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My late husband went down to NO with his family back in the late 60's to visit an uncle who had married a Cajun queen and never came back north except to visit sometimes. Earl was warned to stay in St. Bernard Parrish and not go to the French Quarter. Of course Earl did just the opposite because he was a bad **** in his youth. He could take care of himself. Not one bit of trouble. Know why?? He was his pleasant, kind, jovial self and they loved him! He went to that bar every day and was called by name!! That was Earl.
Mind you, Earl had gotten almost as bad as me but he also did what I do IRL, take each individual on face value, no pun intended, and if you are a decent human being, you get treated as such. I shouldn't watch the news, that just adds fuel to the fire and if I DIDN'T watch news, I would be fine! All in all, it's a tough situation all around and it's too bad it even exists.
I know, I'm confused because I am of two opposite minds. Tough to be me, lol.
Whatever personality I am at any given moment is who you guys get to read, lucky you. ����
Hmmph, that explanation strangely made me feel less quarrelsome. I better go lie down I must be getting ill!!
The concept of privilege is really not an awful, scary thing, I promise!
There are people who are immediately offended at the suggestion that it exists, which is unfortunate. "Well I don't see it," they'll usually say, and that's the point. In the essay it's called the "invisible knapsack"--you can't see it or feel it, but it is there.
There are also people who argue "Well maybe that's true for rich white people, but I'm poor." And, if I may be so bold as to inject something else into this conversation, this is where we bring in the concept of intersectionality.
Simply put, none of us are just one thing. You are't just white, or just female, or "just" anything else. You are, possibly, Asian AND female AND heterosexual AND middle class AND able-bodied AND a Buddhist, and all of those things are going to interact with each other. This hypothetical person doesn't get white privilege, or male privilege, or religious privilege in America, however they do get heterosexual, class, and ability privilege.
That they have some privileges does not wipe out the areas they lack, nor does lacking some privileges mean they don't benefit from the others.
Just as unfortunate, there are people out there who do try to make people of the dominant, privileged classes feel guilty about their privilege. It's another example of the "vocal minority". I think this is wrong, but I understand where it comes from. You can only have someone standing on your neck for so long before you decide to get up. Still, attacks from either side aren't productive.
Hopefully, your nap gave you some time to process everything. Get well soon.
That's a pretty good primer on white privilege. The basic thing is this: there are a lot of benefits you get because you were born white. You shouldn't feel guilty about this, because your skin color isn't your fault. However, you absolutely should be aware that your skin color (and possibly your sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, economic background, religious affiliation, and more) give you benefits because you are part of the dominant group. McIntosh came up with a good, long list of white benefits, some are pretty benign, others have more serious consequences, but they all add up.
As a white person, we're not subject to institutionalized racism. Yes, on a legal level all races are equal, but there are a lot of social and business interactions where equality is lacking. If you're passed over for a job, it's probably not because you're white.
In fact, if you're applying for a job that requires a lot of networking to get your foot in the door, you've got a leg up. Back in the day, those businesses were run by white men, because they were the ones allowed to run businesses. So when a position in the company opened up, they tended to recommend people from their social circle...who were also generally white men.
Women and people of color have a harder time breaking into certain industries because of nepotism, and if they in turn do the same (hire their friends who are of the same sex or race), people tend to be critical of those decisions. "Well, Marsha only wanted Javon for that position because he's black, too." The opposite is rarely said about the hiring decisions of white people...unless they hire a person of color over a white person. Then it's automatically assumed they were forced into that decision by Affirmative Action.
So as a result, even today people of color and women don't truly have equal access to the same economic opportunities as white men do. And it's very easy to take a stab at the effect that has on their economic stability and their communities.
This is one example among many.
What you're feeling and seeing isn't oppression. It's an effort to give everyone a level playing field. You only feel like you're losing power because power is slowly being more evenly distributed between groups. You're not losing ground, it's just that others are catching up...and maybe you don't like that.
I have no idea if you are a man or a woman, but I'm in love with your brain. That is all.
Just as unfortunate, there are people out there who do try to make people of the dominant, privileged classes feel guilty about their privilege. It's another example of the "vocal minority". I think this is wrong, but I understand where it comes from. You can only have someone standing on your neck for so long before you decide to get up. Still, attacks from either side aren't productive.
The fact that people like you cannot get by on merit and have this make believe notion that just becuase someone is white that they are the top pick for everything from jobs, to housing is just sickening.
Would you use this same excuse if we lived in Zimbabwe or Brazil or South Africa? Please get help for your illness.
To all you idiots saying that white people somehow passive aggressively "opress" other races is just as absurd. Ever been a white guy going to a "black" barbershop? Now thats what racism is really all about. Ive never called a black guy a "n****" but have been called cracker and ****** numerous times to my face, and I am suppose to sit back and say "oh well at least I have my white privelage" LOL what is wrong with you people.
I think Blacks men and Muslims/Arab men (and to a much lesser extent Hispanics) in the US DO have it harder on average than Whites....Some of it is there own doing and some of it is societies doing....However, what I don't like is when Women lump themselves in with Blacks and Minorities....White Women have it the EASIEST of any race/gender/group in the US....Women in general also have it easier than men of their respective race...
White Women are the most entitled "privileged" group in society....Yet they lump themselves in as if they have shared the experienced of Black and Arab Men....LOL....It is true that Women historically haven't had the same rights as Men, but they also haven't had even remotely as many responsibilities/hard ships as men have had throughout human history (I don't recall Women crawling on the beaches during DDay getting mowed down by machine gun fire) so it's a trade off....Kind of like a Captive Polar Bear vs a Wild Polar Bear.....The Captive Polar Bear doesn't have as much freedom as the Wild Polar Bear does, but which Bear has the easier life??? The Captive one by far.
Black Men in the US on the other hand have gotten a raw deal historically....They historically haven't had the same rights as White Men, yet they have still had just as many hardships/responsibilities as White Men have had (Black Men were over represented in terms of causalities in Vietnam/WW2/The Iraq War...etc)
My Uncle served with many Black Americans in the Vietnam war and he was very impressed with their bravery and skill in combat...
As for Gays....I think in most places they are at absolutely no disadvantage compared to Heteros (hell they may even have an edge over Heteros in some places)
What a bunch of shyte. "You didn't have rights, but you didn't deserve them!"
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