a lesson in privilege

we are currently participating in an apartheid simulation. After Global Studies today, as we move closer to South Africa, they divided the shipboard community into a privileged class and an unprivileged class. Those who shaved their heads or cut their hair into mohawks for Neptune Day are in the privileged class. The unprivileged class is not allowed in the 6^th floor dining hall, which many of us much prefer to the 5^th deck, we are not allowed on the pool deck, and we are not allowed in the faculty/staff lounge, except for the faculty/staff who shaved their heads. Students with shaved heads were (for part of the day) allowed in there which they otherwise never are. The unprivileged class is not allowed to use the public restrooms and must go back to our cabins. The privileged class gets priority in line down at the field office, student life, and the purser’s desk as well as priority use of all the ship’s computer workstations. This will continue until after Global Studies tomorrow (24 hours), when Desmond Tutu will speak.

It’s been interesting. For one thing, I’m a little bit in the netherworld. Those people who I know and who knew that I cut my hair keep commenting that maybe I should be included in the privileged class. But, of course, I can’t get past any of the "hall monitors" … "police" … "enforcers" ... who are making sure everybody abides by the rules. I don’t pass, and of course people of mixed-race were also a huge part of the puzzle in apartheid and other racist regimes.

On the one hand, it seems that the privileged class was feeling the experience more than the unprivileged. People have been pretty nasty to them all day and there was one woman in the library who looked to be nearly in tears. For the unprivileged class, it’s been a little too much of a game. I snuck into a public ladies’ room at one point, we held a protest outside the 6^th desk dining hall tonight. Chanting "end apartheid now" and "freedom now". Folks held up signs and blocked the entrance so that the privileged had to climb over us to get to dinner. There were about 10 faculty/staff and several dozen students. Some shaved-headed students climbed over us. Everyone booed at them. Others turned around. Noticeably, none of them joined the protest. I was proud that the library was well represented. Sherri & I were both there and two of our workstudy students.

But, then the crew member in charge of the dining hall came out and the students starting chanting "taco-day … taco-day" (the day tacos are served for lunch is the best day on the ship!) and they starting laughing and things went quickly downhill from there. Learning to protest and learning that protesting is part of a democratic movement is all well and good, but there were no consequences here. No one was getting arrested or beaten for daring to protest (or sneaking into a public ladies room) so it’s hard to know whether the students really absorbed the point of the simulation. The privileged students who climbed over us while we heckled them definitely felt some impact. The students protesting, again, it felt more like a game without any real risk. Most of us didn’t really feel our unprivileged-ness all that deeply. We were out there about 45 minutes and then the group decided to just get up and go into the dining hall. What could "they" do to prevent us? Well, of course, on the MV Explorer, a ridiculously well-privileged environment, pretty much nothing. Under a violent, oppressive regime …

But then I talked later to Judyie, who has spent many years living in South Africa, and I was saying that I thought the exercise had just turned into a game. And she said, "but that’s what they did". They finally said: let’s just all go in … they can’t kill all of us …and they went in ... This is what civil disobedience is, Judyie said, and what the students learned by entering the dining hall.

Sherri & I had explained to our workstudy students, earlier in the day, that librarians have always believed -- living under many oppressive regimes -- that everyone should have access to information & freedom to read and that librarians often smuggled books to unprivileged people. We decided that we wouldn't post any of the "shaved heads have priority" signs around the library, if asked (we weren't), or enforce it on the computers. It occurred to me much too late in the day that we should have posted the ALA Bill of Rights.

The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.

I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
…
IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
…
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementsif/librarybillrights.htm

I posted it late in the day in several places in the library. Since this simulation goes through Global Studies tomorrow, hopefully a few people with catch it. Tomorrow in Global Studies, the Archbishop is lecturing and Thursday he’ll do a Q & A. On Friday, we arrive in Cape Town.

Ending my day of pretend-unprivileged-ness was attendance at the Captain’s dinner. We got dressed up all fancy and there were many courses and wine was abundantly flowing. I didn’t actually sit at the Captain’s table, but with the Staff Captain, Kostos. Kostos is Greek and the evening was lovely. So much for being unpriviledged …