I am writing this from the Immigration Detainment Center near Montreal, in Canada. My current detainment comes as a result of a failed attempt to illegally cross the Canadian border. This attempt was meditated on the grounds that having been labeled both an activist and agitator, the Canadian Customs Office denied me legal passage into Canada.

I was initially planning to enter Canada, specifically Quebec City, Quebec, to attend demonstrations and protests against the Summit of the Americas negotiations surrounding the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). The FTAA is a hemispheric expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), to include all nations in this hemisphere-except Cuba. (See the side note for "WHY THE FTAA SUCKS")*

My entire journey, from planning & organizing for the trip to helping to educate the local community via a series of teach-ins; to refusal of entry into Canada to a fourteen hour hiking excursion from the United States to Canada; to my capture and detention, all served as emphasis on the privileges accorded to me by being a straight white male in a white supremacist, capitalist society. I use the terms white supremacy and racism interchangeably; both are best defined by Sharon Martinas of the Challenging White Supremacy Workshop:

White supremacy is a historically based, institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation and oppression of continents, nations, and peoples of color by white peoples and nations of the European continent; for the purpose of maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege.

Through the process of socialization into this racist society, we have been conditioned to see white males as leaders. Though I did not consciously think "I am a white male so it is natural that I plan and organize," I also did not consider the challenges I would have faced were I not white. This is not to imply that peoples of color do not organize, only that therein lies further oppressive forces not faced by whites.

The same is true regarding advertising and outreach for the week-long series of teach-ins-my white privilege allowed me to approach individuals, organizations, businesses, and institutions without concern for how I would be received. Though the FTAA has a greater negative impact on peoples of color than on whites both domestically and abroad, no one questioned why white activists were hosting events in opposition to the proposed agreement.

In terms of my capture and detention by Canadian Immigration Officers, I was served by not only white privilege but also that of being a citizen of the United States. It has become so common for peoples of color to endure horrific brutality at the hands of immigration agents that it is now rarely newsworthy.