” top the bestseller lists. So we asked some white people: What’s different this time?”
WHY NOW WHITE PEOPLE?
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/21/881370121/bonus-why-now-white-people
I join the with the host, Shereen Marisol Meraji, and one of her co-hosts, Gene Demby, as they wonder, “how long will this last?”
More episodes of Code Switch
https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch
Steelman The Humanist 
Never would have known about this podcast, if it wasn’t for you, Ron!
I listened to it in its entirety, and the explanations for why now are plausible.
With free time in abundance, my thoughts have gone to this very topic, and whether I am a racist or not, despite what I tell myself.
So much to unpack here. I will be pondering this for a long time.
Watched Just Mercy this week on Amazon Prime. Superb! I had read the book when it came out, but the movie was riveting and powerful!
I have a relative who is a racist. Does he know he’s a racist? No. Does he believe in white privilege? No. Does he think the brutality and nature of our law enforcement is appropriate? yes. Have I ever been able to convince him that evolution is real? No. Does he believe global climate change is real? Yes, but it’s not caused by human activity. Does he have a gun collection? Yes, and he thinks I should have one too. Did he vote for Trump? Yes. Is he going to vote for Trump again? He says he is. Trump is a flawed human being, he says, but he’s good for the economy.
It’s exhausting.
The question I keep asking is what everyone who is racist, sexist, and Trumpist waiting for? How wrong must you be before you notice you’re wrong?