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The fact that I am white has not given me any extra advantages in life that you are aware of. I've struggled a lot in my life and get so sick and tired of hearing how "priviledged" I am due to the color of my skin.
My White friends did not "get it" either until we did a few little experiments like seeing who gets waited on first in stores (and who gets ignored) or who gets seated first in a restaurant, for example.
Or having my boss tell me to hire a less qualified candidate for a position because he is the kid of his golfing buddy or his son's college dorm mate.
Or the friend who was told an apartment was still available while I was told it was not. This type of thing happens ALL OF THE TIME.
ETA: You may not be aware that the privilege exists or is happening or that you have benefited in any way but it is very real.
Last edited by calipoppy; 02-09-2010 at 08:56 PM..
Reason: to add
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,012,380 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mach50
I believe you, but...
Has it ever effected your job?
Getting into a lease?
Given a nice tip as a server?
Otherwise do you think being white in America would ever hurt your prosperity compared to another race?
Has being white affected my employment opportunities? Yes, because I do not have bilingual skills because I was raised by a family that spoke English only.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,012,380 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by + or -
Cry me a river, dude!
I can't tell YOU how many times I've been in "rich" white areas and received hostile stares from whites, as if to let me know I don't belong there.
See, the difference between you and I, is that you, as a white male, don't HAVE to go predominately black areas. Afterall, black areas are largely poorand not the center of business activity in most metropolitan areas.
Heavily white areas, which tend to have higher incomes, often are. So, blacks often HAVE to go into areas which are predominately white in day-to-day business dealings, whereas whites DO NOT have to go into predominately black areas.
And tell me how, blacks, who collectively make up 12% of the population, can "treat whites like crap". Sure, they can beat you up, but blacks have neither the economic or political power to hinder or oppress any white person the way whites systematically hindered and oppressed blacks.
This is because whites are the majority and control the majority of wealth, power, and influence in this country.
Honey, I am white and received stares when I entered a store that obviously catered to the rich. Race wasn't the issue ... It was a class issue. I just went into a predominately black area to interview for a job just today and wasn't interviewed by a white person.
By the way, as long as blacks and other minorities continue to act as if whites control everything, the longer it will take for progress in racial issues because the "white" man will always be viewed as the "oppressor". When this reality sinks into the spirits of our impressionable minority youth, the less effort many will put into being successful because "what's the point? The white man going to hold us down so why bother trying to improve our lot in life".
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,012,380 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by calipoppy
My White friends did not "get it" either until we did a few little experiments like seeing who gets waited on first in stores (and who gets ignored) or who gets seated first in a restaurant, for example.
Or having my boss tell me to hire a less qualified candidate for a position because he is the kid of his golfing buddy or his son's college dorm mate.
Or the friend who was told an apartment was still available while I was told it was not. This type of thing happens ALL OF THE TIME.
ETA: You may not be aware that the privilege exists or is happening or that you have benefited in any way but it is very real.
I distinctively recall going to a restaurant to celebrate my graduation from college with my black family in a restaurant that was predominently black and I received the poorest service that night out of everyone in my group. Also, I once walked into a clothing store in response to a help wanted ad in the window and after the lady sized me up, she indicated that they no longer had a vacancy. Another scenario was walking into a store that obviously catered to rich folks and the clerk looked at me suspiciously as if I did not belong there. I am sorry that I don't see white priviledge especially as I've mostly lived and worked in areas where whites are in the minority.
My White friends did not "get it" either until we did a few little experiments like seeing who gets waited on first in stores (and who gets ignored) or who gets seated first in a restaurant, for example.
Or having my boss tell me to hire a less qualified candidate for a position because he is the kid of his golfing buddy or his son's college dorm mate.
Or the friend who was told an apartment was still available while I was told it was not. This type of thing happens ALL OF THE TIME.
ETA: You may not be aware that the privilege exists or is happening or that you have benefited in any way but it is very real.
My problem is that it's always "the white people". This country isn't just black and white. When you make those accusations, you CLEARLY include other people as well and not just whites. Last time I checked the waiters and leasing agents etc. weren't only white.
There is no need for whites to get defensive when the subject of white privilege comes up, no more than I should get defensive as a man when confronted with the reality of male privilege, or as an able-bodied person on privilege for the able-bodied, etc. It's just the reality of the world we live in. Doesn't mean your whiteness and the privilege contained therein makes you a bad person. Doesn't even mean that there is some kind of attendant moral imperative for you to "give it up" or make penance for it.
There is no "victory" to be had by getting white people to recognize the implications of white privilege in their own lives and in those of non-whites, as if doing so would relegate whites to a perpetual role of vicarious oppressor, forever in a state of moral debt peonage to non-whites. There is no harm done in appreciating the reality of injustice in the lives of the "non-privileged"; if anything, it should only serve to enhance your resolve to promote fairness and equity in your everyday dealings with different people.
Could you kindly share what types of "perks" I have for being a white female?
Being a White female, you have innumerable social perks. I'll grant that most institutional perks come from socio-economic status. However, compared to a black female, the perception of any given stranger of you would generally be much more positive, even with all other things being considered equal. Apply this to whatever situation you want, perusing a boutique, sitting in a job application, even being kidnapped! You also have the privilege that your failure is your own failure and not the failure of tens of millions of people. If you mispronounce a word or make some kind of social faux pas, it isn't attributed to the inferiority of your race. And, just to make the concept hit home for you, you as a female have to combat male privilege. If you are bad at math or are not aggressive enough in a business environment, it is attributed to your being female. This doesn't hold the same for males.
Privilege summed up:
A common response to accusations of white privilege is indignation. A head start or a boost doesn't mean you didn't actually run the race. Nor does it mean that other white people are treating you better out of some sense of racial solidarity. What it does mean is that every non-White that suffers a penalty or stigma is one less competitor you have to deal with.
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