| Is it "white privilege" to be unaware of violence being perpetrated on Black Americans by law enforcement, and vigilantes? I suppose, though I would call it something like "white blindness" or "white ignorance" rather than "white privilege." What Ahrens was saying was that in 1998, white Americans were not aware of this kind of treatment. Therefor, the show depicted a time in the past, with characters/actions that no longer seemed present. In the past 20 years, the advent of cell phones/cameras and social media has shown us that, in fact, "this will happen again, and again, and again" and is still happening. It makes the show more relevant, not less. I was listening to the cast album while driving a few years ago after one of these horrific incidents, and almost had to pull the car over because it was devastating to hear that lyric. |
