What Amy Schumers #StopKavanaugh Arrest Subtly Says About Race in the U.S.

What Amy Schumers StopKavanaugh Arrest Subtly Says About Race in the U.S. For the last few weeks, women have been taking a stand against the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Curt. Whether theyve been discoursing on Twitter or taking to the streets, women of all kinds have been showing up to keep an alleged sexual assaulter off the court. And Hollywoods recent involvement in the protests have brought even more awareness to this important civil unrest.Yesterday, Amy Schumer and Emily Ratajkowski made the nachrichten for joining a sit-in at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington D.C.. Schumer is the cousin of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and is an active advocate for womens rights and gun control. Ratajkowski also has a long history of supporting womens equality.Despite the actresses meaningful contributions to the protest itself (Schumer was taped speaking at the sit-in), their participation hasnt been the center of their media coverage.Instead, their run ins with the versicherungsschein have been making headlines. According to Ratajkowskis Twitter, she was arrested during the protest. It was also However, videos have surfaced of the stars arrests. The police ask the women if theyd like to be arrested, hand them wristbands, then escort them out of the building. It was a largely calm affair, with no handcuffs, no weapons, and no struggle. And while all interactions between the police and protestors should probably look like this, we know they dont.People of color who protest in the United States are often met with tear gas, pepper spray, and gunpoint. They experience arrest in a much different way than Schumer and Ratajkowski ever would. They are stopped and frisked. They are brutalized. And they are met with handcuffs instead of wristbands.Its difficult to label Schumer and Ratajkowskis interaction with the police as an arrest when we know what arrest really looks like for people of color. They are lucky to come out of an arrest alive. And theyre often arrested without doing any wrong. White women are given the ability to speak without facing the saatkorn fears WOC face. And thats a privilege. It gives them a stronger voice in politics, in policy, and in all aspects of social life.But hearing about white women getting arrested makes white American women feel good. It alleviates us of some of the guilt we should experience for propping up a justice system that brutalizes people of color. Thats why this arrest will be shared on Twitter and why it will be written about in magazines.Women shouldnt be arrested for supporting women and peacefully protesting. But white women should also realize their arrests are a lesser trauma than what their sisters can experience for speeding, forgetting to pay a fine, or, really, simply existing. Your race still impacts your experience with the justice system, and we cant forget that.Schumer and Ratajkowskis arrests remind us that in our fight for womens equality, intersectionality i s key. White women experience privilege, even in our lowest moments. Even when it seems like we live in a country that hates women of all kinds.And with Brett Kavanaughs nomination moving forward, that seems to feel truer every day.