"On White Privilege"

[rturner76]

I suggest reading the whole article (below) it is only one short page
http://www.tolerance.org/article/racism-and-white-privilege

Excerpted from White Anti-Racist Activism: A Personal Roadmap by Jennifer R. Holladay, M.S. (Crandall, Dostie & Douglass Books, Inc., 2000) and published in the magazine Teaching Tolerance, a project by The Southern Poverty Law Canter

"On White Privilege
White skin privilege is not something that white people necessarily do, create or enjoy on purpose. Unlike the more overt individual and institutional manifestations of racism described above, white skin privilege is a transparent preference for whiteness that saturates our society. White skin privilege serves several functions. First, it provides white people with “perks” that we do not earn and that people of color do not enjoy. Second, it creates real advantages for us. White people are immune to a lot of challenges. Finally, white privilege shapes the world in which we live — the way that we navigate and interact with one another and with the world."


Can we finally agree that white privilege exists? Yes or No?

I have heard it said by some prominent people (Namely Talib Kwieli Green Artist and philosopher) that those who do not acknowledge white privilege are racist. Yes or No?

 

[Chesterton]

I got as far as the Band-aids and the shampoo. Before I invest time reading further, can you tell me if this is satire or serious? Is it supposed to be funny?

 

[SummerMadness]

People acknowledge and consider white privilege as the "way it is," but get all bent out of shape as soon as you point out that it's white privilege. A perfect example of this would be name choice for children. Black parents must consider the names they give their children because of discrimination based on black-sounding names. White parents have no such issue, they have the privilege of not dealing with such a problem. Despite the overwhelming evidence that such inequalities exist in our society, people want to get all bent out of shape because they only consider it a privilege if they've been handed something explicitly.

The world is also right-handed privileged; at least our society creates products that a left-handed person can use. Nonetheless, it's an inequality that will remain.

As to Talib Kweli, is he saying the person is a racist in the sense of holding racist beliefs, or a racist in that they perpetuate a racist system?

 

[Chesterton]

People acknowledge and consider white privilege as the "way it is," but get all bent out of shape as soon as you point out that it's white privilege. A perfect example of this would be name choice for children. Black parents must consider the names they give their children because of discrimination based on black-sounding names. White parents have no such issue, they have the privilege of not dealing with such a problem. Despite the overwhelming evidence that such inequalities exist in our society, people want to get all bent out of shape because they only consider it a privilege if they've been handed something explicitly.

The world is also right-handed privileged; at least our society creates products that a left-handed person can use. Nonetheless, it's an inequality that will remain.

As to Talib Kweli, is he saying the person is a racist in the sense of holding racist beliefs, or a racist in that they perpetuate a racist system?

About the part I bolded, you're saying discrimination is based on black-sounding names. Is that what you mean to say? Wouldn't the discrimination be based on skin color, and the name would only be an indication of that?

 

[nightflight]

In which liberal whites think that calling other whites "racist" will shield them from being called racist themselves.

Goodness, when did white people become so all-powerful?

 

[Smidlee]

It's not fair some people were born ugly and some were born beautiful. I called this "Beautiful privilege" Can we all agree beautiful privilege exist? Let make it simpler can we all agree life is not fair and stop pretend it will ever be or you will drive yourself nuts?

 

[nightflight]

“Anger is a legitimate response to oppression,” the authors state in a section directed at white people, “as is sadness, fear, frustration, exhaustion, and a general distaste or hatred of white people.”- Unofficial Scripps College Survival Guide

 

[Vylo]

This article is an amusing mixture of valid points and things that should really be satire. Like really, really should be comedy routine material.

You cannot even begin to lump non-issues like bandaids not matching your skin tone (bandaids here at work are blue, so smurf bias?) and being harassed, attacked, and killed by police.

 

[SummerMadness]

About the part I bolded, you're saying discrimination is based on black-sounding names. Is that what you mean to say? Wouldn't the discrimination be based on skin color, and the name would only be an indication of that?

The names are perceived to be held by African Americans because they are popular baby names among African Americans (e.g., Jamar). Is this study completely foreign to you?

Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination

There is also the factor that those names may reflect socio-economic status, which is still influenced by attitudes of the majority: Do 'Black' Names Matter in Hiring?

 

[SummerMadness]

This article is an amusing mixture of valid points and things that should really be satire. Like really, really should be comedy routine material.

You cannot even begin to lump non-issues like bandaids not matching your skin tone (bandaids here at work are blue, so smurf bias?) and being harassed, attacked, and killed by police.

They don't call blue band-aids flesh color, that's the point. Discussions of privilege is not attempting to claim there are not significantly more egregious levels of racism. The world is right-hand privileged, there are many things I come across where I recognize the item or facility was designed for a right-handed person. When I go to the store for an item that requires handedness, I sometimes have to specially order it; those that do not have a privilege that left-handed people are not afforded. You don't have to be murdered by the police to talk about these inequalities. Inequality measures inequality, the magnitude does not have to be large for there to be an inequality.

 

[Landon Caeli]

I don't believe it exists here in California where I live.

I'm white, and I'm a minority.

 

[rturner76]

As to Talib Kweli, is he saying the person is a racist in the sense of holding racist beliefs, or a racist in that they perpetuate a racist system?[/QUOTE]

The situation he said it was a tweet. When the guy replies with some other opinion Talib said "Dude you are racist," so I think he meant both.

 

[nightflight]

 

[Vylo]

They don't call blue band-aids flesh color, that's the point. Discussions of privilege is not attempting to claim there are not significantly more egregious levels of racism. The world is right-hand privileged, there are many things I come across where I recognize the item or facility was designed for a right-handed person. When I go to the store for an item that requires handedness, I sometimes have to specially order it; those that do not have a privilege that left-handed people are not afforded. You don't have to be murdered by the police to talk about these inequalities. Inequality measures inequality, the magnitude does not have to be large for there to be an inequality.

It isn't racism to color bandaids the skin tone of most people. It's just economical. Don't worry, they should be shifting a few shades darker in the next few decades.

 

[A2SG]

It isn't racism to color bandaids the skin tone of most people. It's just economical. Don't worry, they should be shifting a few shades darker in the next few decades.

I don't believe the point of the band aid thing is that it's racist, but that it displays privilege. White people get to have flesh colored band aids that actually reflect the color of their flesh (generally speaking). Not everyone gets that, it's a privilege. Just like if everyone gets a tshirt, but you get a special one that has your name on it. It's a privilege, something not everyone gets.

Its just like when we study history: we get to see the accomplishments of white christian men, and we study how white christian men shaped history. Then, if we have time for an elective, we can also study women's history or black history. The official, standard, default version of history being the history of your people, that's a privilege: not everyone gets that.

-- A2SG, it's something so pervasive and obvious, you literally can't see it unless you're the one not getting the privilege....

 

[Vylo]

I don't believe the point of the band aid thing is that it's racist, but that it displays privilege. White people get to have flesh colored band aids that actually reflect the color of their flesh (generally speaking). Not everyone gets that, it's a privilege. Just like if everyone gets a tshirt, but you get a special one that has your name on it. It's a privilege, something not everyone gets.

Its just like when we study history: we get to see the accomplishments of white christian men, and we study how white christian men shaped history. Then, if we have time for an elective, we can also study women's history or black history. The official, standard, default version of history being the history of your people, that's a privilege: not everyone gets that.

-- A2SG, it's something so pervasive and obvious, you literally can't see it unless you're the one not getting the privilege....

I can see it, it just doesn't really matter..... at all.

 

[A2SG]

I can see it, it just doesn't really matter..... at all.

It does to some.

Sometimes, it requires putting yourself in someone else's shoes to see why it matters.

-- A2SG, not an easy thing to do...especially if your shoes aren't a standard size and need to be special ordered all the time....

 

[Vylo]

It does to some.

Sometimes, it requires putting yourself in someone else's shoes to see why it matters.

-- A2SG, not an easy thing to do...especially if your shoes aren't a standard size and need to be special ordered all the time....

In which case I wouldn't care, I would have bigger thing to worry about than the shade of bandages.

 

[A2SG]

In which case I wouldn't care, I would have bigger thing to worry about than the shade of bandages.

And if it were only about the color of bandages, I'd agree with you.

-- A2SG, but it 'tain't.....

 

[Vylo]

And if it were only about the color of bandages, I'd agree with you.

-- A2SG, but it 'tain't.....

That's the part I'm talking about.

If you have time to fret over the shade of bandages, you either a) aren't suffering from discrimination
or more likely b) you are focusing on meaningless petty things when you face real issues.