Of course you do.
Being white is a privilege, says this PSA.
- Thread starter ChiTownBuffalo
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Of course you do.
People seem to miss the social effects of history. White privilege might not always be something that you yourself contributed to.
Look at the effects of redlining. Look at government policies that benefited largely white people such as Social Security, the FHA, and others. Pre-existing disparities in wealth and income form the basis of economic "white privilege" today. The effects of that goes deep into education, equity, property values, employment, and so on.
Look at the effects of redlining. Look at government policies that benefited largely white people such as Social Security, the FHA, and others. Pre-existing disparities in wealth and income form the basis of economic "white privilege" today. The effects of that goes deep into education, equity, property values, employment, and so on.
Bay Maximus
Banned
There is nothing inherently wrong with being privileged. I think willful ignorance is what gets most people though.
way more
Member
I think we should also stop teaching kids about racism and that way in the future there will be no racism. Dumber, less informed people is sure what will help.
So your experience was atypical? Can White Privilege co-exist along with your own experiences?
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Impoverished means hungry. Impoverished means jobless, homeless, fucking hopeless. Magic food doesn't fall from the sky because you can get sunburnt easily. Lazily throwing out "white privilege" does nothing for the people still in that impoverished state and it's telling white poor folks that "Hey, you already have a leg up, this is clearly your fault." All the while living in the same community, going to the same schools and living off the same EBT cards/food stamps as everybody around them. It's born from the same argument the upper class use to preach against the evils of welfare and it's equally wrong thinking here.
You think no poor white people are never looked down on? Never judged unfairly? Never denied opportunities? Never harassed by the cops? Does it happen more to people in a minority status? Yes, and that's an evil we have to fight together. It must be eradicated. So, I am NOT saying minorities don't have to deal with this. That would be folly. What I'm saying is it's an issue that must be tackled by everybody and throwing out "white privilege" when talking about societal ills is not doing that.
It's not easier being hungry all the time because you're white. It's not easier to get a good education in a shitty school district because of district reapportionment that divides based on median income. You don't get nicer clothes from the church donation boxes or thrift store free bags.
So, does "white privilege" exist? I guess. But not everybody was the recipient of it. If you flat out say it doesn't exist based on anecdotal evidence, you're clearly wrong. But to say that all white people have had this privilege is, frankly, demeaning.
lunarworks
Member
Well, here's the problem. The people using the term "white privilege" the most tend to express it with a certain amount of venom. If it were used in an honest tone of dialogue, it may be effective, but the term tends to be used dismissively in itself.
If we really want to be pragmatic about this, I'm not so sure how effect the term "white privilege" is. Like I said, white people certainly have it the best compared to other races in the US, but I don't think the plight of Asian Americans is as bad as it is for Latin and African Americans.
I think it's mainly hispanics and blacks that get harassed. I don't think asians do.
Asians have a different set of problems, as I understand it.
travisbickle
Member
Usual crap spouted in these threads:
Statement = Being white is a privilege
GAF response
What about being poor white, disabled white, gay white!!
Guess what you are adding adjectives that can remove some of the privileges of being white, but the adjective black removes all of those privileges.
Statement = Being white is a privilege
GAF response
What about being poor white, disabled white, gay white!!
Guess what you are adding adjectives that can remove some of the privileges of being white, but the adjective black removes all of those privileges.
It's not saying a group is wrong. Is it wrong to say that tall people will have an easier time reaching something on a top shelf? It's more about being aware of the differences.
Case in point, the New York City stop and frisk law, which has stopped more black males between the age of 14 and 24 than the total number of black males in that age group who live in NYC.
But yeah, pointing out things like this will just make racism worse.
No.
3rd world countries treat white people like gods.
No, we're just emasculated and marginalized because we are thought of as safe and unthreatening apart from krotty movies. We might not be threats, but in the meantime we are stereotyped effete virgin nerds that spend all their time listening to their parents and studying in the library.
cutmeamango
Banned
I know, just trying to wrap my head if the short statement is encompassing.
I see, but in the places you guys can perceive, it presents at least equal opportunities to the racial/color majority, correct?
DanteFox
Member
yup. It's intellectually lazy and unnecessarily accusatory.
$$$
way more
Member
Insightful. Keep us up to date on the other widespread social phenomenons that you haven't experienced.
ChiTownBuffalo
Either I made up lies about the Boston Bomber or I fell for someone else's crap. Either way, I have absolutely no credibility and you should never pay any attention to anything I say, no matter what the context. Perm me if I claim to be an insider
Well, a genocide was committed on Native Americans. There are still here, but the population is slowing dying out, for a number of reasons. They are still in their concentration camps, so to speak.
Opportunities for natives are horrible. I know this because in college I went to help teach on the Rez. One at the Rosebud Sioux res and the other at the Jemez Pueblo in NM. The access to basic social services is bad, and having been the "3rd world" countries, its about that level in some places. The opportunities for the kids is equally as horrible. You displaced hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people, and sent them to lands wholly different then where they had originally inhabited, and then more or less left them to rot.
What happened to the Native Americans will forever be a scar in this country's history.
A white child who comes from a broken home with abusive, drug-addicted parents will always have an advantage over a black child who comes from a broken home with abusive, drug-addicted parents in modern American society.
That is fact. Period.
If you were pulled over by a cop, you are three times less likely to be searched
If you committed a crime as a young man, you are more likely to receive a lighter punishment
If you are caught with drugs, you are 48 times less likely to go to jail than your black friend with the same crime
If you apply for a home mortgage, you are half as likely to be turned down
If you violate school rules, you are less likely to be suspended or expelled than a minority student.
If you apply for a business loan, you are more likely to be approved than your minority friend
If you apply for a job, you are 50% more likely to receive a callback because of your "white name" than your black friend with a "black name".
Seraphinianus
Banned
Blech, it's always disgusting to see social consciousness leveraged for some kind of false sense of superiority.
Believe it or not, there are billions of people who didn't get through your college's sociology or women's studies programs...try not to shut down and call them "White Privilege Deniers" when they reveal themselves to be less educated on the subject as you.
It's nice that Gaf seems to be heading on a more socially conscious path, but some of the people heading it up are like one step removed from being intellectual bullies.
"Hey, I'm gonna post something about inequality in society, it's gonna blast 99% of the people on neogaf (white males), then I'm gonna smack them down in the thread when they express disbelief or seem uneducated on the subject!"
ChiTownBuffalo
Either I made up lies about the Boston Bomber or I fell for someone else's crap. Either way, I have absolutely no credibility and you should never pay any attention to anything I say, no matter what the context. Perm me if I claim to be an insider
Depends, in areas of the USA with higher concentrations of Asians, yes the incidence rate is higher. But that could just be because there is a higher number. If you really want to look at it, you don't look at 2nd, 3rd or 4th generation East Asian immigrants, you look at more recent ASian immigrant groups, like Vietnamese, Hmong, Cambodian, etc. Who came to the US within the last 30 - 20 years or so. And then the incidence of police harassment get much higher than other more "traditional" Asian immigrants, like Chinese, Koreans and South Asians.
Half and half
Member
I'm not an athlete, just some guy in the working world. And people make incorrect assumptions about me based on god knows what. But now that I have their attention, I'm going to show them that my talents simply cannot be denied.
Sure, it's an uphill battle. But it's one that can won by removing the mental shackles that society places on us. Everyone is capable of this.
Ah, I read your post as a snarky comment that there weren't any statistics to prove white privilege exists. Sorry about that.
Sadly, Arabs are terrorists in American, not white
THAT'S NOT WHAT THE CENSUS SAYS :'( I've been filling out applications wrong this entire time!
I am the son of two doctors, and I've been to africa, asia, australia, the south pacific. No.
You just don't want to admit any sort of global deference to whites, or can't because of pure lack of perspective.
The difference in the amount of comparisons between white and black and white and any other race in this thread is a little enlightening.
It makes me wonder if this PSA would be better off at showing the lack of privilege African Americans have.
I agree with the sentiment that white people need to know about the privilege they have being white, but campaigns highlighting this issue strike a fine line between informing and antagonizing, as this PSA clearly demonstrates.
It makes me wonder if this PSA would be better off at showing the lack of privilege African Americans have.
I agree with the sentiment that white people need to know about the privilege they have being white, but campaigns highlighting this issue strike a fine line between informing and antagonizing, as this PSA clearly demonstrates.
Sounds word for word like Australian Aboriginals' situation right now. Some of them manage to make it and keep their identity whilst making a living in the wider society. Others want to keep their traditions and live them out and do so successfully. Others have no life outside of camps, where poverty, lack of clean water, substance abuse, inability to live nomadic life as their ancestors did, dying culture and loss of oral tradition etc are all major problems.
It's sad because there is often very little choice for them, but also sad because I think, like Native Americans, there was so much in their cultures that is beautiful in terms of stories, tradition and knowledge that is unlike anything else in the world. I mean, these people lived in Australia in some of the harshest climates on Earth for 60,000 years and they thrived. And now, after 230 years, a lot of that has been decimated.
Incidentally, I found out one of my Aunts has Sioux ancestry, I think one of her great-great Grandfathers was. But living in Australia she would have absolutely nothing in terms of experience, that's for sure.
Team Filler
Member
Everybody must be too blinded by the pure radiance of white privilege to see this. Sorry about that.
Privilege is directly correlated with the amount of times someone uses the word privilege.
soul creator
Member
goddamn sociology and their "studies" and "statistics"
Speaking of which, is there a particular reason why we (Middle Easterners) are identified as White by the US Census?
Are you saying you shouldn't act like a smarmy fuck when trying to explain something to people you believe don't understand an issue you feel strongly about? That's like saying it has an effect on our ability to solve issues through communication. Be serious.
Team Filler
Member
I took the $$$ comment more as, "how many poor people travel internationally?"
Yes, this would be a step in the right direction. The last thing people want to hear when they're barely making ends meet (which I'm not right now, but was a few months ago) is how privileged they are.
It's still dumb to simplify it down to skin-tone, though. Anyone can walk around downtown for all of 10 minutes and see people of all different colors doing better financially, socially, etc than they are. Obviously it's more complicated that white=privileged, black=screwed. Education and family success are much stronger predictors of future success than color, otherwise the deep South would have risen (so to speak) generations ago.
Just as there ain't shit a black kid can do about being black, there ain't shit I can do about being white. I don't want anyone to be denied opportunities because they aren't the same color as I am, but I'm not going to feel guilty because I was born with light skin. And trying to paint white males in a negative light isn't the best way to go about improving race relations.
But poverty is still poverty, and coming from a broken home is going to negatively impact you regardless of your skin color. Let's work on improving socio-economic conditions for everyone, and that will go a long way.
But poverty is still poverty, and coming from a broken home is going to negatively impact you regardless of your skin color. Let's work on improving socio-economic conditions for everyone, and that will go a long way.
DanteFox
Member
Death Dealer
Member
I think a HS dropout from a well off family has it easier in life than a college grad from the projects.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurgan_hypothesis or some shit idk anymore
He is saying that money talks in 3rd world countries. This is true in the most obvious way.
I am saying that white people receive deferential treatment in said countries regardless of that. He cannot perceive this or does not agree. I dont expect him to rethink it with anecdotal or statistical evidence, so i think im done here.
being a smarmy fuck gets peoples backs up and inhibits the ability to get through and communicate the point.
cutmeamango
Banned
As I see, the two walk together.
People are economically segregated and racially segregated.
Poor people are likely to stay poor.
If you are a racial minority that is a economically weak majority, it only serves to diminish your chance on equality.
This graph is quite interesting:
This was a fantastic post except for the "intellectual bully" part. That's exactly what he's going after; to feel like he's smarter than everyone else. Don't feed him.
way more
Member
Disbelief of and not being educated on any subject is no reason to mock someone. But indignant denial and willful misunderstanding deserve the shit pile flung.
I think there is a tiny bit you missed.
Yes, poverty is the killer. It does have a major negative influence.
The other issue is awareness. Statistically speaking, white people are more likely to get in higher ranking positions. That's the way it currently is. The more that they are aware of their own subconscious selection processes, and ethnically biased tests (eg intelligence tests like WISC are inherently biased against cultures like Aboriginal Australians), and make efforts to try and make non-biased judgements, then eventually the imbalance will sort itself out.
Team Filler
Member
LaserBuddha
Member
Telling someone they're privileged, because of their race or whatever else, just devalues both their successes and their suffering. All it can bring is hate.
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