Why I’ll Never Apologize for My White Male Privilege

http://time.com/85933/why-ill-never-apologize-for-my-white-male-privilege/

by nvk • 12 years ago

11 9 12 years ago

msie• 12 years ago

Link to a good response: https://medium.com/p/12a3018d5abc (nvk posted the response but I don't know how long the two submissions will be together on the index page).

IanDrake• 12 years ago

As I knocked on the door, two officers came up from behind me out of the bushes, guns drawn, and shouted at me to freeze. It turns out they thought I was trying to rob them. That wouldn’t have happened if I was white.

Bullshit. What was this guy dress like? Black, white, or whatever, you're judged primarily by the way you dress.

A white guy dressed like a hoodrat doesn't fair much better with the police.

Hell, I'm white and I've had a pine pig (our special term for National Seashore park rangers) un-holster his gun because I approached him and asked how much money a parking ticket was going to cost the pretty girl he was writing it for. I was 16 and weighed in at 145lbs, wearing board shorts and a t-shirt.

Nanzikambe• 12 years ago

That may be true where you live, it certainly isn't elsewhere. Or at very least, it isn't the only factor at play.

As a non-white, who is usually dressed smartly and frequently in a suit, in my experience, that seldom helps. I'm still stopped at almost every airport, border, or other "random" check. Whilst I won't assert that there's necessarily bigotry at work, there's certainly a selection bias. To use your example, a non-white guy dressed as a "hoodrat", amongst a majority white "hoodrat" population, will experience this.

It's inevitable, the poster above who called it a majority privilege is right on the mark.

Jun8• 12 years ago

Lumping people together as "white" is as ridiculous as doing the same for other races. Think about the within-cluster variation inherent in such a group for a second, it's mind-boggling.

When I first heard from a Chinese friend that they label all Westerners into a single group, I first laughed at the naivete, then sobered up at the cluelessness of the assertion. Of course, there's some truth to it: From a super high level perspective all non-Chinese to the West are a single group (defined by their non-Chinese-ness), question is: in what context is such a crude abstraction useful?

But, worse, aside from being non-useful, such stereotyping by (some) thinkers is the very thing they criticize in despise in others, so it's an error in thinking, too!

ssx2• 12 years ago

"But, worse, aside from being non-useful, such stereotyping by (some) thinkers is the very thing they criticize in despise in others, so it's an error in thinking, too!"

Wrong, it has to start somewhere. The idea that stereotyping will just fix itself probably won't happen. Now, yes, the idea of "white privilege" is targeting one group, but it is the majority in this country (for now, 30 years it may change) and it is the group that has been the root of racism/bigotry in this country. But if it makes you feel better, you can say "majority privilege" instead.

leff_f• 12 years ago

"With great power, comes great responsibility" When you ignore your responsibility it becomes a privilege.

ssx2• 12 years ago

What an awful opinion piece! The fact it is on Time.com is part of the "white privilege". lolz.

The reason why they say "check your privilege" because we should foster the notion that non-white people have a different American experience than white people.

If a minority got into Stanford, there is a thought that probably goes into everyone's mind, that they had an advantage because they were a minority. White people don't have that same stigma.

It's a mind set. It's understanding that there are our society has a problem, and that it needs to get checked at the door.

argumentum• 12 years ago

If a minority got into Stanford, there is a thought that probably goes into everyone's mind, that they had an advantage because they were a minority. White people don't have that same stigma.

Out of curiosity, where do you think that stigma arises from? In my view, this is one of the best arguments against affirmative action based on purely on race, ethnicity or gender. In my high school, which was the top ranked public high school in California, admission was based on test scores and an essay.

Because at that time the school had an race-based affirmative action policy, the black girl (who would eventually be valedictorian) complained that everyone assumed she got in because she was black (though she tested high enough regardless).

They removed this policy eventually after complaints from parents demanding equal treatment. Ironically in a few years white parents in the district started complaining that their kids were being pushed out by asian and indian kids.

monochr• 12 years ago

As the dailyshow asked a while ago. Are Jews really white?

The answer in America is that they are white+, the answer in Europe is one of guilt and resentment. The idea that you should check the same privileges the world over is incredibly Americo-centric and racist.

Should a Basque check their privillage for being white while having been under constant genocidal pressure for close to 300 years? Should a Turk in Crimea do that because their ancestors were murdered time and time again by the Orthodox, while one in Anatolia shouldn't even though their grandparents contributed in one of the first modern genocides against the Armenians?

Privilege has nothing to do with skin color and everything to do with economic and social status. The Blacks of the US aren't disadvantaged because they are black, it's because they are poor and serve as the default criminal class. A place that the Irish had a hundred years previously. To pretend that it does is a way for spoiled college kids to feel they are making a difference in the world without doing anything.

Why I’ll Never Apologize for My White Male Privilege

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