As a rule, we generally abstain from discussing politics and social issues. But we can’t remain silent when the most basic human rights are denied to some only because of the color of their skin. Given the current situation, we had no choice but to speak up.
Racism is not something that happens only in America. As “adopted” Parisians, we would like to raise awareness about racism in France. For this reason, we decided to translate and share an Instagram post written by French writer Fiona Schmidt who discusses white privilege. She shares how racism affects the daily lives of French people of color.
We see you, we hear you, and we stand with you!
The advantages of being white in France (a nonexhaustive list):
- I’m not a porn category
- when I unintentionally pass someone at a close distance, their hand doesn’t grip the purse by reflex
- nobody touches my hair without my permission
- when I greet a stranger, they rarely look scared
- when I approach someone on the street to ask for directions, they don’t spontaneously answer “no, thank you”
- store clerks speak to me directly in French
- store clerks don’t articulate every syllable as if my neurons were at risk of going on strike for being overwhelmed with all the information at once
- store clerks speak to me
- security guards don’t follow me when I do my shopping
- if a security gate beeps, security guards wave me through
- I can walk around with a scarf on my head
- nobody wonders whether I cook dogs for dinner
- when I sit next to someone on the bus, they never change their seat
- nobody ever asks me where I come from, even though I was born abroad
- nobody uses an Anglicism to indicate my skin color
- nobody defines me by my skin color. When someone talks about me, they don’t say “you know, that white person, over there…”
- nobody confuses me with a cleaning lady or a secretary, even though I am neither a cleaning lady nor a secretary
- my skin color didn’t play any role in determining my education path
- Gad Elmaleh don’t do skits on people who share my physical features
- I don’t feel uncomfortable at an art gallery or the opera
- customs officers barely look at my passport
- police officers address me with “Sir” or “Ma’am”
- I don’t need to carry my ID when I go to a local bakery
- when I raise against racism in France, nobody tells me to go back to my country
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