Spacial Justice & Privilege

I was really intrigued by the two readings we were assigned for today so I decided to investigate the topic of spatial justice. This is not a concept that I was familiar with before today, but it really piqued my interest so I looked into it.

This event relates to a lot of topics we have discussed and it took place this week in Oklahoma. The first link is an article explaining what was said and the second article covers CAIR-OK's response to the State Representative's statements:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/oklahoma-republican-refuses-apologize-anti-muslim-statements-article-1.1928414

http://newsok.com/social-justice-groups-join-together-to-condemn-oklahoma-lawmakers-anti-muslim-comments/article/5340759 

While reading the articles above I was reminded of many of the circumstances and conditions Peggy McIntosh mentioned in White Privilege and Male Privilege. Number six in particular stuck out to me. 

"6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely and positively represented." (p. 88)

This is one aspect of white privilege I have personally never given much thought to until very recently. Current events like Rep. John Bennett's statement and the portrayal of Black Victims, like Michael Brown, have caused me to start thinking about race and privilege in the context of media. I have started to analyze what we are shown from a different (sometimes shocking) perspective.

Since 9/11, Muslim-Americans have been viewed differently by certain groups of Americans. With the recent coverage that ISIS has been getting this view has only been exacerbated. I can’t imagine what it would be like to hear that an elected official, who is supposed to represent me, had said something like that about a group that I was a part of. I believe this is also an example of privilege being invisible for two reasons:

1) Rep. Bennett refuses to apologize or resign of his own accord.

2) This is considered acceptable behavior and being tolerated by others in power.

If a well-known Muslim-American had said something like that about a politician via social media the response would be entirely different.

After reading the Spatial Justice piece by the design studio for social intervention I was forced to ask myself if the Internet and media is a “space”. As strange and alarming as that is to me, I believe it may be true. While you can argue that Rep. John Bennett has a right to free speech, you must also acknowledge that Muslim-Americans have a right to feel safe in the space that is the internet/media. It would seem to me that several marginalized groups have been portrayed through a lens of a privilege in the media and experienced injustice in this space.