Yeah, but you have to be treated as if you were black in all ways, that would include spending some time in custody a ticket for public drinking in circumstances where a white person wouldn’t typically even get a ticket ( they might get the beverage poured out but possibly not even that) And it would also include not getting that job or scholarship because you were late to the interview because of something far more likely to happen than being shot while reaching for your wallet- the police pulled you over ( maybe legitimately ) and they treated you more harshly than you believe they would have treated a white person - maybe you got a ticket for behavior that your white friends got a warning for, or they got tickets and you got arrested. And , perhaps worse than that- you can never really be 100% sure that any one incident was racially motivated, so people constantly tell you that you are overreacting.
Is a lifetime of that worth the scholarship and jobs you think you would have gotten if only you were black ?( which BTW is very not likely to be correct - if there’s one job and a black person gets it, you might have ten white people who think they didn’t get it because of their race. But in truth , nine of them wouldn’t have gotten the job even if a white person was hired)
The question isn’t ‘if everybody treated black people no worse than they treat white people, would you be willing to be treated like a black person?’
Presuming that some people in the society treat black people the same as, or even better than, they treat white people is not remotely the same thing as presuming that everybody does.
I totally agree its a “gotcha” question made to make people feel guilty. There is no way in hell anyone would raise their hand. Then her going on telling people "well your aware of racism but you are NOT doing anything about it is all crap and NOT true. She isnt “proving” anything. It only makes a good soundbite and quote.
Arguably, that’s the underlying question - “have you noticed that society at large (not necessarily you personally, but society at large) treats Black people differently and usually worse than society at large treats White people?”
(Again, not a question about Oprah. There are 45million+ African Americans - exactly one of them is Oprah. Why some people rush straight to her is kind of bizarre.)
Why Diversity Training Programs Fail is an article about why suich training really has no lasting good and often backfires. Basically when people go to such training they will answer questions on a test (which then the presenters and the company can pat themselves on the back and say “well done”) but later, nothing. In fact some of this pisses people off and brings up racial stereotypes and makes people even less likely to want to hire a black person.
IMHO, training is a CYA move more than anything else. If a person has been taught what asshat behavior looks like and they decide to act like an asshat in the office, then the employer can fire such an employee for not only being an asshat but also for being an idiot.
Diversity training also lets victims of harassment and insensitivity know their complaints will be taken seriously, which is another CYA move for an employer.
You put so many conditions on the question you turned it into “If I had all the advantages I have received during my lifetime would I mind if my skin color changed?”
No, you did not answer the question that was asked-You asked and answered your own question.
This probably explains why the white population fights on this issue. YOU (again general you) are attributing something to me that may or may not be the case due to my skin color.
You guys please get together and figure out what the question is supposed to be asking, instead of having me clarify, to multiple people who all have a different understanding of the question.
Then, I’ll answer that one.
