[Edited on April 6, 2016 at 12:45 PM. Reason : Peace, we outta here.]

4/6/2016 12:45:15 PM

I wanted to post the exact same image, but I was too lazy to google it

4/6/2016 4:11:37 PM

Quote :

"Yeah, fine, I'll pretend all immigrants hit our shores and magically start from zero. Can you fucking acknowledge that the descendants of slaves started from -100? "

Just look at all those wealthy immigrants just pouring into this country debt-free!




The bottom of this boat is probably loaded with cash.




Even this guy is doing better than black Americans according to your analogy.

4/6/2016 7:32:02 PM

Quote :

"is the fact that we apparently have enough support systems in place to get someone as dumb as jtdenny through college an example of white privilege or just a sign of our declining standards in higher education?"

I think the same thing about people who think the wealth gap has nothing to do with the fact that the single motherhood rate in the last 60 years went from 20% to 70%. It's not like poverty or crime has anything to do with not graduating high school. Of course it's not social justice approved to talk about personal responsibility and the impact from that but you have to be a special kind of dunce to go around talking about "white" privilege and not realize that it's racist in itself.

If you want to back up your statement, find and tell me about the support system that I used to get through public school or college that minorities didn't use.

4/6/2016 9:13:18 PM

There's no need to be ashamed.

4/6/2016 9:37:25 PM

Quote :

"If you want to back up your statement, find and tell me about the support system that I used to get through public school or college that minorities didn't use. "

Your teachers are more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt for being white, by either overlooking mistakes or offering you extra help. Your transgressions are less likely to be seen as fundamental racial/character flaws, but instead childish deviant behavior. These are fairly generic things borne out by statistics, but it would take a more detailed knowledge of your life to give you something specific...

But it's pretty irrelevant anyway, isn't it?

Why do you feel like you need to be able to observe these statistical "majority system biases" in your life to acknowledge they exist? Why can't you just accept the studies on the issue? Why are you aggrieved that best public policy, based on the best available evidence, suggests we should be doing a better job providing equal opportunities to minority communities?

4/6/2016 9:56:05 PM

gave a guy money for merchandise today and he gave me the merchandise and the change and then I consumed the merchandise.

#whitepriveledge #obamaunifier

4/6/2016 10:01:25 PM

Quote :

"I think the same thing about people who think the wealth gap has nothing to do with the fact that the single motherhood rate in the last 60 years went from 20% to 70%. It's not like poverty or crime has anything to do with not graduating high school. Of course it's not social justice approved to talk about personal responsibility and the impact from that but you have to be a special kind of dunce to go around talking about "white" privilege and not realize that it's racist in itself. "

The Bleeding Heart SJW crowd refuses to address this. Their entire position is based on blaming other people for the perceived "victimhood" of others, but when you point out this "victimhood" is primarily caused by personal choices... liberals can't handle it. Words like "Personal responsibility" simply don't exist in their vocabulary.

I've mentioned this several times... regardless of your race, if you graduate highschool and don't make babies before you are married, you will not suck at life. If you make babies and drop out of highschool (personal choices) you will not succeed regardless of your race. The best response from liberals I have gotten to this is "The past was racist!" or "Show people some empathy and compassion". It is something they can't address, as it destroys the narrative of "White Privilege" as it pertains to 2016.

4/6/2016 11:46:47 PM

Quote :

"Your teachers are more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt for being white, by either overlooking mistakes or offering you extra help. Your transgressions are less likely to be seen as fundamental racial/character flaws, but instead childish deviant behavior. These are fairly generic things borne out by statistics, but it would take a more detailed knowledge of your life to give you something specific..."

This isn't concrete, it's subjective. Even if you could provide objective evidence then I would be a victim as well because that wouldn't prepare me for life either. There isn't much detail to know, I went to school, listened in class and did homework like everyone else was expected to do. That's it.

Quote :

" but when you point out this "victimhood" is primarily caused by personal choices... liberals can't handle it"

At this point I'd settle for contributory negligence

4/7/2016 1:14:36 AM

People aren't born with what you're calling personal responsibility and the wisdom to make the best choices. This is something that is learned. Privilege is something that allows you to see personal responsibility and a good life as a choice. Thats pretty much the definition of privilege in that kind of talk right there.

4/7/2016 1:20:34 AM

Quote :

"This isn't concrete, it's subjective. Even if you could provide objective evidence then I would be a victim as well because that wouldn't prepare me for life either. There isn't much detail to know, I went to school, listened in class and did homework like everyone else was expected to do. That's it. "

It's pretty concrete. You can't ask for someone to identify your privileges specifically, without providing specifics about yourself...

If you want to present yourself as a generic white male, then you can read any studies on privilege, because the generic white male is the standard of measurement.

4/7/2016 1:51:34 AM

Quote :

"t's pretty concrete. You can't ask for someone to identify your privileges specifically, without providing specifics about yourself..."

If you tell me I automatically benefit just because I'm white, and not knowing anything else about me then I think it's fair for me to ask you about specifics with only giving the information that I'm white.

4/7/2016 2:27:45 AM

What youre saying doesn't make any sense...

You most likely fit into several categories of white privilege, but i can't tell you what those categories are without knowing more about you. You know your own privileges better than anyone here, there's plenty of information ITT if you wanted to create a list yourself.

4/7/2016 3:08:26 AM

how can I possibly fit into some categories of white privilege but not all? I'm either white or I'm not

4/7/2016 3:42:57 AM

??

If youre applying for a job, being white tends to help you out, but not necessarily in all situations. For this white privilege to apply to you, you'd have to have applied to one of these jobs... we can't know if this specifically applies to jtdenny without knowing what jobs you've applied to and what that employers record is.

unless you mean in a more general sense, then you want to look up intersectionality.

[Edited on April 7, 2016 at 4:07 AM. Reason : ]

4/7/2016 4:04:29 AM

You can't give yourself permission to consider specifics, merit or virtues for that matter if you think in terms like intersectionality.

If I automatically qualify for white privilege then I'm qualified for all categories of it because I'm always white. This is in large part why I reject the idea that it exists, because I am solely responsible for my success just as I am solely responsible for my failures and they all come from my individual decisions. I am not insulated from consequences because I am white and it's my understanding of consequences that keep me from making mistakes. If there is a "do not commit crime" privilege then sure I have that.

4/7/2016 4:15:32 AM

are you aware that white people are more than just you?

4/7/2016 8:40:16 AM

so it's the rich white people

and the rich black people

and the rich asians

and etc.

but cool call it white privilege

4/7/2016 8:45:39 AM

are you aware that there are more than one kind of privilege that exists, and that they sometimes overlap and often have the same or similar root causes?

4/7/2016 8:46:52 AM

^^ rich privilege thread is -->

4/7/2016 9:23:18 AM

7 Main Identifiers (There are more)
-Race
-Ethnicity
-Religion
-Ability
-Gender
-Sexuality
-Class

You could have privilege in any of these areas. Some people have privilege in every area. Depending on the situation, certain environments change the relative magnitude of the privilege associated with different identifiers but they all affect ones standing in society. Every white person has at least one privilege but you would need to know a lot more to determine if they are "privileged" overall. The easiest way to determine if you have privilege is how often you have thought about your identity.

If you haven't thought about one of these 7 identifiers, you probably have major privilege in that area. I am a male. "Checking my privilege" does not mean I should feel guilty about being a male but simply acknowledge the fact that my gender has not be a restricting factor on my experience moving through society.

[Edited on April 7, 2016 at 12:57 PM. Reason : some people have every identifier working against themselves. ]

4/7/2016 12:56:32 PM

Quote :

"And, "We found striking racial/ethnic differences. Contrary to popular stereotypes of African Americans,71,72 prevalence of drug-use disorders such as cocaine and hallucinogen or PCP was lowest among African Americans, followed by Hispanics, then non-Hispanic Whites. For example, non-Hispanic Whites had more than 30 times the odds of having cocaine-use disorder than African Americans. "

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/stereotype-shattered-new-study-finds-white-youth-are-more-likely-blacks-abuse-hard-drugs

4/7/2016 2:13:06 PM

Anecdote Alert:

Several years ago while driving my car: I had just crested the hill, so there was a temporary blind spot between me and any traffic behind me. Shortly afterward, a cop comes speeding up behind me; I don't even pull over (no room) just flip my turn signal on and slow down to a stop--I can think of absolutely no reason for him to be pulling me over. As I expect him to speed past, he pulls up right behind me and approaches.

Asks if I know why I was pulled over--No idea, I say. He says something about "Don't you think you came awfully close to...(unintelligible to me)". I say sorry, I'm not sure what you're talking about.

Then I ask, "Are you sure you pulled over the right person?" He responds, "You know what, I think you're right. You'd be a lot more nervous if you were who I'm looking for. Let me get outta here and find who I'm really looking for". (I gotta admit, for a moment I felt kinda like Obi Wan Kenobi there).

Anyway, I'm white, but I frequently think that that would have gone a whole lot differently had I been black.

The point is: Being white, it's possible that you have white privilege that you are ignorant of, simply because you've never had an opportunity to witness it in action (as in some incident like the above).

4/7/2016 2:25:31 PM

Friendly reminder that prison costs 30k per inmate in NC. (as of a few years ago)
http://www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/price-of-prisons-updated-version-021914.pdf

Surely we can all agree that it would be wiser to spend that money on preventative healthcare and rehab. Is it not better to take a potentially beneficial action rather than being complacent and reactionary? Maybe the perfect citizens should just make this decision for these people who are wasting our tax money in a system that does not improve their situation in anyway, since they obviously are choosing not to pick themselves up by the bootstraps.

[Edited on April 7, 2016 at 2:32 PM. Reason : gotta talk to the white man in a language he understands]

4/7/2016 2:26:34 PM

Quote :

"are you aware that white people are more than just you? "

kinda my point, we can't all be labeled with the same life experience just because we are white. that is the definition of racism.

that same label is also not responsible for the failings of minorities today just as it does not insulate the failings of white people today. People have the power over their own lives to be successful or not and it might make you feel good about yourself to spout out terms like institutional racism, but it does nothing to help the fact that in the black community, the single motherhood rate is near 70% today which is the largest indicator of poverty.

4/7/2016 7:25:39 PM

^pointing out problems in the black community does not negate white privilege. Privilege is not having to deal with those problems disproportionately. No one said privilege means every white person is "privileged". Just take a look at all of the identifiers in my post. Race is still only one of many.

4/7/2016 9:07:27 PM

Interesting thought... "personal choice" trumps all of those identifiers.

4/11/2016 1:22:48 AM

https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/4ea9gm/science_ama_series_hi_reddit_were_dr_rhys_hester/

Should be a good read once they start asking questions

4/11/2016 10:05:01 AM

Quote :

" kinda my point, we can't all be labeled with the same life experience just because we are white."

holly shit, are you mentally incapable of conceptualizing aggregate groups?

4/11/2016 10:55:16 AM

Of course he can...when talking about "the blacks"

4/11/2016 11:01:09 AM

Quote :

"not all schools are the same, I know some have more resources than others because I went to a school that was literally falling apart and condemned in certain areas."

Anecdote alert : The school I was in in Durham was in the bottom 4% of performing schools in the nation. We got a new principle who didn't take shit, and my class came to the school (who had a large % of overachievers). The demographic of my high school is 68% Black 17% other 15% white. In one year we increased test scores in the neighborhood of 900% and the state of education address was given at my school because of it.

My school was 1 year from being shut down... the kids in my school didn't change (save for the seniors leaving and the freshman coming) but their test scores went through the roof because people stopped celebrating mediocrity.

3 of my good friends who were black went on to Duke, our class president is a fighter pilot in the airforce and another friend won a National championship with UNC and got an AFAM degree


lol in other words. It's an excuse, and my life tells me so. I went to a "falling apart, going to get shut down for being awful," high school. And yet somehow most people did just fine. Because they didn't piss and moan and did their work.

4/11/2016 11:29:37 AM

How can I reach these keeeds?

4/11/2016 1:01:15 PM

I know we tend to conceptualize things as white vs. non-white or whatever, and I think it's great that people are acknowledging the notion of privilege and recognizing certain advantages they have enjoyed and continue to enjoy.

But I just wanted to chime in with a reminder that many people of all races are struggling these days. The middle class is disappearing. Rural communities are crumbling. White women seem to be timing their deaths perfectly with the birth of their first grandchild. It's bleak out there, guys:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2016/04/08/we-dont-know-why-it-came-to-this/

Anyway, I hope we're all safe and comfortable in our little enclaves, but there are growing numbers of people who are not safe and comfortable. Since automation, we've obviously been working in an economy that can not sustain all of us. And, I dunno, the invisible hand or whatever is gonna fix everything, and we'll all be fine. But, in the meantime, things are rough for lots of folks, and they're probably not in the mood to talk about microaggressions, affirmative consent, and gender-neutral restrooms.

I feel like we live in at least two different countries. And, just throwing this out there, I suspect the Internet has accelerated the division.

To be clear, I'm still more liberal than all you assholes combined, and I'm all aboard the social change train (next stop, legal weed!), but I'm not gonna ask the white mother of three behind the counter at the gas station to acknowledge her privilege--even though I'm sure she's enjoyed plenty. And the academic exercise is officially old--we've all unpacked our white privilege with Peggy McIntosh at least a half dozen times now.

In conclusion, I wish John Edwards had a vasectomy.

4/11/2016 1:07:15 PM

It all went wrong when homer sang his songggg

4/11/2016 1:16:48 PM

^^
isn't that a privileged position to take though? You're basically saying we can't be talking about black folks' problems in public until we solve these new white folks' problems. When the average wealth of a black family vs a white family is a 6x gap, which community do you think is going to be ground under first if we don't solve the broader problems of inequality? In a way, the plight of the black community (income gap, wealth gap, healthcare gap, employment gap) are a bellwether for what poor and middle class whites are going to face in the coming years.

I get in a social contexts, it's hard to talk to struggling whites about these problems, but in a political context, they are 2 distinct problems that tend to impact black communities harder, and sooner.

4/11/2016 1:24:18 PM

identify politics have definitely caused poor white people to largely be forgotten, and their needs ignored, and this is a group that suffers from a lot of the same problems that stem from a lot of the same root causes. this is one of the biggest failings of the democratic party.

but that doesn't mean that white privilege isn't real, because it is describing systemic policies that benefit white people as an aggregate group overall. the point is not that the privilege applies to each white person in the same way (or even at all), it's an overall and collective privilege.

none of this is particularly hard to understand, in fact its so hard to not understand that anyone trying to argue otherwise can only be doing so because of some kind of other bias or motivation (such as being a racist or a potato)

[Edited on April 11, 2016 at 2:17 PM. Reason : .]

4/11/2016 2:17:27 PM

Gee, I wonder where the division comes from, in a thread about a liberal narrative that divides people by race.

The division comes from narratives, like "hands up don't shoot". George Soros funded protesters bused in to protest "racism" when a thug gets shot. Calling hispanic George Zimmerman "white" to promote racial tension. Division comes from the liberal media, that paints every person not as an individual, with their own choices and decisions, but as a member of a race/class competing in the liberal "victim olympics". That's why Obama is the "divider in chief" as he endorses these narratives that the liberal media spins. Even with this thread, the goal isn't "how do we help black people close the wealth gap" the goal is division and painting everyone with a broad "race brush". All black people are victims and all white people are guilty, and probably racist (dependent on if they contribute to the echo-chamber or not).

^Right on cue, he proves the point in my last sentence. "If you don't agree you are racist".

[Edited on April 11, 2016 at 2:22 PM. Reason : lol liberals]

4/11/2016 2:21:31 PM

or a potato

are you a potato?

[Edited on April 11, 2016 at 2:29 PM. Reason : read the rest of your post, yep - potato]

4/11/2016 2:28:58 PM

Quote :

"Gee, I wonder where the division comes from, in a thread about a liberal narrative that divides people by race. "

it all started when that Kenyan boy used his affirmative action and cheated his way into college. he took the place of a good upstanding white kid. he then cheated off his white classmates to graduate magna cum laude. now he's threatening to put white people in internment camps so they won't have access to their guns while telling the country that blacks are victims of all crimes and white people are the cause of their problems. he's divided the country more than ever and he's using his muslim influence to take away our American sovereign rights. also, his wife is a transvestite....just look up the Joan Rivers message and the Doctors show talks about her masculine features.

4/11/2016 2:35:21 PM

narratives
narratives
narratives
narratives
narratives
narratives
narratives
narratives

4/11/2016 2:51:49 PM

Quote :

"But I just wanted to chime in with a reminder that many people of all races are struggling these days. The middle class is disappearing. Rural communities are crumbling. White women seem to be timing their deaths perfectly with the birth of their first grandchild. It's bleak out there, guys: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2016/04/08/we-dont-know-why-it-came-to-this/ Anyway, I hope we're all safe and comfortable in our little enclaves, but there are growing numbers of people who are not safe and comfortable. Since automation, we've obviously been working in an economy that can not sustain all of us. And, I dunno, the invisible hand or whatever is gonna fix everything, and we'll all be fine. But, in the meantime, things are rough for lots of folks, and they're probably not in the mood to talk about microaggressions, affirmative consent, and gender-neutral restrooms. I feel like we live in at least two different countries. And, just throwing this out there, I suspect the Internet has accelerated the division. To be clear, I'm still more liberal than all you assholes combined, and I'm all aboard the social change train (next stop, legal weed!), but I'm not gonna ask the white mother of three behind the counter at the gas station to acknowledge her privilege--even though I'm sure she's enjoyed plenty. And the academic exercise is officially old--we've all unpacked our white privilege with Peggy McIntosh at least a half dozen times no"

This is why we don't just talk about white privilege in isolation. There are many other types of privilege but possessing a single privilege does not suggest an individual is privileged. I'd rather be the straight child of muslim physicians than the gay child of a poor, single, white, christian mother but that doesn't mean they can't sit down and talk about privilege with respect to each identifier.

[Edited on April 11, 2016 at 6:05 PM. Reason : the first kid is certainly not privileged overall but wont have to be worried about religion]

4/11/2016 6:01:56 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjXWjtkrFUk&feature=youtu.be
Driving While Black in New Jersey


[Edited on April 11, 2016 at 8:13 PM. Reason : ]

4/11/2016 8:13:14 PM

I understand what y'all are saying for the most part.

However, I have real questions about the value of the conversation at this point and the timing of it.

As for the conversation's value, I'm unclear what we're allowed to do with this information about privilege. Race-, gender-, whatever-specific legislation is now practically illegal. And, historically and presently, whenever the government undertakes measures to help less advantaged folks, white people invariably benefit the most. I mean, racists imagined a bunch of black people would get "free stuff" from Obama, but the main thing he's managed to do in office is help more white people get affordable healthcare.

So what's the plan, guys?

Quote :

"When the average wealth of a black family vs a white family is a 6x gap, which community do you think is going to be ground under first if we don't solve the broader problems of inequality? In a way, the plight of the black community (income gap, wealth gap, healthcare gap, employment gap) are a bellwether for what poor and middle class whites are going to face in the coming years."

The wealth gap still blows my mind, but I do think the mode might provide a clearer picture. And people are uncomfortable talking about it, but legislative attempts to increase black home ownership failed, even the earnest ones that didn't involve predatory lending. I think there are plenty of things we could try to help close the gap, but we're not even allowed to legally integrate public schools anymore...

And the coming years are here. White people are coping with heroin.

4/11/2016 8:28:44 PM

Quote :

"but the main thing he's managed to do in office is help more white people get affordable healthcare. "

lol

4/12/2016 2:33:42 AM

Sign the petition from Amnesty to stop the execution of a low-IQ black man

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/stop-execution-kenneth-fults-usa-georgia-death-row

He is supposed to be executed today.

Quote :

"Eight years later, one of the jurors from the sentencing signed a sworn statement admitting that he voted for the death penalty out of racial prejudice: ‘I don’t know if he ever killed anybody, but that n***** got just what should have happened. Once he pled guilty, I knew I would vote for the death penalty because that’s what the n***** deserved.’ When evidence of racist motivation among the jury was raised at an appeal hearing, the state argued that it was too late to review the issue and Kenneth’s death sentence should stand."

4/12/2016 5:25:17 AM

Quote :

"As for the conversation's value, I'm unclear what we're allowed to do with this information about privilege. Race-, gender-, whatever-specific legislation is now practically illegal. And, historically and presently, whenever the government undertakes measures to help less advantaged folks, white people invariably benefit the most. I mean, racists imagined a bunch of black people would get "free stuff" from Obama, but the main thing he's managed to do in office is help more white people get affordable healthcare. So what's the plan, guys? "

We should use this information to be sensitive about the issues our neighbors are dealing with. We should use it to "put ourselves in their shoes" and consider multiple perspectives when making decisions. If I am throwing a party and giving out food, I will make sure there is a kosher option available if I know Jewish people who keep kosher are coming. Thats just one little tiny example of something that requires me to "check" my christian privilege but it goes a long way.

4/12/2016 2:43:32 PM

So thirty pages about the importance of being cool?

4/12/2016 6:49:17 PM

yes but its not that simple when we see the world through the lens of our privilege.

4/12/2016 6:51:36 PM

Well, shucks, I guess it isn't that simple.

How much reflection should a person like me do before I might achieve your level of awareness?

Does mentioning the struggles of white folks disqualify me from this conversation?

[Edited on April 12, 2016 at 7:28 PM. Reason : I'm at least 50% serious. Otherwise, I'm contrarian.]

4/12/2016 7:01:29 PM

^ I don't know if i agree awareness is the goal, at least politically. The media and hollywood already do a decent job of raising awareness, at least better than the government would do.

I think the goal is essentially Deeray's #BLM requests... we should make an active effort to hold law enforcement accountable (independent investigators and outside prosecutors for police crimes, maybe do away with grand juries for these type of issues), teach teachers not to have double standards for black students' behaviors, institute universal pre-k, have daycare programs for poor people, follow through with the recommendations on experts to end sentencing disparities (this includes really simple things like just mentioning to jurors to be conscious of their biases/prejudices).

You could throw things in there like reforming affirmative action to support programs like Intel, where rather than setting quotas, theyre funding engineering programs at schools with more minorities, then treating recruits from these programs like other applicants. It means opposing laws like in Florida and Wi(?) where when new markets like marijuana are opened up, there are no barriers that impact blacks disproportionately.

There's really an enormous amount of tangible, specific actions that could be made if politicians and people merely acknowledged that the government created the gaps between blacks and whites over centuries, and hasn't done enough since the civil rights era of the 60s to address this.

4/13/2016 1:13:46 AM