To sum up: armed white people held the government hostage and got away with it.

Something else happened last week: 16 Native Americans protesting an oil pipeline near sacred land in North Dakota were arrested by “heavily armed police officers clad in riot gear and equipped with SWAT trucks.” This followed numerous arrests in prior weeks (over 200), including instances where unarmed protestors were pepper sprayed and attacked by dogs. How many of them do you think will be acquitted of all charges?

To sum up: non-white, unarmed people protest governmental action on sacred land that was stolen from them centuries ago and the authorities swoop in with force.

Now look, I know that one of the protestors in Oregon was killed by police while being arrested, and I know that not all of the protestors in North Dakota were peaceful, but the juxtaposition is stunning: armed whites, referred to as protestors, walk away scot free, while Native protestors are stormed by the police. It seems that if you are white in America, there is almost nothing you can’t get away with. White bank executives who brought the global economy to its knees thanks to fraud and greed? Not a one has gone to jail. White drug dealers and users? Even though whites use and sell drugs in higher numbers, blacks are far more likely to be arrested for distribution or possession. Whites being pulled over? How many times have we seen footage of a black person getting shot by police during a routine traffic stop, and how many times have we seen violent, white criminals get arrested without a shot fired? And on it goes.

I’m sick of this shit. The extent of white privilege in this country is galling. Even worse, few whites recognize it. I don’t know where to go from here; for now, all I can express is my fury, anger, and despair.