Discussion of white "privilege" [kinda'long]

In My Humble Opinion
1

In order to not derail this thread any further I felt it would be best to start another. A couple people mentioned that being white, and especially a white male, comes with certain privileges, hermette was kind enough to post a link to this list of 50 things you may take for granted [if you’re white]. I found it interesting, however, most of the things mentioned are not true, or at least not to my knowledge. Just a few that I found to be over the top:

[I cannot seem to get these damn quote boxes to work :D]

I’m just about 100% sure that anyone of any race also has this ability, there is nothing here that says otherwise, this is like saying “I can be pretty sure if I don’t change the garbage can it will eventually overflow…”…of course it will, that has nothing to do with your color.

This seems to imply that murdering, pillaging and harsh slavery is something to be proud of. Also, when a person of any race studies or is told about their heritage, I’m sure it is done with an equal amount of pride, and probably doesn’t come with the horrible things that permeates white history (Nazi’s were white BTW, doesn’t seem to be that grand to me). This is referring to the history of the USA, I realize that, however, one could argue that it was every other race except for whites that made the country great, if it was not for their steadfast determination to make this nation truly free, then we’d still have major racism issues.

Actually, yes, they will, it’s called white trash :D.

These are just the ones I thought were the most strange, and to keep this OP short I’ll refrain from going on about the other 47 outrageous claims. Reading this is amusing, and while some things are slightly true, none of these things are true in a nation like, say, China, or at least they aren’t true for whites, I’m sure if you go to India, you’ll see :eek: Indians. I, for one, think that not only is the US so arrogant as to think that these issue are a problem 'cause it’s happening in this country, but to go so far as to think the same wouldn’t be even more true of another race in their respective lands. Why? Is the USA so scrutinized because we actually promote freedom? So is any other country not criticized because they make no claim for equal rights?

I’m a little confused :confused:, but I’m hoping and counting on the Dope to straighten me out here, if I’m way off base and am missing something blindingly obvious then please, point out my error and lets discuss this.

Once again I hope this is the right place for this thread, maybe it belongs in Great Debates or something, definitely not Pit worthy I wouldn’t think seeing as how this isn’t a rant, just something to discuss and educate this foolish white person [me :D].

2

Yeah, that list is just silly.

3

Apparently the author never watched the Barbershop films or went to any music store on the planet.

4

They’d probably work just fine if you’d spelled it QUOTE instead of QOUTE… :wink:

5

The real irony of this is that I spelled it correctly when I said I couldn’t get them to work :smack:.

6

I don’t really feel like white/gender privilege has affected me all that much even though I’m a nonwhite female. I guess class is a big part of privilege, too, and I’ve had a pretty privileged upbringing, so maybe that’s why.

7

Yeah: are the Conners really more privileged than the Huxtables?

8

Thank you to the mod who fixed the quote boxes.

9

They were spared from awful sweaters at least.

10

I’m repeating myself from the other thread, but these seem to translate to “I get to be a bigot if I want to”. Um, yeah, hooray. Everybody should have *that *privilege. :dubious:

11

That’s actually what I thought too, I believe this individual has lived a sheltered lifestyle possibly.

12

The author should have mentioned where they are from. I dont argue her point but some of these examples seem pretty extreme and highly based on her location. I would disagree with a lot of these, but I am a white male so I am probably bias or dont understand/realize. Then again I live in Toronto, one of the most multicultural cities in the world.

These few seem a bit extreme to me, and Im sure I missed a few in the list.

  1. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.

  2. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

  3. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.

  4. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser’s shop and find someone who can cut my hair.

  5. I can talk with my mouth full and not have people put this down to my color.

  6. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.

  7. I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race.

  8. I can travel alone or with my spouse without expecting embarrassment or hostility in those who deal with us.

and less so

  1. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.

I only separate this one because systemic racism exists and should be known, but it certainly doesn’t affect your daily physical protection in my area. These examples seem to be less of “white privilege” and more of just plain racism. Not that Im too sure there is even a difference between the two.

13

I think it’s hard to have much insight when you’ve only ever experienced one side of the story. If you are the “default,” you don’t really get a chance to understand what it’s like not to be the default. From my time living abroad as a visible minority, things that got under my skin included:

  1. That constant unspoken question every time I enter a store, every time I get on the bus, every time I go to a meeting…what is she doing here?
  2. Not being able to just walk in to bars and restaurants without that prickle of anticipation. It’s not ALL the time that I got shade or was refused service, but it happened often enough to make me uncomfortable in new places. You just never know what you are going to get, and I really missed knowing that most businesses would be fine catering to me without too many questions.
  3. Dealing with the sexual stereotypes. No, I am not a sex crazed animal. Please don’t grab my breasts when you’d never do that to a woman of your race. Please don’t use my race as shorthand for “slutty.”
  4. Not being able to find products made for my body. I remember breaking down and crying when the button on my pants popped while i was on vacation- I literally could not find another pair of pants in the entire city, at any price, to wear. And it was cold. Same goes for hair and body products- I’d have to travel to special stores and pay inflated prices for basic things.
  5. Cab drivers and other service providers obviously getting flustered when I go to them for services. It’d be embarrassing just to be myself, because I knew I was making people uncomfortable.
  6. Having someone completely unrelated to me’s bad behavior reflect poorly on me and affecting my relationships.
  7. Having people snicker, shy away, laugh or other express discomfort when having to do routine interactions with me such as sitting down next to me on a bus or selling me something at a shop.
  8. Being able to hang out with people from my background without it being perceived as “Oh, those people only want to hang out with each other.”
  9. Being able to participate in my cultural celebrations, rather than working through Christmas day, not being able to find turkey anywhere, and confusing the hell out of everyone in town on Halloween.
  10. Just being able to go to parties, public meetings and cultural events without being aware of others being aware of my race.

It’s like you are always having to apologize for or explain your presence. It’s not that it is horrific or unlivable, but it just grinds away at you, because it is all the time and relentless.

14

I’m not familiar with “got shade.” What does it mean?

15

was treated cooly or otherwise made aware I wasn’t entirely welcome.

16

In the 1990’s, in Boulder, CO, football coach Bill McCartney arranged to have a woman come in once a week to give the black football players haircuts after finding out they had to drive 40 miles to Denver in order to get a haircut. There was no one in Boulder who knew how to give a black person a proper haircut.

17

You can’t compare your experience living in some other country to what it’s like for minority races in the U.S. We live in the least racist country on the planet*, and whatever you experienced abroad was probably much more blatant and unapologetic than anything that goes on here.
*That isn’t to say racism doesn’t exist here. It’s just way, way more toned down here than elsewhere.

18

Care to illuminate what experiences have informed your ideas of what it is like to be a minority? What position are you speaking from?

Obviously it’s not an exact analog. For one, in all the places I was a minority, being white came with a lot of privilege. I could, for example, expect to walk into exclusive clubs for free, be taken as an authority on whatever subject I cared to speak about, and skip a lot of lines and bureaucracy. Despite that, it was still a pain in the ass and not a day went by that I didn’t wish I was a “normal” person who didn’t constantly have this huge mass of implications, history and assumptions painted on their face.

Even “toned down,” it still sucks. White privilege is like drops of water on stone- it’s the effect over time, the constantly, that make it so demoralizing and obnoxious. When you face one in your face racist thing now and then, you can write it off as “Okay, well some people are just racist assholes” and move one. But when every interaction, every time you have a physical presence, everything you do is tinted by race, it gets under your skin.

19

I dunno about that list, but I think white privilege is a legitimate thing. I think a lot of people have a problem accepting it because they think, ‘‘What the hell? I’ve had a difficult life, I’ve suffered–how is that privilege?’’

First of all, the concept of white privilege isn’t really intended to be an individualistic concept - it’s more like statistical probability. People who are white have a higher chance of being born into a financially secure family, are more likely to be employed during times of economic crisis, less likely to be imprisoned for similar crimes, etc.

Second of all, I take a line from Freire in that there is an oppressor and an oppressed within all of us. There is nobody who is not disadvantaged in some way, there is nobody who is not marginalized in some way. The difference is that minorities - particularly minorities at the intersection of race and gender - are more likely to be disadvantaged/marginalized in a dozen different ways.

I am privileged because I am white, smart, and young. I am well educated, I have received financial benefits from marrying a privileged white male, I appear youthful and pleasant to the average person.

I am disadvantaged because I am a woman from a working class background. I was born a child of rape, I have experienced poverty and sexual abuse, I was an emancipated minor.

I can see the influences of all these characteristics on my personal identity. I don’t feel guilty for being white. I just acknowledge it’s an advantage I have. I don’t hate men because I was abused by a handful of them. I just acknowledge that sexual oppression is a thing that exists and that made my life harder.

That’s all ‘‘privilege’’ really is, IMO. Just acknowledging the advantages you had that others didn’t.

20

When I learn about my civilizaiton/country, I’m told of what a bad job we did in treating minorities.