These are some interesting things from the 1989 Peggy Mcintosh piece, granted we have worked together to solve many of these problems. When it comes to being represented in the media, magazines, children's dolls( dolls of color), darker shades of makeup, cameras that can capture our tone accurately (talking to you, kodak) bandaids that matched our skin etc. And all of those things mentioned, happened because someone spoke up and said hello My skin color needs some more inclusivity/representation. Nothing you guys would really have to worry about (white people), or would care about..I'm sure. White privilege has been a concept talked about in academia for a very long time, people have just been talking about it more often, and uneducated, since black lives matter came around. I wont ever claim to completely understand the concept of white privelage, becuase I haven't researched it, and honestly, dont care that much. But what I mentioned above and what she mentions below actually has affected my life in one way or another. Anyways here are some of her points. Which 30 years ago made perfect sense, some of them still make sense to this day. A lot of them have been fixed effectively in the last 10 years or so. Like movies with curly girls, black little girl doctors on children's television, campaigns that celebrate all colors in the fashion industry blah blah I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented. When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods that fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser’s shop and find someone who can cut my hair. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them. I can swear, or dress in second-hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world’s majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to “the person in charge,” I will be facing a person of my race. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race. I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children’s magazines featuring people of my race. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance, or feared. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of race. I can choose public accommodations without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me. If my day, week, or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it has racial overtones. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more less match my skin. National SEED Project - White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
Yeah this book is seen as the grandmother of the concept. She brings up very good day to day things taken for granted in society like being followed around in a store v. not being followed, being able to choose to be in mixed company or the company of your own race, representation on TV, the civilization one is especially a good point. Native Americans, African Americans, Latin Americans, Asian Americans--are not taught that they contributed to this country. Good find, and thanks for bringing a source!
acadamia...yeah you mean the sector that is pretty much completely overrun with the left? The ones who are pushing identity politics any chance they get? makes sense to see a manifesto like that. I don't think anyone here is saying that people dont deserve equality. Thats the crux of the argument, because there is NO white privilege. In fact its reversed, completely. Its all bullshit though, identity politics will fail and it will drive out moderates more and more over to the conservative side
Asians are taught they contribute to this country, where do you get that from? They have the reputation of making lots of money and being very smart. Did you know we let them come into our country tax free the first 8 years. They open up a Chinese restaurant and after 8 years switch it to a relatives name to continue banking cash. I do a lot of work in Chinese restaurants and know a lot of Chinese people. I don't understand where you get that from?
Literally none of those things are true. White people get followed in stores too. There are tons of minorities on TV, in movies and other popular culture. And I don't know about your schools, but my history classes didn't whitewash events, if anything they placed an emphasis on minority contributions.
You can dispute them, sure, but her examples are experiences real people have. She has done her research. Granted, this was written 89, and the OP already stated many of these have been improved upon, such as POC representation on TV, but many of the points brought up in 89 remain. Again, this isn't about absolutes. No one claims white people don't get followed. Proportionately, POC get followed more. That's wonderful. My school did not emphasis minority contribution. The only African-American I remember learning about contributing to American society was George Washington Carver. I don't remember learning of any Native Americans or Asian American immigrants who contributed to society. But this of course is just my experience. Enjoy your Saturday.
I hope everyone notices that when they rebuttal, it all seems to be about themselves. That's why It can't be proven, we base it off our own experiences and ignore whatever facts or statistics that are out there because WE haven't been through it ourselves. No one cares if your school was the few that didn't whitewash, the fact is many do, especially in the south, where Im from... see that? Where Im from? Everyone's experiences are different. It is a fact that our representation in the media has RECENTLY been improved, our inclusivity when it comes to makeup and other aspects of the fashion industry has RECENTLY been improved, not seeing curly hair or Afro-centric styles has RECENTLY been seen as inappropriate cause for suspension, or punishment for distracting the class lol But why should this matter, if it doesn't directly concern you? I grew up In Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, and Texas. You want to have identity issues, be a minority and grow up there.
Mine had 400,000 KM when I finally decided enough is enough and stopped putting oil in it. I always wanted to know how it feels to break an engine while driving. When I told my mechanic that my car died, he knew right away that it was the lack of oil that did it. They just don't break on their own he said. I think I might have hurt his feelings, lol.
I actually prefer to deal in data drawn from large, nationally representative samples because that reduces the problems of differences in perspective. Unfortunately many people who buy into the white privilege myth can't seem to get past the "lived experiences" argument. I don't care about people's biased interpretations of their own experiences, I care about empirical evidence, and in that field, no research has even come close to proving that being white confers any kind of universal advantage in life. If someone could come up with some solid evidence of systemic racial discrimination, they shouldn't be talking about it on the internet, they should take it to a lawyer and sue since the Civil Rights Act makes such discrimination illegal. But since the proponents of this idea have no solid evidence, they'll stick to complaining about it on Twitter.
I just think since white people are the majority they've enjoyed certain advantages in America. As a studier of history you see this time and time again throughout human civilizations. Minority groups get treated differently. But now that the majority is gradually shifting in the 21st century it's become more subtle. Eventually when other races start to overlap and gain prominence(Latin 1/3 population and gaining, Asian almost the richest race, etc) and the old guard starts to die off, I wonder how much longer. Probably when the government stops bring disproportionally white.
Only in America can a police officer sue figureheads from a political movement because some crazy violent asshole decided to shoot cops. On top of that this guy wasn't even affiliated with the movement and denounced BLM for not being violent or extreme enough. Yet somehow people like Deray McKesson who don't call for violence are defendants in this garbage law suit. Where are all the free speech and first amendments advocates when the right to peacefully assemble it is under threat, bitching about some racist asshole having his personal information revealed. Lawsuit against Black Lives Matter, DeRay Mckesson alleges responsibility for Baton Rouge cop amu - CNN.com
So because minority groups living in past empires/nations sometimes became second class citizens, the same must be true for modern nations? If so, that's a weak argument. There are many examples of ethnic minorities ruling over an underclass made up of the majority. Another point, why do you care what the racial makeup of government is?
theres a difference between peacefully assembling and openly chanting about police officers deaths. If he's the leader of BLM then he deserves what he gets as far as lawsuits are concerned.
Asians already have the highest median income. Is that because white people in power have an Asian fetish? Or is it something about their skin color that white people can relate to more? There's also the theory that these communities are responsible for their own successes and failures.
Not once has he ever participated in an event where people were chanting for the death of police officers.