June 6, 2018
Page 13
O PINION
MCS Still in
Business
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG.
$50.00
A small distance/travel
charge may be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or more
$30.00 each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: 1 small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$50.00
Manifest Destiny in Modern America
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
and Hallway
When white
privilege feels
threatened
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
Other Services) : $30.00
Heavily Soiled Area:
$10.00 each area
o sCar h. b layton
One weekend eve-
ning in 1966, while trav-
eling from Camp Le-
Jeune in eastern North
Carolina to Myrtle
Beach, S.C., my Marine
buddies and I began to see roadside
signs advertising a “Fish Fry” near
the South Carolina border. It was
late, we had not eaten dinner, and
fried fish sounded like a pretty good
idea. We followed the signs that
led down a dark country road to a
point where cars were turning into
an open field.
We fell into the long line of cars
and pickup trucks and inched for-
ward until we could see a man di-
recting the vehicles where to park.
It was then we realized that we had
a big problem. The man directing
traffic was wearing a white Ku Klux
KIan robe and conical headgear. My
three traveling companions were
white, and I was in the back seat, so
we were able to pull out of line and
head back to the main road without
anyone noticing that there was an
African-American in the car.
No one in our car said a word
when we saw the Klansman. No
one needed to say anything. We
all knew that we had come very
close to entering a particular type of
“white space” where my presence
was not welcome. We all knew we
had to get out of there.
Later, we joked about it – after
by
we had put several miles between
us and the fish fry and were certain
no one had followed us. We con-
tinued our drive without any more
problems.
Once we got to Myrtle Beach,
my friends and I split up,
thinking that we each could
do better meeting girls on
our own, rather than in a
“pack.” But it did not take
long for me to realize that
I had entered another white
space. While there was no one
walking along the shore in Klan
regalia, in 1966, Myrtle Beach was
resistant to accommodating black
folk, no matter what the recently
enacted Civil Rights Act said.
Black folk are not welcome in
white spaces. And recent events
have demonstrated that some white
people will not tolerate us invading
those spaces. Recent instances of
white people calling the police to
come and control the presence of
a black person have startled many
Americans. But for many African
Americans, this behavior by white
people is nothing new.
If we give sufficient thought to
what race means in America, it is
easy to understand why white peo-
ple always call the cops on black
people. In the minds of many white
people, all the space around them
belongs to them. This goes back to
the notion of Manifest Destiny and
beyond. It was this way of think-
ing that allowed the “American”
settlers to massacre the Indians and
take their land. “American” be-
came a code word for “white,” oth-
erwise “Native” Americans would
have as much right to the land as
any other Americans.
Many white people, from Chris-
topher Columbus to Donald Trump
believe they have a God-given
right to claim whatever space they
want. And it is in those spaces
where they expect to exercise their
white privilege.
In years past, white spaces were
the front seats of Southern buses,
movie theatres and railroad cars
reserved for whites only. A classic
white space was Levittown, N.Y.
in the 1950s, a community where
blacks were not allowed to live
even though the homes were subsi-
dized by federal loans. While some
of the vestiges of a meaner time
have faded away, the fetid stench
of white spaces and white privilege
still linger in America.
That stench has wafted into our
nostrils each time a black person is
made to feel unwelcome by some-
one who calls the cops to prevent
them from sitting in a Starbucks,
playing a round of golf, moving
into their apartment, moving out
of an Airbnb or riding on the Napa
Valley Wine Train. And the list
goes on.
Those people who call the cops
do so because their white privilege
feels threatened. To them, white
space is where white Americans ex-
pect to enjoy “the good life” and the
bounty of this country. But as with
an exclusive country club, most
people of color need not apply.
The tragic death of Trayvon
Martin can be explained in these
terms. George Zimmerman saw
Trayvon as someone who did not
have permission to be in his gat-
ed community, and Zimmerman
took it upon himself to enforce that
white space.
The truth of the matter is that
for some white people, a person of
color is not entitled to be anywhere
in America; their presence is toler-
ated only at the discretion of white
people. There are those white peo-
ple who will look into a television
camera and declare that America
is a “white Christian” country, and
there are those white people who
will not make such public declara-
tions but will call the police when
black men sit in their Starbucks for
less than three minutes without or-
dering anything.
Once people of color come to
understand that many white people
believe that the totality of America
belongs to them, then we will have a
better understanding of why they are
so quick to call the police. Ignoring
the fact that they are all descended
from different groups of immigrants
with different cultures, they believe
the “other” has no entitlement in
this country. No right to look differ-
ently or speak differently. No enti-
tlement to worship differently or to
have a different sexual orientation.
Our very existence is a discomfort
to them and the more prestigious the
white space, the more virulent the
objection to the presence of people
of color.
Just as their cultural forefathers
before them, these white Americans
believe that it is their manifest desti-
ny to have all that is to be had.
Oscar H. Blayton is a former
Marine Corps combat pilot and
human rights activist who practices
law in Virginia.
(Requiring Pre-Spray)
Area/Oriental Rug Cleaning
Regular Area Rugs
$25.00 Minimum
Wool Oriental Rugs
$40.00 Minimum
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $70.00
Loveseat: $50.00
Sectional: $110 - $140
Chair or Recliner:
$25.00 - $50.00
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services) : $5.00
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
• Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
• Deodorizing & Pet
Odor Treatment
• Spot & Stain
Removal Service
• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949