Part of being Privileged is not having to think about being Privileged

[Alceste]

Pft. Sorry but the ultimate privilege group has nothing to do with white heterosexual first world adult male... its got entirely do do with wealth. If you have enough wealth it does not matter if you are purple-skinned hippo-loviong space-colonial prepubescent and transgendered.

Yeah, and which demographic currently has the most wealth?

 

[InformedIgnorance]

Which demographic? In society where less than 1% of people have by far the most wealth, it does not come down to which ethnic or gender or sexual orientation they are, it comes down to who is lucky enough to be born into one of a few thousand families world wide (or manages to marry their way in); which demographic has the most wealth? In china it is a very small portion of the communist party, in saudia arabia it is the royal family, it is always the same people and they are not defined by the colour of their skin, their espoused religions, preference in sexual partners or what is between their legs. They are defined by their ability to secure access to resources (whether real resources such as minerals or imaginary resources like controlling money) for themselves and to control the access of others.

 

[I.S.L.A.M617]

If I had to pick the perfect life, it would be that of a heterosexual rich white male. As long as I still get to be me; I don't actually wanna be white... Pink nipples and sunburn are two things I can do without...

 

[badger]

It's not easy being a white, heterosexual male, I'll have you know. Half the world is demanding you feel guilty and apologise for it!

The funny thing is - the harder I've worked in my life - the more 'privileged' I've become.

 

[I.S.L.A.M617]

It's not easy being a white, heterosexual male, I'll have you know. Half the world is demanding you feel guilty and apologise for it!

Well, white men over history aren't exactly notorious for their compassionate spirits. But in the end, you can tell them "F&#% you, I'm white!" and fly away on your umbrella, leaving a trail of money and broken dreams in your wake.

 

[InformedIgnorance]

That sounds awfully enticing... but only if I have covered the money in poison. They can't have my money without paying a terrible price! even if i dropped it and didnt even notice it was missing.

 

[Reverend Rick]

If it makes any of you feel any better, rich folks are many times unhappy. You see having money is not enough for them. They want power and influence.

Mitt Romney had a big disappointment. You poor folks rained on his parade.

 

[Revoltingest]

If it makes any of you feel any better, rich folks are many times unhappy. You see having money is not enough for them. They want power and influence.
Mitt Romney had a big disappointment. You poor folks rained on his parade.

And the wealthy will do it to their own, as John Kerry (richer than Romney) found out.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I find the only thing more fulfilling than being unaware of one's advantages, is being overly aware of one's disadvantages, and letting everyone else know what they are. Nothing really compares to the feeling of self-righteous blame and self-pity that comes from being a victim.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Unawareness and denial are the major consequences, but there isn't much else to add.

Pft. Sorry but the ultimate privilege group has nothing to do with white heterosexual first world adult male... its got entirely do do with wealth. If you have enough wealth it does not matter if you are purple-skinned hippo-loviong space-colonial prepubescent and transgendered.

As a male, has your competence about cars ever been questioned? Even if you know nothing about them? As a man, has your appearance ever really been picked apart and been the focal point of judgement? Being white, has anyone ever assumed your guilt? As a white male, are people inherently afraid of you? As heterosexual, has anyone ever considered you a second class citizen that "equal application" does not apply to?
And BTW, being transgender is one of the least privileged status. That one tends to matter alot, especially for male-to-female transgenders who do not pass well. Then wealth tends to not matter much because many people only see a bloke in a dress to put it lightly.
Christians are also pretty privileged in our society, as it can be reasonably assumed that any reference to god is their god, it is their holy book that is used to swear in politicians, and it is there morals that have largely defined societies. It's also assumed to be a proper thing, whereas just about anything else, especially atheist and agnostic, is an accusation.

 

[Mercy Not Sacrifice]

I find the only thing more fulfilling than being unaware of one's advantages, is being overly aware of one's disadvantages, and letting everyone else know what they are. Nothing really compares to the feeling of self-righteous blame and self-pity that comes from being a victim.

Not sure what to make of this...can you elaborate?

 

[Apex]

A lot of the talk about privilege sounds more like thinly veiled bias bordering on bigotry.

 

[Revoltingest]

A lot of the talk about privilege sounds more like thinly veiled bias bordering on bigotry.

But at least some of us are getting in touch with the joys of privilege....letting our inner pasha out for some sun & fresh air. It's a darn shame that some suffer from the lack thereof, but it ain't no use feel'n bad about it.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Not sure what to make of this...can you elaborate?

It's satire used to provide counter-point.

 

[dust1n]

I've heard it said that part of being privileged is not having to think about how you privileged.

If you're White, you don't need to think about -- and you can even deny without consequence to you -- that 80% of the police stop and searches in your neighborhood happen to young men of color.

People have a tendency to avoid thoughts that make them sad. Having white privilege is hard to pick up on, as a white person, because we generally don't see the disadvantages of being of a different complexion, because we never live as someone who isn't white, and thus it's easy to be misinformed, and their is incentive to remain so many times because to be informed about it requires one to feel uncomfortable or spend time making said information conform with the rest of beliefs.

And it ain't no different then male privilege, or monetary privilege, or beauty privilege, or a number of others that exist in various places or time.

In short, we generally don't spend to much time thinking about other people's circumstances, at least, no where near the amount time we spend thinking about our own.

 

[dust1n]

A lot of the talk about privilege sounds more like thinly veiled bias bordering on bigotry.

Like what?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I don't know how true it is or not, but I have heard you don't have to explain institutionalized discrimination to a black person. But there certainly is alot of it for certain.

 

[I.S.L.A.M617]

A lot of the talk about privilege sounds more like thinly veiled bias bordering on bigotry.

...said the privileged white men.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

I thought this was appropriate for this thread...

Daily effects of white privilege

I decided to try to work on myself at least by identifying some of the daily effects of white privilege in my life. I have chosen those conditions that I think in my case attach somewhat more to skin-color privilege than to class, religion, ethnic status, or geographic location, though of course all these other factors are intricately intertwined. As far as I can tell, my African American coworkers, friends, and acquaintances with whom I come into daily or frequent contact in this particular time, place and time of work cannot count on most of these conditions.

1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.

3. 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.

4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.

5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.

7. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.

9. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.

10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.

11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person's voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race.

12. 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 which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can cut my hair.

13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.

14. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.

15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.

16. I can be pretty sure that my children's teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others' attitudes toward their race.

17. I can talk with my mouth full and not have people put this down to my color.

18. 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.

19. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.

20. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.

You can find the rest of the list (there's 50) here.

I found some of the commentary from the above link to be quite close to my thoughts on the subject of white privilege, as well:

I repeatedly forgot each of the realizations on this list until I wrote it down. For me white privilege has turned out to be an elusive and fugitive subject. The pressure to avoid it is great, for in facing it I must give up the myth of meritocracy. If these things are true, this is not such a free country; one's life is not what one makes it; many doors open for certain people through no virtues of their own.

In unpacking this invisible knapsack of white privilege, I have listed conditions of daily experience that I once took for granted. Nor did I think of any of these perquisites as bad for the holder. I now think that we need a more finely differentiated taxonomy of privilege, for some of these varieties are only what one would want for everyone in a just society, and others give license to be ignorant, oblivious, arrogant, and destructive.

 

[Apex]

...said the privileged white men.

Still waiting for this so called privilege to actually, well, privilege me with anything...