"On White Privilege"

[ScottA]

How about there being no appreciable difference in experience, no matter what sex or ethnicity you are? Not better or worse?

I don't know why you keep wanting to turn this around into somehow being made into a victim.

That's exactly right. Most of the problem with all this is not the action of everyone else, but is the many little "pour me" groups [re]acting to life as usual. It is "normal" for ALL to be a little competitive. And we are indeed different - and it's wonderful. It's not some evil character that racism is made out to be.

 

[Paidiske]

That's exactly right. Most of the problem with all this is not the action of everyone else, but is the many little "pour me" groups [re]acting to life as usual. It is "normal" for ALL to be a little competitive. And we are indeed different - and it's wonderful. It's not some evil character that racism is made out to be.

Individual competitiveness is one thing; systems which favour one group over another are quite another. If you think this is some people complaining about a bit of competitiveness, you have spectacularly missed the point.

I'm happy to compete with the guys. I'm not happy to have to do it while my places of learning or employment or whatever effectively handicap me in that competition because I am a woman.

 

[The Cadet]

No...in fact racism doesn't exist. It did...and it may still exist in some rare and remote locations - but, I am proud to say - my generation (growing up in the '60s and 70s) we whipped it! People of color went from minority status to hero status, in everything from industry, to medicine, to education, to movies, and music.

And this is why we don't see things like black people getting arrested at a far higher rate for crimes that are equally common among black and white people. This is why we don't see a far higher degree of interest from law enforcement based on skin color. This is why black people aren't far more likely to get shot in unarmed encounters with the police.

Except none of that is true. You can shove these issues off as "exceptions" all you want, but when you get statistics like that across the whole system, the word "exception" has lost its meaning.

 

[nightflight]

And this is why we don't see things like men getting arrested at a far higher rate for crimes that are equally common among men and women. This is why we don't see a far higher degree of interest from law enforcement based on gender. This is why men aren't far more likely to get shot in unarmed encounters with the police.

 

[The Cadet]

And this is why we don't see things like men getting arrested at a far higher rate for crimes that are equally common among men and women. This is why we don't see a far higher degree of interest from law enforcement based on gender. This is why men aren't far more likely to get shot in unarmed encounters with the police.

All of those things exist and are a continuing barrier to gender equality. That's female privilege. Not sure what that has to do with the topic, but yeah, this ought to be looked at as well, and women should check their privilege when it comes to things like law enforcement.

 

[SummerMadness]

And this is why we don't see things like men getting arrested at a far higher rate for crimes that are equally common among men and women. This is why we don't see a far higher degree of interest from law enforcement based on gender. This is why men aren't far more likely to get shot in unarmed encounters with the police.

What crimes do men and women commit equally?

 

[Ana the Ist]

I've been pulled over by a cop about twice in my life. I have a friend who has been pulled over by cops more than 30 times in his life: he's twenty years younger than I am, and a successful surgeon. He also drives a better, newer car than I do.

He's black. I'm not.

-- A2SG, just today's entry for Anecdotal Evidence Day......

I've been pulled over just under two dozen times. Only three of them were legitimate....twice speeding and once for my seatbelt. 8 of them were in the same spot...a late night speed trap. I even had a cop tell me I was doing 35 in a 25 and when I pointed out the visible sign that said 45....he told me "that's not until you reach the sign!"

What's your point?

 

[Ana the Ist]

It may never be 100% resolved the tensions and history of behaviors, but I think it would be a cop out to throw hands in the air and continue to perpetuate the same claptrap. Someone has to break the cycle.

This is where PRIVILEGE comes in: as you said, it will continue on because it doesn't bother the people as much as it bothers minorities. There is no incentive to change their behavior over generations especially when the game is in their favor. Moreover, as they become more and more removed from the social injustices (because it is taught at acceptable throughout the generations, and substantiated with stereotypes,) the burden is heavier and heavier on minorities who go through the oppression everyday. Then, these same people who remain ignorant of this have the nerve to tell minorities to stop complaining while doing nothing to change their behavior.

So, when one reread this entire thread, it is easy to see these types of mentalities in full view. From complete denial to downright disdain substantiated with antedilluvian stereotypes.

If the time to truly understand the problem was utilized instead of ignoring it, pretending it doesn't exist or blaming the victims, maybe these people wouldn't feel like their "race" is under genocide everytime a family browner than a paper grocery bag moves into the neighborhood/sports/schools. That fear is due to guilt of consciousness, not "white" guilt. Indeed, it is projection, seeing as they were the ones who historically committed genocide upon several native populations around the planet.

Or...and humor me here...

A lot of the racism that minorities cite as racism isn't racism at all.

 

[SummerMadness]

I've been pulled over just under two dozen times. Only three of them were legitimate....twice speeding and once for my seatbelt. 8 of them were in the same spot...a late night speed trap. I even had a cop tell me I was doing 35 in a 25 and when I pointed out the visible sign that said 45....he told me "that's not until you reach the sign!"

What's your point?

I love how people want to claim racism does not exist with the police and they talk about getting pulled over. I'm waiting for someone to say they were walking down the street and a cop questioned and checked them for warrants, or the police approached them at their home asking if they should be in that neighborhood, or police patrolling their family event not because of a noise complaint but because there is a group of people sitting outside for a cookout. No, it's always, "I was pulled over for XYZ reason. See! We all get treated the same!"

 

[A2SG]

I've been pulled over just under two dozen times. Only three of them were legitimate....twice speeding and once for my seatbelt. 8 of them were in the same spot...a late night speed trap. I even had a cop tell me I was doing 35 in a 25 and when I pointed out the visible sign that said 45....he told me "that's not until you reach the sign!"

What's your point?

You obviously missed it.

-- A2SG, and for the record, my friend has only been stopped for a "legitimate" reason once....doing 45 in a 35 zone (at 3am)....

 

[SummerMadness]

You obviously missed it.

-- A2SG, and for the record, my friend has only been stopped for a "legitimate" reason once....doing 45 in a 35 zone (at 3am)....

My favorite legitimate reason was a police officer pulled me over after tailing me for several miles. He wasn't sure when my plate expired (it's written clearly on the plate)...

 

[Ana the Ist]

User "NothingIsImpossible" did, in post 167 of this thread.

Can you give me a page number please? I'm on my phone and post numbers don't show up.

 

[A2SG]

My favorite legitimate reason was a police officer pulled me over after tailing me for several miles. He wasn't sure when my plate expired (it's written clearly on the plate)...

My friend has told the story about how he was almost arrested because he was stopped while driving after midnight and the cop saw blood on his clothes. They were scrubs and he, as I said earlier, is a surgeon. His hospital ID was even on the shirt pocket at the time.

-- A2SG, but yeah, everyone's the same now....

 

[dzheremi]

Can you give me a page number please? I'm on my phone and post numbers don't show up.

Page 9. The post begins "I'll be blunt. There is no white privileged really. We are all equal."

 

[SummerMadness]

My friend has told the story about how he was almost arrested because he was stopped while driving after midnight and the cop saw blood on his clothes. They were scrubs and he, as I said earlier, is a surgeon. His hospital ID was even on the shirt pocket at the time.

-- A2SG, but yeah, everyone's the same now....

Perfect way to get away with a murder, throw on scrubs and tell the police you're a doctor. Wow, he even made a fake ID to sell the story. Reminds me of that Dave Chappelle bit where the cops come in knock him out and say, "Open and shut case Johnson! I've seen this before, he broke in and hung up pictures of his family everywhere!"

 

[A2SG]

Perfect way to get away with a murder, throw on scrubs and tell the police you're a doctor. Wow, he even made a fake ID to sell the story. Reminds me of that Dave Chappelle bit where the cops come in knock him out and say, "Open and shut case Johnson! I've seen this before, he broke in and hung up pictures of his family everywhere!"

Such a criminal mastermind!

-- A2SG, and he would have gotten away with it too......

 

[Ana the Ist]

Of course you can control what other people do. Laws control what you can and cannot do. Well, of course you could do whatever you want, but receiving punishment for your actions mitigates those actions.

This thread discusses people that do not judge based on the person, but on perceptions about them. They have a certain name on their resume and they don't get called in for an interview despite high qualifications. That attitude needs to change, part of that is educating people on common African American names and not laughing at those names because they're different. If they can learn to pronounce and not laugh at Czechowicz or Bachmeier, then they can do the same for Jamal, DeShawn, and Imani (which are not even difficult to pronounce).

Let's suppose for a minute that you could pass a law prohibiting employers from denying applicants an interview....there's no conceivable way to enforce it. It would change nothing in respect to the problem.

 

[A2SG]

Let's suppose for a minute that you could pass a law prohibiting employers from denying applicants an interview....there's no conceivable way to enforce it. It would change nothing in respect to the problem.

Which is why this problem won't be solved by creating laws, but by people seeing that the problem exists, and actively trying to counter these preconceptions.

-- A2SG, once upon a time, people were denied jobs because their names sounded "too irish" or "too italian".....my how far we've come....

 

[Ana the Ist]

I love how people want to claim racism does not exist with the police and they talk about getting pulled over. I'm waiting for someone to say they were walking down the street and a cop questioned and checked them for warrants, or the police approached them at their home asking if they should be in that neighborhood, or police patrolling their family event not because of a noise complaint but because there is a group of people sitting outside for a cookout. No, it's always, "I was pulled over for XYZ reason. See! We all get treated the same!"

Wow....So when A2SG relates some personal anecdotes, it's perfectly valid examples of racism. When I post similar experiences...they're immediately dismissed.

Why? Because I'm white?

Or is it because I don't immediately jump to the conclusion that the reason I was pulled over is racism?

 

[SummerMadness]

Let's suppose for a minute that you could pass a law prohibiting employers from denying applicants an interview....there's no conceivable way to enforce it. It would change nothing in respect to the problem.

Or you could blind the names as a matter of practice. Why create a straw man?