# Bernie Sanders' White Privilege **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 1, 2021, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015 "2021-02-01T22:10:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/101 "2021-02-02T16:58:30Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Is his choice of outerwear an exercise of that white privilege? No. It’s not his choice that shows his privilege - it’s the response to the choice. When Bernie wears a practical coat and mittens, the response is generally positive. A smile. A laugh or two. The launch of a thousand memes. For the most part, people do not look at him and say some version of “how dare he.” When women and people of color show up, their appearance and clothing choices are scrutinized to the nth degree and criticized if/when they deviate from some standard. The tan suit. The bare arms. The pantsuits. Privilege (in this case) is not having to give a fuck. That doesn’t mean people think Bernie did something wrong - but pointing out that people’s reactions to his sartorial choices are very different than the reaction to a senator who was not white or not male. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/102 "2021-02-02T16:59:07Z")
I have said before on these boards that we’re to find myself in the unlikely position of taking the oath of office for president, I’d show up in a Hawaiian shirt, Bermuda shorts and sandals with socks. And I’d take it indoors, which is only sensible in cold weather. That would be a clear statement about clothing-based privilege. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/103 "2021-02-02T17:05:26Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > When women and people of color show up, their appearance and clothing choices are scrutinized to the nth degree and criticized if/when they deviate from some standard. The tan suit. The bare arms. The pantsuits. I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that those were partisan based issues, invented by Fox and used against Dems. Melania wore sleeveless dresses while she was the first lady and we’ve all see Reagan in a tan suit and I don’t recall anyone from Fox blowing a gasket over them. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/104 "2021-02-02T17:11:57Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > “[G]et away with it?” Yup. A black guy, or a woman, would have gotten a lot of flack. But why did you ignore the rest of my post? I agree that he did the right thing. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > I disagree, it definitely helps him get away with it that he’s white. > > I just think that it’s wrong to say, “therefore he shouldn’t do it” when I think the correct response should be, “how can we make it possible for everyone to do that?” > [@Jophiel](#): > > More like just “meh”. If someone is worried about teaching about white privilege, this is exactly the wrong event to waste time and energy on. No one who isn’t already converted is going to walk away thinking “Wow, white privilege is really something to have awareness of if a white senior citizen is allowed to wear mittens like that…” most privilege is about small things. I’m not sure why this particular example of minor privilege went viral. The internet is weird that way. But there are tons and tons of little things, each inconsequential in itself, that together add up to make life very different for the haves and the have-nots. Black Americans have a much shorter life expectancy than White Americans, even after you adjust for income, etc. The best guess is that it’s due to a lifetime of higher cortisol levels from more stressful interactions, day in, day out. And almost all of those are little things. But it adds up. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/105 "2021-02-02T17:20:23Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > When women and people of color show up, their appearance and clothing choices are scrutinized to the nth degree and criticized if/when they deviate from some standard. The tan suit. The bare arms. The pantsuits. By right wing nutbars who would criticize women and people of color for _anything_, simply because they are women and people of color. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/106 "2021-02-02T17:22:32Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > most privilege is about small things. Maybe, but most small things are relatable. “I’m treated differently during a traffic stop” is relatable to me as I have direct experience with being stopped by the police and how I was treated. “Sanders was maybe treated differently from a theoretical parka-wearing black guy in a select crowd at a presidential inauguration” is not. Shit, I’m a white guy and still wouldn’t expect the same reaction if I somehow squirreled my way into a Covid-restricted Inauguration invite and showed up on the steps dressed like I was running to Costco\*. It doesn’t parse as a “learning experience” in any meaningful sense to me and I assume it doesn’t to a whole lot of people. \*Yes, I know he was wearing a suit under; that’s not what most people noticed or focused on and is thus somewhat irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/107 "2021-02-02T17:29:15Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Its also disrespectful to come to the inauguration of the President of the United States wearing your mittens, unless you are not yet in middle school. I must remember to take my Morning Suit out of storage and get it fitted and sent to the cleaners so I can be ready for this sort of ocassion… 😆 but really, it was not so long ago I was browsing through threads on this same site and feeling a right ancient old fart for working somewhere where (before stay-at-home, that is) an actual suit (or at least jacket-and-tie) is expected on most days and our employing authority person detests “nonconventional” grooming. > [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Sanders had the privilege of dressing ridiculously for a very important event, and having everyone be amused at how adorable it all was. He played the “I’m an old man who doesn’t care what anyone thinks” card and we were all thrilled. > [@bump](#): > > I think the confounding thing here is that he’s 79 years old, which makes it a different matter than if he was 29. He’s not some 65 year old retiree, he’s positively ancient. So I tend to cut him some slack in terms of winter clothing. Let’s call it Old Coot privilege. And TBH, _every guest on that stage was swimming in privilege_ of one form or another, let’s not forget that. _ **My** _ shock at his look was “why the heck doesn’t he have a hat on if he’s cold??” Then again, heck, I myself have never owned a “proper dress” overcoat, but rather a trenchcoat. I like being able to button up all the way to the neck. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/108 "2021-02-02T17:32:20Z")
Except all cultures have their appropriate dress. You don’t show up to an Asian wedding in the wrong color. Had Kamala shown up in a sari, it would have been appropriate (but REALLY cold). Yes, the dress of the inauguration is western centric, but in no one’s culture are recycled mittens and a parka respectful dress. And while allowances can be made for poverty, that certainly isn’t the reason Sanders didn’t bother to dress respectfully. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/109 "2021-02-02T17:38:44Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > \*Yes, I know he was wearing a suit under; that’s not what most people noticed or focused on and is thus somewhat irrelevant. I think it’s 100% relevant. People are trying to tear him down based on the incorrect fact that he wasn’t dressed appropriately. They either noticed and ignored the suit or it’s since been pointed out. In either case if you want to accuse him of some kind of privilege at least use the actual facts and not made up ones. ---
**Author:** ![WalterBishop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@WalterBishop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WalterBishop)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/110 "2021-02-02T17:39:02Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > When women and people of color show up, their appearance and clothing choices are scrutinized to the nth degree and criticized if/when they deviate from some standard. The tan suit. The bare arms. The pantsuits. You’ve chosen as your examples, a President, a First Lady, and Hillary Clinton, (who, for many legitimate reasons, is deeply unpopular). Presidents and First Ladies get criticized by partisans _all the time_, often for trivial reasons, and regardless of their race. For instance, Melania Trump got a lot of criticism for her minimalist taste in Christmas decorations (this was long before the audio tape of her complaining about it was released). Should I infer from this that a white woman can’t even put up Christmas decorations without being scrutinized to the nth degree and criticized if/when they deviate from some standard? Donald Trump was frequently criticized over the length of his ties. Does that mean white men can’t even put a tie on without being dragged over the coals? The answer to these questions is obviously ‘no’. Bernie Sanders is the most popular senator in the country and has an endearing “grumpy grandpa” image. If a black politician of the same standing and with the same image had worn mittens to Biden’s inauguration there’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t have received a similar response. Also, while we’re talking about privilege, what species of privilege allows one to publish poorly written articles about nothing in major newspapers? Because the author of this silly article has it in spades. **Sam Stone** is right. We truly are living in foolish times. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/111 "2021-02-02T17:39:47Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > this reminds me of a passage in one of John Steinbeck’s memoirs where he and a helper was painting a house and apparently they weren’t being overly neat about it so they had paint all over the rags they were wearing for the job > > Well they ran out of paint and it was like about 20 or so minutes before the hardware store closed so he gave the helper enough to go get the paint but the helper said he wouldn’t have time to get cleaned up change clothes and such to get the paint astounded he took the money back and said he’d get it himself and the helper replied " mr you must be very rich to be able to go out in public looking like that " of course JS expounded a bit on it which I’ve forgotten > > i think that’s some of the basic sentiment that’s being badly expressed here That was way back when people – everyone! – dressed up to go out in public. Does not truly apply in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/112 "2021-02-02T17:47:17Z")
People from Vermont were much simpler about their appreciation for Bernie’s attire – that’s what everyone, from the lowliest to the highest, wears in Vermont in winter. Because one, it is forking cold there. In a place that cold, staying warm takes priority over everything else. And because two, it is a central part of rural New England culture, dating from its earliest Calvinist Puritan founding, to not “show away”, to be humble and modest in your presentation. It is expected that no matter how much money or other attainments you may possess, you should dress like a laborer. Bernie was kind of bridging the gap – suit underneath, parka and beloved gift mittens on top. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/113 "2021-02-02T17:57:18Z")
It’s forking cold in Minnesota - also not a place known for being fashion forward or overly fancy - and Senator Klobuchar managed not to wear a parka. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/114 "2021-02-02T17:57:27Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > That’s the point, white people don’t have to worry about being taken seriously, their whiteness is their armor. Their **maleness** is as much or more their armor. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/115 "2021-02-02T18:02:47Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > That’s on third. Fingerless in Seattle… Matter of fact, they’re all in the same complex; it’s the mitten complex on third.” > > “Oh, the mitten district!” But is that in the “Mitten State? [Michigan] ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/116 "2021-02-02T18:30:40Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > They either noticed and ignored the suit or it’s since been pointed out. In either case if you want to accuse him of some kind of privilege at least use the actual facts and not made up ones. I agree, I just doubt that anyone getting worked up over it cares. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/117 "2021-02-02T18:34:38Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > . And while allowances can be made for poverty, that certainly isn’t the reason Sanders didn’t bother to dress respectfully. See, here’s where we part company. As far as I’m concerned, there was absolutely _nothing_ disrespectful about the way Sanders was dressed. He was wearing a suit. He was wearing a gray coat (and I still haven’t heard what you think about all the other people wearing gray, non-wool coats – were they all dressed disrespectfully?). He was wearing mittens made for him, in an environmentally-friendly and sustainable manner. I cannot grasp why anyone would think Bernie was dressed disrespectfully. Let’s go back to the whole Obama tan suit thing. We would all agree that those who criticized his suit choice on that day would criticize anything at all that Obama did. Or wore. And yet here we are taking potshots at Bernie Sanders, of all people, because of what he wore. I wonder if Joe Biden or Kamala Harris thought he wasn’t dressed respectfully? I wonder if Senator Harris (at the start of the day – Vice President Harris a little later) thought Sanders was getting away with something because of his white privilege? Holy crap, this is getting beyond silly. _Sanders was not dressed disrespectfully._ That’s just some made-up silliness. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/118 "2021-02-02T18:40:55Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > It’s forking cold in Minnesota - also not a place known for being fashion forward or overly fancy - and Senator Klobuchar managed not to wear a parka. She has a lot more to prove than Bernie, I imagine. Hey, I’m not saying there’s no such thing as white male privilege! Just relaying the Vermonter report. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/119 "2021-02-02T18:43:07Z")
The author is an idiot. The only problem is that people spouting off whiny nonsense like that get too much attention in today’s culture. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015/120 "2021-02-02T18:50:44Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > Senator Klobuchar managed not to wear a parka. She did, however, wear the same coat she’s [been wearing](https://www.fox9.com/news/senator-klobuchar-plays-visible-role-at-historic-inauguration) to political events [for years](https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/08/26/klobuchar-shares-remembrances-of-friend-and-colleague-mccain). Including (according to WaPo) when she announced her run for the presidency. Almost as though, I dunno, she has a warm coat she likes in a color she likes (relating to her Alma Mata) and wore it to the inauguration. Edit: Sanders’ coat is looking a bit worn in that Trump inauguration photo as well. Guess no one cared enough at the time to rail against him for it or turn it into a meme. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-white-privilege/932015.md?page=7)