It's a holiday, and we're spending the day cleaning, painting, arranging. We don't expect to move out until next year -- the foundation piers for the new house will be dug only this week -- but there's a lot we want to throw away and touch up. #
I looked out the window this morning and saw a stranger walk by.#
I went outside and saw him heading east down the driveway toward the construction site. He was wearing headphones. #
"Excuse me," I yelled. He stopped, turned around, took off his headphones.#
"Yes, we live in this old house and we are building a new house there."#
"There's no cut through to the trail, so if I walked that way would I get there?" he asked, pointing south.#
"Well, you'll run into the neighbor's deer fence. You should walk down the gravel driveway and then cut over."#
At that, he put his headphones on, turned, and walked south into the forest across our land.#
Later, I recounted this for Erin, and she and I agreed that this was yet another example of the white privilege that we keep encountering here in Chapel Hill, well-off white folks just happy and comfortable enough to ignore a Private Property sign and walk across land that they know they shouldn't be on. #
It's a holiday, and we're spending the day cleaning, painting, arranging. We don't expect to move out until next year -- the foundation piers for the new house will be dug only this week -- but there's a lot we want to throw away and touch up. #
I looked out the window this morning and saw a stranger walk by.#
I went outside and saw him heading east down the driveway toward the construction site. He was wearing headphones. #
"Excuse me," I yelled. He stopped, turned around, took off his headphones.#
"Yes, we live in this old house and we are building a new house there."#
"There's no cut through to the trail, so if I walked that way would I get there?" he asked, pointing south.#
"Well, you'll run into the neighbor's deer fence. You should walk down the gravel driveway and then cut over."#
At that, he put his headphones on, turned, and walked south into the forest across our land.#
Later, I recounted this for Erin, and she and I agreed that this was yet another example of the white privilege that we keep encountering here in Chapel Hill, well-off white folks just happy and comfortable enough to ignore a Private Property sign and walk across land that they know they shouldn't be on. #