As the parent of a white boy, there are a lot of things that keep me awake at night. These night terrors run the gamut from the climate crisis to porn, toxic masculinity to alcohol culture, but they have one thing in common – none of them is centred on his race. And what a privilege that is.

 

Because while my own white-skin limits my understanding, I know that for the parents of working class Black and Brown boys, those very same fears will all be present and correct, carried beneath a toxic umbrella of institutional racism, soaked in worry about how their child may be met by the world as they step out, taller, each day. The layers of disadvantage are greater, the complexity more acute.

 

My son’s white privilege does not prevent him from facing hurdles – far from it. But it unquestionably spares him some of the disadvantages others in his peer group face.

 

Or does it? Because while I might regard that as unquestionable, it seems our government disagrees.

 

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