White Entitlement

Need to know and feel the pain of the black American's struggle for civil rights in this country? If you are my age or older, you have some real memory of Jim Crow and his aftermath. For those of you too young to have lived through any part, go to Memphis, Tennessee to the National Civil Rights Museum. There you get a pictorial and memorabilia tour of what it was like to be "3/5 of a man", to be relegated to the "back of the bus" and to be sprayed with a fire hose for finally refusing to take it any more.

The good thing about the museum is that it is there. The sad (but necessary) thing is that no photos or cameras are allowed. The signs are posted and often, during peak times, someone is at the door requesting that all camera's be checked. This system, of course, relies on the honor system as today's cell phone and digital cameras cannot be detected or seen without an actual search.

Recently, on visiting the museum, I noticed a woman with quite a visible camera, with a telephoto lens taking photos inside the museum. She did not attempt discretion or show the least amount of contrition for her blatant disregard of the rules. The most evident aura around her, was her air of entitlement. Her posture, her expresssion, everything said, " I am a white woman in a museum honoring black heroes. Heroes or not, I am a white woman, so I am entitled to whatever I want."

I felt a mixture of hurt, anger, and shame as I watched. Unfortunately, I could not, in good conscience, approach or reprimand her. For I, too, had disobeyed the camera rule that day. My only defense, I did out it of love for another, not for any financial or personal gain. What was her reason?