White Privilege (via the Election) - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

dd3953 · 09-19-2008, 08:54 AM

I grew up knowing that something was different, and maybe not even right, but it was one of those things you know, but you didn't have any words for. A few years ago I was completely shocked, not only because someone had managed to put words to it, but because the person who did was white. A friend of mine had sent me an article someone had sent them (one of the few forwards I ever got that was not a waste of e-space) - White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, by Peggy McIntosh.

I read it with a weird kind of "quiet/calm" frame of mind. It's nice to know that one isn't crazy or making things up, but as I read, I kinda wished that I had. While black people know that racism goes much deeper than the word "nigger," I had hopes that it was still something that could be "fixed." But when the problem goes that deep, who knows.

I had kind of put the article out of my mind (after I, in turn, forwarded it to a number of people). But yesterday, a good friend of mine sent me a forward. And it was good enough to make me reread "White Privilege" and for me to want to post here, to hear your ideas about.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Wise
This is Your Nation on White Privilege - 9/13/08

For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin' redneck," like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their fuckin' ass," and talk about how you liketo "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible,all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college),and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement,whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan,makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."

White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God"in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me," and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn't added until the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.

White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.

White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was "Alaska first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she's being disrespectful.

White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college--you're somehow being mean, or even sexist.

White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."

White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being atypical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.

White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W.Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a good church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people,you're an extremist who probably hates America.

White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.

White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it a "light"burden.

And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W.. Bush 90percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren't sure about that whole "change" thing. Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.

White privilege is, in short, the problem.

While the article is using the election as an example, I think the discussion goes a lot farther than that. What do you think about the ideas that make up "White Privilege," do you think it's a real thing, and if so, can/should something be done about it?

Fotzlid · 09-19-2008, 09:11 AM

If the author included examples other than political based ones, I might give it more consideration. As it is, I think it is nothing more than liberal claptrap trying to make me feel guilty for being white and not wanting to vote for Obama.

dd3953 · 09-19-2008, 09:13 AM

Maybe I should have posted this one instead: White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, by Peggy McIntosh?

Fotzlid · 09-19-2008, 09:33 AM

Pardon the confusion. My experience with forums is quoted text is from the link.

The list of 50 Daily Effects has a couple valid points. Some of them were just silly and seem to be nothing more than filler.
I think it is nothing more than liberal claptrap trying to make me feel guilty for being white.

ottopilot · 09-19-2008, 09:59 AM

Perhaps a more sober take on white privilege by John Stossel entitled White Guilt Doesn't Help Blacks. It was written in 2006, but holds up well today.

Quote:

November 15, 2006
White Guilt Doesn't Help Blacks
By John Stossel

Complaints about racism dominate the media discussion of the disparity between black and white success in America. Comedian Chris Rock captures the prevailing sentiment between both races when he tells white audiences, "None of ya would change places with me and I'm rich! That's how good it is to be white!"

A white author, Tim Wise, gets applause from students on American campuses for talking about "white privilege." Wise's message is in huge demand -- he does 80 speaking engagements a year. When we taped an appearance at Skidmore College, students of all races praised him as "eloquent," "phenomenal," and "so on point."

But among some black intellectuals a new perspective has emerged, one that puts racism and "white privilege" low on the list of problems plaguing black Americans. Shelby Steele's latest book, "White Guilt", argues that whites do blacks no favors wringing their hands about white privilege.

"I grew up in segregation," Steele said during my interview with him. "So I really know what racism is. I went to segregated school. I bow to no one in my knowledge of racism, which is one of the reasons why I say white privilege is not a problem."

Steele claims, "the real problem is black irresponsibility," which has produced high illegitimacy and high-school dropout rates that limit black progress. "Racism is about 18th on a list of problems that black America faces," he says.

Steele says too many blacks and whites are stuck in the old conversation, as though it was 1950. And he thinks there are questionable motives for this on both sides: "If we can get a big discussion going about what white privilege is, we never have to look at what blacks themselves are doing. And black responsibility. How are we contributing to our own problems? How are we holding ourselves back? Why don't our children do better in school than they do?"

Whites' preoccupation with guilt and compensation such as affirmative action is actually a subtle form of racism, Steele says. "One of the things that is clear about white privilege, and so many of the arguments for diversity that pretend to be compensatory, is that they advantage whites. They make the argument that whites can solve [black people's] problems. ... The problem with that is ... you reinforce white supremacy all over again. And black dependency."

Steele says that when blacks make racism their central focus, they mire themselves in destructive victimization -- and sabotage their own chances for advancement.

"White privilege is a disingenuous idea," he says. In fact, now there is "minority privilege."

"If I'm a black high school student today, there are white American institutions, universities, hovering over me to offer me opportunities. Almost every institution has a diversity committee. Every country club now has a diversity committee. I've been asked to join so many clubs, I can't tell you. There is a hunger in this society to do right racially, to not be racist. ... And I feel rather privileged by it. I don't have to even look for opportunities, in many cases, they come right to me," he adds.

But there is still racism in America. At ABC News I've aired hidden-camera video that showed salesclerks spying on black customers, cab drivers passing blacks to pick up whites, landlords lying to blacks about vacancies, and employers favoring white-sounding names. So don't whites owe blacks compensation for that and for past injustices?

Steele answers, "You owe us a fair society. There's not much you can do beyond that. There isn't anything you can do to lift my life up. I have to do that."

"The fact is," he adds, "we got a raw deal in America. We got a much better deal now. But we can't access it unless we take ... responsibility for getting there ourselves."

He makes good points. White privilege exists, but it's not the whole story.

Copyright 2006 Creators Syndicate

09-19-2008, 09:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
dd3953 Psycho: By Choice Location: dd.land	Maybe I should have posted this one instead: White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, by Peggy McIntosh? __________________ [Technically, I'm not possible, I'm made of exceptions. ]

09-19-2008, 09:11 AM	#2 (permalink)
Fotzlid Junkie Location: Greater Boston area	If the author included examples other than political based ones, I might give it more consideration. As it is, I think it is nothing more than liberal claptrap trying to make me feel guilty for being white and not wanting to vote for Obama.

09-19-2008, 09:33 AM	#4 (permalink)
Fotzlid Junkie Location: Greater Boston area	Pardon the confusion. My experience with forums is quoted text is from the link. The list of 50 Daily Effects has a couple valid points. Some of them were just silly and seem to be nothing more than filler. I think it is nothing more than liberal claptrap trying to make me feel guilty for being white.