Does white privilege exist? (1 Viewer)

[Officer Pete Malloy]

The best descriptor I read was that basically white privilege a the lack of negatives.  Which can make it hard to perceive for some people.    

Privilege is a loaded word, because it implies good, more, winning, ease of burden.... it implies a lot of things.    And for the white kid who's born into poverty with drug addicted parents and no one teaching him right from wrong -- it's easy to look at a situation like that and say WHERE'S HIS WHITE PRIVILEGE?   There's nothing about being white that is going to improve that situation for him.   In that sense, you're right.   

But if thats the only scope you want to view this with, you're being obtuse.    That kid does not have the ADDITIONAL problems of higher incidence of punishment and expulsion from school , lowered job prospects, disproportionate police attention, harsher sentencing for the same crimes, and a slew of other fun stuff.    


This is not to say that all white people are on the straight and narrow to success, and that no black people can do well via working hard.   And there are other factors at play, as well.   A black kid born into a wealthy family probably has better outlooks that the first white-kid example I created above.   But don't close your eyes and pretend there's no difference in paths once all the other factors have been taken into account.    

Yeah but you're like an honorary black guy. 

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

Yeah but you're like an honorary black guy. 

http://i.imgur.com/aUXAw5w.gifv

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

This really ticks me off.

Was I supposed to be getting stuff and I didn't know about it?

Damnit I'm always the last to know. Let me guess you've all got new Porsches and yachts. Damnit. 

 

[shader]

White privilege in Tennessee is basically just being allowed to live your life without any negative pre-conceived notions.

I can walk down the grocery aisle and the lady I'm passing ignores me.

If I were a black male, she may instinctively grab her purse and pull it closer.

I can go into a car lot (or other place of business) and get the best service, while a black male may get the worst salesmen or be ignored.

I can move into a nice neighborhood and be on even ground from day one.  A black family will move in and immediately neighbors will wonder if their home values will rise or fall. 

I could think of twenty other scenarios and go on and on.  I'll give you a good example of what happened to a friend of mine in a subdivision across the road from me.

A pastor was going door to door inviting people to his church.  He knocked on my friends door and was flabbergasted.  He wouldn't invite him to the church (because it was a white church, despicable how most churches are still segregated) and basically him-hawed around and got out of there quick.  

Is my area a racist area?  Maybe, who knows.  The Nashville area is highly transient and has a ton of people from other parts of the country.  But I think many people hold onto racism more than they realize, and would probably be ashamed if they realized the instinctive way that they act at times.  

As a white male, I don't experience any of these things.  That's white privilege.  It doesn't mean I'm guaranteed success or anything, but it does mean I get to start on a level playing field.