Does white privilege exist in the US?

[TLK Valentine]

So you recognize the privilege is a wealth privilege vs a poverty privilege.

I recognize that there are many privileges in our society.

Don't you?

 

[rturner76]

You're mistaken about that hunch, so there's nothing more to say about this guess.

What is "white privilege" by your definition?

 

[Ken-1122]

Yes, but not always -- If you think about it for another moment, privilege is connected to power, which can most certainly come from superior numbers as easily as from a socially-constructed "elite" status.

It can also come from influence. Look at the power BLM has generated in a few years, and they had neither the numbers, nor elite status.

 

[Pommer]

It can also come from influence. Look at the power BLM has generated in a few years, and they had neither the numbers, nor elite status.

No, but that have a steady supply of killings by police to keep them in the public eye.
We’d both like them to “go away”, I’d rather some things get done and changed around so that the BLM folk can go on with their lives.

 

[TLK Valentine]

It can also come from influence. Look at the power BLM has generated in a few years, and they had neither the numbers, nor elite status.

True, but what privilege are you saying BLM has?

 

[Ken-1122]

No, but that have a steady supply of killings by police to keep them in the public eye.
We’d both like them to “go away”, I’d rather some things get done and changed around so that the BLM folk can go on with their lives.

BLM will not volunteer giving up their power and go away. They have a vested interest in giving the false impression that only black people get killed by the police, and the public is eating it up and giving them power and influence.

 

[Ken-1122]

True, but what privilege are you saying BLM has?

I didn't say they had privilege, I said they have power. I suspect their privilege is the same as any other powerful organization.

 

[Astroqualia]

Welcome to ignore!

Yup, I don't play into your argument, so I get ignored. I hope nobody falls pray to this

 

[Pommer]

BLM will not volunteer giving up their power and go away. They have a vested interest in giving the false impression that only black people get killed by the police, and the public is eating it up and giving them power and influence.

You gotta stop believing your own straw men.

 

[TLK Valentine]

I didn't say they had privilege, I said they have power. I suspect their privilege is the same as any other powerful organization.

Fair enough -- I would agree that while privilege is connected to power, itdoesn't always come from it.

 

[Ken-1122]

You gotta stop believing your own straw men.

No strawman; people have a long history of refusing to give up power once attained.

 

[Albion]

What is "white privilege" by your definition?

It's a political catch-phrase invented by the same people who brought you an earlier series of such terms, all of which are intended to divide the American people.

Hadn't you noticed that no one was using such terms as white privilege, white fragility, white supremacy, white nationalism, or the other racialist terms that are so often heard in the political discussions now? Not until just recently, and then they all were supposedly discovered, almost at once, and described as the most dangerous threat to the country?

 

[rturner76]

So what if someone is born with certain advantages or gifts. So what? Is that some sort of an excuse to call yourself a victim and not pursue what you want. You act as if thats some big excuse. Why even bring that up? My answer is, so?

Does that make you so incapable of success? Guess what. I will never be a Bill Gates or a male model for GQ. Am I supposed to cry about that? Does that mean I can't be successful? Of course not. The entire human race is a mish mosh of various types of people. Some are born with special talents or abilities. Some are better looking, some are really smart. Some have a musical or artistic talent. Some are analytical others are not. None of that is a reason or excuse not to be successful just cause you are less smart than Bill Gates or less talented than Denzel Washington.

It just makes life easier for some than others.

 

[rturner76]

It's a political catch-phrase invented by the same people who brought you an earlier series of such terms, all of which are intended to divide the American people.

Hadn't you noticed that no one was using such terms as white privilege, white fragility, white supremacy, white nationalism, or the other racialist terms that are so often heard in the political discussions now? Not until just recently, and then they all were supposedly discovered, almost at once, and described as the most dangerous threat to the country?

You don't get it........That's cool. Not everyone does.

 

[rturner76]

Privilege as preched by the woke culture is you get something solely based upon the color of your skin. I got my job cause I'm white. I make money because I'm white. I live in my house just cause I'm white. I was able to succeed just cause I'm white. Your comments speak volumes as to your racial bias. Automatically bringing up that I may have been hired because I'm white and not based upon my performance during the hiring process. Hinting I may have not deserved it.

You know my dad was poor. So poor they didn't have electricity in their house. He worked jobs where he had to have two jobs to support his family and one of them was full time. My wife was so poor that she didn't know if they were going to have any food on the table every day. She didn't have a parent who could or would sign for her to obtain a driver license or take her to a doctor or buy medicine.

My family had generational poverty. I was poor.
So I understand what it takes to get out of poverty. That is why I DO understand what it takes. It takes work and effort and overcoming challenges. It takes making wise decisions. It takes staying away from drugs and alcohol. It takes taking advantage of the opportunities this country affords you. Go to school, work hard and pursue your desires to succeed.

I don't blame people for their poverty. I blame them for staying in it. I'm talking about regular normal people. Not those with debilitating conditions, like blindness, physical conditions like being a paraplegic or mental illnesses. That's a different subject all together.

Since I have worked with the poor I know what causes them to stay poor. And we can discuss those causes. Some are not their fault and they won't ever really rise out of struggling. But it's not the majority poor that remain that way. It's usually something else.

The black poor have been told for years it is too difficult to get out of poverty. It's everyone else holding them back. They have to depend on the goverenment and the beneficence of white people to get ahead. And now they are being told the white man must be punished in order for them to succeed. It's all about victimization and a victim mentality that says everyone else is responsible to you staying poor and everyone else must pay to get you out. It's such nonsense.

If 40% of african americans are middle class, then that tells you they can succeed. Cause there are no laws and no restrictions on them to pursue whatever they wish to pursue. What people like you do is degrade the black man. You speak of the hardships they endure and it's so hard to move ahead. As if they don't have the ability to overcome some of their conditions. They have to have all kinds of special help cause they are just not capable. It's racist.

I say if blacks want out of poverty, they can get out like anyone else. Go to school, get a highschool eduction. Study and get good grades. Stay out away from drugs and stay out of trouble. Find a career you want and pursue it. If that means going to college then choose the college you want and go. No it's not easy, but it's not easy for anyone. I didn't get where I am because anything was handed to me. I had to work my way through a lot of crummy jobs, learn a lot of lessons and be persistent. They can too. It's not beyond their reach. If a poor white person wants out of poverty, go to school, get a highschool education, study and get good grades. Stay away from drugs and alcohol. Stay out of trouble. Find a career and pursue it. Go to college if that's what is needed.

40% is less than half. WHite people have it better in the USA than blacks. If you can't see that then you are not paying attention. People don't feel sorry for you and your wife's poverty the same way you don't care about racism. It's up to the individual to overcome their challenges. Some have more challenges than others. Your white skin opens doors that black skin cannot open whether you acknowledge it or not white men rule the United States.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

Hadn't you noticed that no one was using such terms as white privilege, white fragility, white supremacy, white nationalism, or the other racialist terms that are so often heard in the political discussions now? Not until just recently, and then they all were supposedly discovered, almost at once, and described as the most dangerous threat to the country?

I'm not sure what you're talking about. The concept of "white privilege" dates back to the 80s, and white supremacy/white nationalism are hardly new concepts. "White fragility" is a relatively recent term (coined in 2011), but I also don't hear it used very often.

They've certainly gained prominence in the national discussion over the past ten years, but that's because racism has taken center stage as an issue that a significant portion of our population believes is in need of addressing - largely due to the response and fallout from the Obama presidency. Prior to 2008, I think that most people in the US did not see racism as being an issue in the country. Those who experienced it knew otherwise, but it wasn't publicly visible. However, the amount of vitriol spewed during the 2008 election and throughout Obama's presidency was eye-opening and has led to more frequent - and frank - discussions of race in America - which bring along with them more frequent usage of the terms you take issue with.

 

[Albion]

I'm not sure what you're talking about.

Hmmm. I thought I'd made the point pretty carefully, so all I can do is ask that you read it again. I see some things in your reply that seem to indicate that you didn't take account of what I explained there.

Prior to 2008, I think that most people in the US did not see racism as being an issue in the country.

It would be very difficult to justify that claim on the basis of the evidence. The Civil Rights marchers, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, affirmative action legislation, several changes in our language, and much more than these testify to the importance of the issue.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

It would be very difficult to justify that claim on the basis of the evidence. The Civil Rights marchers, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, affirmative action legislation, several changes in our language, and much more than these testify to the importance of the issue.

Apologies - I was referring to more recent history (i.e. the 90s and early 2000s). People of my generation (Gen X/Millennials) generally saw those problems as having been largely solved in the '60s and '70s.

 

[Albion]

Apologies - I was referring to more recent history (i.e. the 90s and early 2000s). People of my generation (Gen X/Millennials) generally saw those problems as having been largely solved in the '60s and '70s.

They may have been right about that. Equality was widely accepted and comfortably so as a correct principle to follow in both private and public actions.

But the issue you asked about isn't concerned with that, or perfecting it, or applying it in areas of life that might have been slighted during that earlier generation and the Civil Rights campaigns of that time. This, the topic of the thread, is a different political cause that isn't about equality. In fact, it very definitely disavows the concept of equality. This is part of the point I was making in my earlier post.

 

[Pommer]

No strawman; people have a long history of refusing to give up power once attained.

Maybe you’re correct?
After all the “March of Dimes” is still a thing decades after its disease (polio) was defeated.
Naw, though, I was talking about the “only Black Lives Matter” tripe that you continue to push.