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[soul creator]

But then how could we make apples to oranges comparisons?

"White privilege is a real social phenomenon in the US, backed up by decades of research where we control for lots of other factors like wealth, gender, location, etc."

"I'll take your stats and counter with...Denzel Washington. Theory disproved!"

 

[JCX]

Yeah nothing says empathy like stereotyping an entire disparate group of people - from the poorest of the poor barely surviving in Appalachia, to walmart greeters, to disabled veterans, to uninsured dying from curable diseases, to school teachers, to wage slaves, to CEO's, to senators - as being unfairly privelidged all in the name of breaking down stereotypes.
I just don't see how you can think that a kid born into a house with more people than rooms and without indoor plumbing is privelidged.

So just to be clear, your assertion is that the simultaneous existence of poor white people and rich minorities disproves the existence of white privilege, or is your argument that is shouldn't be said because it might hurt some peoples' feelings?

 

[Karsticles]

A Straight white male can be anything he wants, in terms of personal brand/identity, without running the risk of his behaviors being extrapolated onto his entire race as "typical behaviors." Minorities, women, and LGBT people constantly have to be conscious of how their behavior will reflect upon the group (some of those groups to a greater degree than others).

I hope you recognize the irony of saying minorities, women, and LBGT folks have to be careful about how they express themselves as individuals because people generalize from that to the group while simultaneously generalizing straight white males.

 

[kame-sennin]

To deny the existence of racial privilege because some members of the dominant racial group lack class privilege (despite that racial group being overwhelmingly dominant in terms of class privilege) doesn't really make sense. Racial privilege is about race. A white person is privileged over a similarly situated black person. While there are individual black people who are more privileged than individual white people in terms of, say, class status, that same black person is still disadvantaged relative to a white person in the same social class. The fact that you do not have class privilege does not mean that you are not advantaged by racial privilege (just as the reverse is true - but a poor white person is still better off than a poor black person).

The best explanation for this a word you introduced me to in an older thread, "Kyriarchy":

Kyriarchy is a neologism coined by Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza to describe interconnected, interacting, and multiplicative systems of domination and submission, within which a person oppressed in one context might be privileged in another.[1] It is an elaboration within intersectional theory of the concept of patriarchy[1] — it extends the analysis of oppression beyond gender (as in traditional feminism) to sexism, racism, economic injustice, and other forms of dominating hierarchy in which the subordination of one person or group to another is internalized and institutionalized.[2]. It may be treated as closely related, or synonymous with, the concept of dominating hierarchy within social ecology and anarchist theory.​

Not to go off topic, but solidarity between feminists, anti-racists, LGBTQ activists, labor groups, et al. is something I think is really important. Throughout American history, wedges have been driven between these groups for the purposes of increasing the profits of the ruling class. For example, the "they're taking our jobs" meme actually originates from the post-Civil War period when black workers were hired for agricultural jobs at extremely low wages. White workers could not compete, and the capitalists who benefited financially shrewdly played up racial tensions to prevent white and black workers from joining together to demand better treatment. It's not about who has the worst oppression, it's about acknowledging that privilege and oppression exist and working to stop it.

 

[CrushDance]

I assume you’re referring to me.

-I live in Canada, and don’t remember learning much about Asians in history books, or school. However, I don’t remember learning much about Europe either though, except for when there was a direct connection to Canada. I learned more about Native Americans than Europeans that stayed in Europe. I doubt that in Asia, they teach about European countries that had no presence there historically.

-Yeah, the second point is true. When you take the overall population in to account, in the American media, Asians are severely underrepresented, whites are normal, and jews are heavily overrepresented.

-Sure, I guess Asian women are fetishized sometimes, but what about blondes, and ocassionally Eastern European girls? And what about the blacks and Asians that prefer whites? Why is that white privilege, while the other way around it is a fetish?




For the rest of your post, you’re just acknowledging that minorities will have a harder time fitting in and being accepted. I agree with this, but I think that it is an unavoidable part of any society, so I don’t see the point of this video focusing only on whites and making it seem like they should feel guilty about it.

Lots of the other stuff you talk about can easily apply to whites people as well, even in North America. There are actually many neighbourhoods where whites are a minority, I’m sure white people can get rejected for being white there when they ask a non-white guy or girl out. You mention ethnic names getting fewer chances for jobs and law. Are you sure it’s because they’re not white? What about if they’re white but not English?
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada...ing-names-hold-edge-for-job-seekers-in-survey

You talk about certain groups sticking to themselves in parts of the city. What does this have to do with white privilege; different white people segregate themselves too. When you go to a big city, there will be neighbourhoods that are almost all Chinese or Indian, but there are other neighbourhoods that almost all Polish or Italian or Portuguese.

English speaking whites in America are no different from Japanese in Japan. A group of people that had the most influence in the building of some society will be at an advantage in that society to some extent.

Um. How many times have you heard white fever on TV? At the movies? And being blonde, brunette, redhead is irrelevant. Very few people are going to outright dismiss you because of your hair colour. It's your skin colour that is the biggest magnet of attention.

Lots of the other stuff you talk about can easily apply to whites people as well, even in North America. There are actually many neighbourhoods where whites are a minority, I’m sure white people can get rejected for being white there when they ask a non-white guy or girl out. You mention ethnic names getting fewer chances for jobs and law. Are you sure it’s because they’re not white? What about if they’re white but not English?

Okay. Hypothetically. Let's say that this does happen. As I'm sure it does. What does that white man or woman do after that? Go home and lament their existence? Or will they most likely just shrug it off and move on after a bit? Will they not have a massive amount of white people willing to give them a chance anyway? What I'm trying to get across is this: If a black, asian, NA person turns you down for a job or anything else. That's terrible, true. But how many of them will you see after that when you walk outside your door? This is where the mental and emotional chains come into play. And I can't describe it you in words how difficult it is to fight with yourself and affirm that "Not everybody is like that", "Someone will give me a chance", when you are surrounded by a specific majority of people all your life and find very few people like yourself.

The point is that America is often viewed and does speak highly of itself as a bastion of freedom and equality. Wars are started in order to "free" other peoples. So the issue is not that people are saying white people are devils or anything like that. But rather that as a society, we should be doing better to integrate everyone under the same banner of open thought and true equality.

This PSA is about America specifically and not any other country. I can guarantee you that it is not saying that white people are responsible for all the problems in the world. Some people are taking the video as an attack on white people. That is not the case. Rather the overarching message is saying that any group, no matter what colour, religion, gender, sex, etc; IF you are a majority. You DO have a responsibility and should try to help the minorities integrate into your society. There are poor whites, poor blacks, poor asians; who are all American for example that donate to charities around the world. They are "less" than the middle class, upperclass whites, blacks and asians; but they are still "more" than some other people in the world who have less.

This is the thing that many are not accepting for some reason. There is nothing wrong with being white. There is nothing wrong with being born the way you are. But...notice how white people never really say that to themselves as an affirmation? Yet minorities have had whole movements simply saying "Be X and be proud". Yet some white people(The majority) will see this and say "Well why can't we be white and proud?!" And completely miss the point. You don't have to tell yourself that you *should* be proud of being what you are. You are celebrated and glamorized every single day. So it comes off as a little insulting and quite frankly overly greedy, when some people start complaining and say "Where's white history month?", "Why can't I be white and proud?", "I suffer too".

It is not about what you have experienced as a majority. But rather what you haven't because you're a majority.


And lastly. I too am Canadian. That does not insulate me from racism and has not insulated me from racism.

Not to go off topic, but solidarity between feminists, anti-racists, LGBTQ activists, labor groups, et al. is something I think is really important. Throughout American history, wedges have been driven between these groups for the purposes of increasing the profits of the ruling class. For example, the "they're taking our jobs" meme actually originates from the post-Civil War period when black workers were hired for agricultural jobs at extremely low wages. White workers could not compete, and the capitalists who benefited financially shrewdly played up racial tensions to prevent white and black workers from joining together to demand better treatment. It's not about who has the worst oppression, it's about acknowledging that privilege and oppression exist and working to stop it.

Don't even get me started on black people and homosexuality. *Groan*

 

[theignoramus]

Really? Do you live in a house or an apartment? What's your neighborhood like? If it's an apartment building what does your building's racial make up look like?

There was a great documentary from 1991 called True Colors - Racial Discrimination in Everyday Life. It's not that long, about 20 minutes. I think it's worth a watch if you really think you absolutely haven't benefited from white privilege in your life. Part 1 Part 2

damn, that was a very well conceived test. I like that the black guy wore a shirt and tie, just demonstrates that racial profiling is precisely that. He was well dressed and he was still treated as "one of them"

 

[poppabk]

So just to be clear, your assertion is that the simultaneous existence of poor white people and rich minorities disproves the existence of white privilege, or is your argument that is shouldn't be said because it might hurt some peoples' feelings?

No it shouldn't be said because it makes this PSA patronizing to a lot of the people it is trying to reach and guilty of portraying a racial stereotype that is like all stereotypes too broad and whose purpose is to pigeon hole people. You aren't going to get people to question their stereotypes by making new ones.

 

[kame-sennin]

I assume you’re referring to me.

-I live in Canada, and don’t remember learning much about Asians in history books, or school. However, I don’t remember learning much about Europe either though, except for when there was a direct connection to Canada. I learned more about Native Americans than Europeans that stayed in Europe.

You didn't learn about ancient Greek democracy? The Roman Empire? Medieval feudalism? The Renaissance or the Enlightenment? Did you not have to read Shakespeare or Dickens? Not every subject on European history and culture is labeled as such. In the U.S., the accomplishments of white men are taught in "American history" while the accomplishments of Latinos are taught in "ethnic studies". Plato is studied in "classic literature" while Sun Tzu is studied in "foreign literature". The viewpoint that ones own history and culture is 'standard', 'normal', and not needing special categorization is a privilege in and of itself.

-Sure, I guess Asian women are fetishized sometimes, but what about blondes, and ocassionally Eastern European girls? And what about the blacks and Asians that prefer whites? Why is that white privilege, while the other way around it is a fetish?

Because white women are praised for their beauty, while women of color are fetishized for the features which make them different from the white 'standard'.

damn, that was a very well conceived test. I like that the black guy wore a shirt and tie, just demonstrates that racial profiling is precisely that. He was well dressed and he was still treated as "one of them"

That part really bummed me out because dressing nice is one of the things I tell myself will allow me to avoid such problems.

 

[kame-sennin]

No it shouldn't be said because it makes this PSA patronizing to a lot of the people it is trying to reach and guilty of portraying a racial stereotype that is like all stereotypes too broad and whose purpose is to pigeon hole people. You aren't going to get people to question their stereotypes by making new ones.

Stating that white Americans receive unfair privilege is not a stereotype, it's a fact.

 

[Mumei]

I hope you recognize the irony of saying minorities, women, and LBGT folks have to be careful about how they express themselves as individuals because people generalize from that to the group while simultaneously generalizing straight white males.

I don't see the problem in his post. He was talking about one of the advantages you have when you are in a dominant class (racial or otherwise); you are not treated as a representative of all White People or of all Men, so that your actions or successes or failures reflects on you and not on the group you belong to.

It would be a very unusual circumstance for a straight white male to have a legitimate need to worry about this in the same way, and it would not be a consistent fact of his life.

The best explanation for this a word you introduced me to in an older thread, "Kyriarchy":

Kyriarchy is a neologism coined by Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza to describe interconnected, interacting, and multiplicative systems of domination and submission, within which a person oppressed in one context might be privileged in another.[1] It is an elaboration within intersectional theory of the concept of patriarchy[1] — it extends the analysis of oppression beyond gender (as in traditional feminism) to sexism, racism, economic injustice, and other forms of dominating hierarchy in which the subordination of one person or group to another is internalized and institutionalized.[2]. It may be treated as closely related, or synonymous with, the concept of dominating hierarchy within social ecology and anarchist theory.​

Not to go off topic, but solidarity between feminists, anti-racists, LGBTQ activists, labor groups, et al. is something I think is really important. Throughout American history, wedges have been driven between these groups for the purposes of increasing the profits of the ruling class. For example, the "they're taking our jobs" meme actually originates from the post-Civil War period when black workers were hired for agricultural jobs at extremely low wages. White workers could not compete, and the capitalists who benefited financially shrewdly played up racial tensions to prevent white and black workers from joining together to demand better treatment. It's not about who has the worst oppression, it's about acknowledging that privilege and oppression exist and working to stop it.

Coming across "kyriarchy" was a light-bulb moment for me. It encapsulated in the interconnection I felt between various social movements, and it's something I particularly appreciate about feminism.

 

[Axalon]

If you're white and feel uncomfortable about being called privileged and so much luckier than other races, think about what you're getting upset about: being fit into a stereotype due to something you didn't ask for and something outside your control. Ring any bells?

 

[UrokeJoe]

If you're white and feel uncomfortable about being called privileged and so much luckier than other races, think about what you're getting upset about: being fit into a stereotype due to something you didn't ask for and something outside your control. Ring any bells?

A big black dick?

 

[Axalon]

A big black dick?

I was thinking more along the lines of translating that outrage of being called privileged to outrage of being discriminated against, but yes, that too

 

[YoungHav]

Ya know, I know there's such a thing as male privilege, but I have personally never experienced it /sarcasm

 

[blame space]

what about hot person privilege

 

[Lazy Jones]

Yeah being a white male is pretty nice.

 

[poppabk]

Stating that white Americans receive unfair privilege is not a stereotype, it's a fact.

It's a stereotype. All whites do not receive unfair privilege.

 

[Devolution]

It's a stereotype. All whites do not receive unfair privilege.

You're confusing stereotypes for the reality in which our (American) society is set up.

 

[poppabk]

If you're white and feel uncomfortable about being called privileged and so much luckier than other races, think about what you're getting upset about: being fit into a stereotype due to something you didn't ask for and something outside your control. Ring any bells?

Which is why this PSA is stupid or so cunningly clever that it heads back into stupidity.

 

[poppabk]

You're confusing stereotypes for the reality in which our (American) society is set up.

Explain to me how all whites receive unfair privelidge.

 

[Alvarius]

You're confusing stereotypes for the reality in which our (American) society is set up.

How is it set up this way?

 

[cutmeamango]

I don't see the problem in his post. He was talking about one of the advantages you have when you are in a dominant class (racial or otherwise); you are not treated as a representative of all White People or of all Men, so that your actions or successes or failures reflects on you and not on the group you belong to.

It would be a very unusual circumstance for a straight white male to have a legitimate need to worry about this in the same way, and it would not be a consistent fact of his life.


Coming across "kyriarchy" was a light-bulb moment for me. It encapsulated in the interconnection I felt between various social movements, and it's something I particularly appreciate about feminism.

It is a matter of interpretation only. When you categorize "straight white male" as dominant it undoubtedly refers qualitatively to 'oppressive' (not to say that ideologically it will be painted as the witch to burn by some). So that sets any straight white male element in a need to be visually (to those concerned) conscious if he is being an oppressor.

And "kyriachy" is something that modern marxists have been on about for a while (even though still holding economical power as the determinant to subsequential terms of oppression, the hegemony set). Modern marxism and feminism are quite related in this aspect.

what about hot person privilege

It weakens with age.

 

[Devolution]

Explain to me how all whites receive unfair privelidge.

How is it set up this way?

I don't know, maybe read the thread?

 

[speedline]

Explain to me how all whites receive unfair privelidge.

You have a better chance at receiving better treatment in life if your white.

 

[kame-sennin]

It's a stereotype. All whites do not receive unfair privilege.

How many white Americans suffer from allostatic load as a result of racial stress, or are whites privileged by not having to worry about that?

Years of research about which most have no awareness — because it doesn’t make the news — tells us that the daily coping with racialization, which people of color learn to do from an early age, but which whites rarely if ever experience, leaves scars. It contributes to the excess release of stress hormones in the black and brown body, causing something called allostatic load — a reference to the short-circuiting of the body’s natural defenses against anxiety-producing events and traumas. That allostatic load then corresponds to higher blood pressure, higher rates of heart disease, and early death. The research has found that even affluent black folks have higher markers for allostatic load than poor whites, despite the real stresses that the latter contend with each day.​

http://www.timwise.org/2012/01/flyi...rivilege-and-the-evidence-of-things-not-felt/

Explain to me how all whites receive unfair privelidge.

How about not being the target of the NYPD's Stop-and-Frisk policy, or of racial profiling practices in general.

 

[Alvarius]

I don't know, maybe read the thread?

I'm curious about whether you can explain why you believe something without linking to some long thing or just rolling your eyes.

So back to that. You said American society is set up to favor white people. How is it set up that way?

 

[Devolution]

I'm curious about whether you can explain why you believe something without linking to some long thing or just rolling your eyes.

So back to that. You said American society is set up to favor white people. How is it set up that way?

Incarceration rates. Wage gaps. Racial profiling. Just to name a few.

 

[Gaborn]

I'm curious about whether you can explain why you believe something without linking to some long thing or just rolling your eyes.

So back to that. You said American society is set up to favor white people. How is it set up that way?

Look at my post and watch the two part documentary.

 

[Alvarius]

Incarceration rates. Wage gaps. Racial profiling. Just to name a few.

But you said 'set up' to favor white people. You're telling me what the machine does. I'm asking you how it works. How is American society set up that way? I'm curious whether this can be explained in a simple way.

 

[Lv99 Slacker]

I wanted to quote the poster who said that white priviledge isn't a global phenomenon, and if there is such a thing, is confined to western countries. You wouldn't find it in Asia. Ahem:

July/August 2010 ATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Rent a White Guy | Confessions of a fake businessman from Beijing -- The Atlantic

Not long ago I was offered work as a quality-control expert with an American company in China I’d never heard of. No experience necessary—which was good, because I had none. I’d be paid $1,000 for a week, put up in a fancy hotel, and wined and dined in Dongying, an industrial city in Shandong province I’d also never heard of. The only requirements were a fair complexion and a suit.

“I call these things ‘White Guy in a Tie’ events,” a Canadian friend of a friend named Jake told me during the recruitment pitch he gave me in Beijing, where I live. “Basically, you put on a suit, shake some hands, and make some money. We’ll be in ‘quality control,’ but nobody’s gonna be doing any quality control. You in?”

I was.

And so I became a fake businessman in China, an often lucrative gig for underworked expatriates here. One friend, an American who works in film, was paid to represent a Canadian company and give a speech espousing a low-carbon future. Another was flown to Shanghai to act as a seasonal-gifts buyer. Recruiting fake businessmen is one way to create the image—particularly, the image of connection—that Chinese companies crave. My Chinese-language tutor, at first aghast about how much we were getting paid, put it this way: “Having foreigners in nice suits gives the company face.”

-- more in link

(Video) Chinese companies 'rent' white foreigners -- CNN
June 29, 2010 7:33 a.m. EDT

Beijing, China (CNN) -- In China, white people can be rented.

For a day, a weekend, a week, up to even a month or two, Chinese companies are willing to pay high prices for fair-faced foreigners to join them as fake employees or business partners.

Some call it "White Guy Window Dressing." To others, it's known as the "White Guy in a Tie" events, "The Token White Guy Gig," or, simply, a "Face Job."

And it is, essentially, all about the age-old Chinese concept of face. To have a few foreigners hanging around means a company has prestige, money and the increasingly crucial connections -- real or not -- to businesses abroad.

"Face, we say in China, is more important than life itself," said Zhang Haihua, author of "Think Like Chinese." "Because Western countries are so developed, people think they are more well off, so people think that if a company can hire foreigners, it must have a lot of money and have very important connections overseas. So when they really want to impress someone, they may roll out a foreigner."

 

[Devolution]

But you said 'set up' to favor white people. You're telling me what the machine does. I'm asking you how it works. How is American society set up that way? I'm curious whether this can be explained in a simple way.

What machine? People racially profile, people pay women and minorities less, and people decide that the justice system is better served making sure blacks and minorities get a disproportionate amount of convictions and jail time. If you think most people should be or are against these things, then it's our job to change them.

If you're asking how it came to be this way then you should watch the documentary or take a gender/minority studies course that goes into further depth. The simple answer is that America started out as a nation where white male land owners consolidated power.

 

[kame-sennin]

I'm curious about whether you can explain why you believe something without linking to some long thing or just rolling your eyes.

So back to that. You said American society is set up to favor white people. How is it set up that way?

There are many posts on the last page of the thread that explain aspects of white privilege. Gaborn's video is a good explanation of the day-to-day shittyness of racial inequality. This article has a good historical summary of how things got that way:

http://www.timwise.org/2010/10/affi...ifference-between-oppression-and-opportunity/

 

[cutmeamango]

How many white Americans suffer from allostatic load as a result of racial stress, or are whites privileged by not having to worry about that?

Years of research about which most have no awareness — because it doesn’t make the news — tells us that the daily coping with racialization, which people of color learn to do from an early age, but which whites rarely if ever experience, leaves scars. It contributes to the excess release of stress hormones in the black and brown body, causing something called allostatic load — a reference to the short-circuiting of the body’s natural defenses against anxiety-producing events and traumas. That allostatic load then corresponds to higher blood pressure, higher rates of heart disease, and early death. The research has found that even affluent black folks have higher markers for allostatic load than poor whites, despite the real stresses that the latter contend with each day.​

http://www.timwise.org/2012/01/flyi...rivilege-and-the-evidence-of-things-not-felt/

I posted the research (you can read it fully) last page.
Just a few things, they define on the poverty rate as poor and non-poor. Not affluent and poor.
And as you can read from the analysis that they suggest that the systematic oppression may be the cause in this weathering hypothesis and this study may corroborate. It certainly proves that statistically, black people in the US are more likely to present health issues due chronic stress than white people, especially black women of age.

Unfortunately, the other study of 2011, with more ethnicities is not available to read. :/

 

[Esch]

Explain to me how all whites receive unfair privelidge.

Read the thread. Actually read it,

 

[DY_nasty]

Explain to me how all whites receive unfair privelidge.

"I haven't read shit and I have no intention of doing so. Ever."

But you said 'set up' to favor white people. You're telling me what the machine does. I'm asking you how it works. How is American society set up that way? I'm curious whether this can be explained in a simple way.

The entire country was built on fucking over other cultures and whoever got off the boat last. It still is.

 

[cutmeamango]

I wanted to quote the poster who said that white priviledge isn't a global phenomenon, and if there is such a thing, is confined to western countries. You wouldn't find it in Asia. Ahem:

July/August 2010 ATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Rent a White Guy | Confessions of a fake businessman from Beijing -- The Atlantic

-- more in link

(Video) Chinese companies 'rent' white foreigners -- CNN
June 29, 2010 7:33 a.m. EDT

These two news are not white privilege.

 

[Alvarius]

Thanks for the responses.

I have another question. How does a nonwhite person go about distinguishing racism from coincidences and misunderstandings? How do you avoid suffering from persecution mania?

 

[Extra Sauce]

I personally think attractiveness plays more of a role than race. Ex. Attractive black has more privileges than unattractive white.

Very true.

 

[kame-sennin]

Thanks for the responses.

I have another question. How does a nonwhite person go about distinguishing racism from coincidences and misunderstandings? How do you avoid suffering from persecution mania?

This is answered in the information you were referred to.

 

[DY_nasty]

Very true.

How do you figure?

 

[Alvarius]

This is answered in the information you were referred to.

People keep referring me to long things. I understand it's a complex subject, but I'm also interested to see whether -- when I ask you directly -- you can give me a sort of rundown. No one has so far. Just links, eyerolling, and question begging.

You seem like a smart fellow. Can you tell me in a few sentences how American society is set up to screw other cultures? This...

The entire country was built on fucking over other cultures and whoever got off the boat last. It still is.

...is just restating the issue. I'm just asking you to give me a quick answer about how it works. From you.

 

[rando14]

These two news are not white privilege.

Are you serious? Based on the color of your skin, you are seen as the boss and give "true" legitimacy to an entire company. BASED ON THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN.

No Asian, Hispanic, or black person would get that offer.

 

[Devolution]

People keep referring me to long things. I understand it's a complex subject, but I'm also interested to see whether -- when I ask you directly -- you can give me a sort of rundown. No one has so far. Just links, eyerolling, and question begging.

You seem like a smart fellow. Can you tell me in a few sentences how American society is set up to screw other cultures? This......is just restating the issue. I'm just asking you to give me a quick answer about how it works. From you.

American Society was set up with white landing owning heterosexual males as the default. Various "other" groups since then have had to deal with oppression, racism, sexism, isolation, alienation, murder, rape, homophobia, slavery and general injustice. Despite all of that rights have expanded but we're still not 100% at a spot where every race, gender, and sexuality are 100% with the rich white male.

 

[blame space]

are you saying i can go to china and they'll pay me to be white? because that would be pretty cool. i'd sell out.

 

[DY_nasty]

You seem like a smart fellow. Can you tell me in a few sentences how American society is set up to screw other cultures? This......is just restating the issue. I'm just asking you to give me a quick answer about how it works. From you.

That is the quick answer.

 

[nel e nel]

I personally think attractiveness plays more of a role than race. Ex. Attractive black has more privileges than unattractive white.

Attractive black can still get pulled over for DWB.

 

[Alvarius]

American Society was set up with white landing owning heterosexual males as the default. Various "other" groups since then have had to deal with oppression, racism, sexism, isolation, alienation, murder, rape, homophobia, slavery and general injustice. Despite all of that rights have expanded but we're still not 100% at a spot where every race, gender, and sexuality are 100% with the rich white male.

That's not really what I was asking, though. I know how oppression worked in the country's worst days. But can you explain to me how it works today? How society is 'set up' -- again that phrase -- today to favor white people?

Thanks for being patient with me.

 

[cutmeamango]

How do you figure?

Peter Dinklage x Idris Elba at NeoGAF.

People keep referring me to long things. I understand it's a complex subject, but I'm also interested to see whether -- when I ask you directly -- you can give me a sort of rundown. No one has so far. Just links, eyerolling, and question begging.

Immigration of poor and slavery. Any capitalist country will be economically stratified, the immigration and slavery will just set ethnicities to the two lowest stratas. Then we just have a systemic supremacy > oppression, as pointed by Marx and other dudes.

 

[Alvarius]

That is the quick answer.

But not really. Let me explain. To use a metaphor, your point is that the stove cooks your food. I'm asking you how it works, and you keep telling me it cooks my food.

 

[kame-sennin]

People keep referring me to long things. I understand it's a complex subject, but I'm also interested to see whether -- when I ask you directly -- you can give me a sort of rundown. No one has so far. Just links, eyerolling, and question begging.

You seem like a smart fellow. Can you tell me in a few sentences how American society is set up to screw other cultures? This......is just restating the issue. I'm just asking you to give me a quick answer about how it works. From you.

America became the economic power that it is today in large part because of free labor provided by slavery. After the civil war, wealthy landowning whites, not wanting to loose their considerable wealth, paid blacks extremely low wages to work their land. At the same time, laws were passed that limited the economic prospects of blacks. Today, these laws are known as 'Jim Crow' laws. The combination of low-paying work and Jim Crow had the effect of keeping blacks at the bottom of the socio economic latter - by limiting their access to education, housing, and fair treatment in the criminal justice system - while at the same time enriching a small subset of already wealthy whites. After the end of Jim Crow, new laws were put in place to continue the oppression of black people without seeming to violate their constitutional rights. The drug war, for example, has resulted in mass incarcerations for blacks. On the surface, there are no drug laws that specifically target blacks. But if we look at actual enforcement, we see that blacks are more likely to be arrested for drug possession even though whites are more likely to use drugs. It is the selective use of law enforcement power that creates an unequal racist outcome. At the same time, large corporations benefit from the large prison population in the form of contracts to build new prisons, or, ironically, in the selling of free prison labor.