# Using white male privilege **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 27, 2017, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808 "2017-08-27T02:32:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808/41 "2017-08-28T18:29:11Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Whereas, I suspect my husband would laugh it off the same way he laughs when people mistake him for Ed Norton Jr. This to me is really at the heart of what I think of as white privilege. I’m sure I’m wrong, and I’m sure people who experience the sharp end of the stick have a different idea. To me, the ability to laugh off these types of encounters let’s me move past them, and get on with my day. “Sorry, my bad”; or we’re all buddies, and when you pulled me over to let me know my tail light is out, it’s just because you’re looking out for me, are they way these resolve. At no time in my life have I ever had to wonder if the treatment I received was because of my skin color. I know sometimes it was because of my age, long hair, or the way I was dressed. If those (relatively) minor disrespects I received at the time are the way minorities have to live their lives, then I can only imagine the stress and anger that must be a daily ordeal. Here is another example. I was once chased down in a hardware store parking lot for shoplifting. “We saw you put something in your pocket.” As I shuffle my car keys, but before I pull the old hinge out I say, “I was trying to match a hinge, but you didn’t have the right size.” “Oh, you brought it with you? Have a nice day.” I still shop at that store. Even the most suspicious of looking dude (however you view that) could have gotten out of it pretty easily, as the hinge I had was clearly old, with paint flaking off and scratch marks from having to drill out the screws. Would that suspicious looking dude have been asked to wait around for the police to sort it out, or asked to empty his pockets? Maybe, maybe not. But in the encounter I don’t have any doubt that I was approached not because of my skin color, but because of my suspicious behavior: wearing a big coat, standing in front of bins of hinges, putting a hinge in my pocket (which I’d taken out a few moments earlier), and then leaving without paying for anything. Also, I guess us white guys all kind of look the same, so it’s no wonder your husband is mistaken for Ed Norton. That’s happened to all of us. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808/42 "2017-08-28T18:36:16Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Also, I guess us white guys all kind of look the same, so it’s no wonder your husband is mistaken for Ed Norton. That’s happened to all of us. He looks more like the guy who plays Lord Baelish, if you ask me. (He’s my brother-in-law.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808/43 "2017-08-28T18:39:43Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Ever not been given a job because of your skin color? For the record for a hell of a lot of white people, the answer to that one is a resounding yes. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808/44 "2017-08-28T18:45:45Z")
I have sat on our beach drinking martinis while darker skinned kids were being arrested for drinking beer in the parking lot, ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808/45 "2017-08-28T19:31:47Z")
I am the most nonthreatening person imaginable under many circumstances. The middle-aged white woman in business or business casual. I’ve stood aimlessly in federal buildings, for example, while other people get told to go through security or leave. I’ve never been asked to do either. I get waved through security in buildings I have no pass for, both federal and private. It’s rare I have to sign in anywhere. I’ve gone to meetings where I wasn’t on “the list” and they send me through while other people get denied. I can get other people not to have to sign in even though I am in a strange building. My word is taken at face value. I haven’t seen any other demographic able to do these things regularly. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808/46 "2017-08-28T19:39:48Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Ever been followed or approached by security in a store, even though you’re not stealing anything? Ever been pulled over by a cop for no reason? Ever not been given a job because of your skin color? Yes. Yes. Yes. White, but not male. The first thing, many times. I used to routinely carry large handbags; I think this was why. The second thing, more than once. Notably, one time the cop asked me if I was married. He was kind of cute–but I was married. Yes, that was the reason he pulled me over. Trolling for a date. (He was very respectful and gentlemanly, however.) The third thing: at least twice. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808/47 "2017-08-28T19:59:11Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > He looks more like the guy who plays Lord Baelish, if you ask me. > > (He’s my brother-in-law.) Oh no you didn’t! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808/48 "2017-08-28T20:03:05Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Oh no you didn’t! I don’t watch GoT (so the potential diss in her comment is unclear to me), but I can see a resemblance between Aidan Gillen and Edward Norton. [And I am not alone](http://cheezburger.com/8088895744)! ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808/49 "2017-08-28T20:12:23Z")
He will always be Tommy Carcetti to me. ---
**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:** [August 28, 2017, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808/50 "2017-08-28T20:21:12Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > The second thing, more than once. Notably, one time the cop asked me if I was married. He was kind of cute–but I was married. Yes, that was the reason he pulled me over. Trolling for a date. (He was very respectful and gentlemanly, however.) White **MALE** privilege is not having police abuse their authority to try and get a date with you 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808/51 "2017-08-28T21:12:38Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > As a middle aged white male, if I’m found someplace I don’t belong, most likely the worst that happens to me is that I’m politely asked to leave. I’ve used this a couple of times to use the restroom in office buildings that don’t have “public” bathrooms. One incident that stands out was a typical office building in downtown Denver. I walked in, looked at the list of tenants as I walked by, went towards the elevators, and then diverted to the bathrooms when I saw them. Once I did my business I left the bathroom, and then left the building. I made eye contact with the security guard and everything, but he didn’t say or do anything. I’m not a threat. I don’t think that a black guy dressed in a business suit would have had any trouble in that situation, either. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808/52 "2017-08-28T21:26:30Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > That is so much bullshit. I’d love to hear why you think so. ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808/53 "2017-08-29T00:43:00Z")
I can go one better than white male privilege. I have disabled veteran plates on my car. I could probably do practically anything I want behind the wheel of a car with impunity. I don’t, but I probably could. Once took a corner way to fast in view of a police car I didn’t see. He pulled me over and gave me a warning without even checking my license or registration. Got pulled over once for driving with plates that were 7 months expired! (Ironically, I had just renewed my wife’s plates the day before but never even looked at mine). He actually did write me a ticket, but for a lesser charge of being less than 30 days expired. Then when I went to the courthouse to pay my fine, I found out that the officer had never filed the paperwork so it was completely dismissed. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808/54 "2017-08-29T02:20:36Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Ever been followed or approached by security in a store, even though you’re not stealing anything? Ever been pulled over by a cop for no reason? Ever not been given a job because of your skin color? Yes, yes and almost certainly yes as well Not male, but white. Security - if you are a poor college student - and look a little like a homeless teen (hey, it was a style in the mid-80s, not a good one), you will get followed through stores. The cops stated reason was I was “driving suspiciously” - I was looking for a parking space. I’m not certain about the job, but pretty sure that I’ve been passed over for “diversity hires.” I have ABSOLUTELY been turned down because I’m female. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-white-male-privilege/794808.md?page=2)