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

[I.S.L.A.M617]

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

It has in so many ways... You're just too privileged to see it. You have to think about the things that haven't happened to you. For example, Have you ever been a passenger (not driving) in a car that got pulled over and been the only one asked for your ID? I have.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

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

You aren't black, which means people are automatically more trusting of you, your children will not find baby dolls of a different skin color to look better and not have an internalized racism against themselves (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_and_Mamie_Clark:

The Clarks' doll experiments grew out of Mamie Clark's master's degree thesis. They published three major papers between 1939 and 1940 on children's self perception related to race. Their studies found contrasts among African-American children attending segregated schools in Washington, DC versus those in integrated schools in New York.[14] The doll experiment involved a child being presented with two dolls. Both of these dolls were completely identical except for the skin and hair color. One doll was white with yellow hair, while the other was brown with black hair.[15] The child was then asked questions inquiring as to which one is the doll they would play with, which one is the nice doll, which one looks bad, which one has the nicer color, etc. The experiment showed a clear preference for the white doll among all children in the study.[16] These findings exposed internalized racism in African-American children, self-hatred that was more acute among children attending segregated schools.

(The same experiment was recently replicated, with similar findings), and your skin color is never a crime. You don't see it, but us white people have so much more handed to us than ethnicity of other colors. We make more money, rarely is housing really an issue, are promoted at work more often, no one assumes we are uneducated or lazy because of our skin color, and so much more.

 

[Apex]

It has in so many ways... You're just too privileged to see it.

Of course.

 

[I.S.L.A.M617]

Of course.

You don't deserve to be white...

 

[dust1n]

Of course.

Was my request for information inconvenient for you to reply to or something?

 

[Apex]

You don't deserve to be white...

Of course.

 

[Apex]

Was my request for information inconvenient for you to reply to or something?

Not really.

 

[dust1n]

Not really.

So, then the reasoning for ignoring the question, if I may?

 

[Apex]

So, then the reasoning for ignoring the question, if I may?

Me acknowledging that no true (2 way) discussion on this topic is possible.

 

[dust1n]

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

This equates to this?

Me acknowledging that no true (2 way) discussion on this topic is possible.

What "a lot of the talk about privilege" were you referencing? I mean, there was a lot of it; quoting an example of what you are talking about seems like it would be relatively easy. It might take more then one sentence though.

 

[I.S.L.A.M617]

Cool people talk in single sentences.

 

[Revoltingest]

Cool people talk in single sentences.

Yep...

 

[Galen.Iksnudnard]

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.

If you are a male in a society that does not allow women to drive, you need not reflect much on how inconvenient, limiting, or infantilizing that might be for a female in your society.

If you're rich and live in a neighborhood with access to full line grocery stores, you do not need to be aware of how limited the food options are to poor people living in neighborhoods with no full line grocery stores.

It seems that there are few, if any, negative consequences to being ignorant of your own privileged position in society.

Or are there? What do you think?

It seems that most people who are privileged (meaning white, heterosexual, Christian males) tend to be unaware that they are privileged, yet those are the people we hear complaining most of the time.

American society was set up for white males and heterosexuals, yet they're the whiniest people of all.

 

[Revoltingest]

It seems that most people who are privileged (meaning white, heterosexual, Christian males) tend to be unaware that they are privileged, yet those are the people we hear complaining most of the time.

American society was set up for white males and heterosexuals, yet they're the whiniest people of all.

Whatever your background, you're working hard to topple us as whiniest.
Btw, it ain't just Xians.....we heathens enjoy privilege too.

 

[moodys]

I think the privileged amongst us might be a little understandably delighted that they got the luck of the draw so to speak. Would you rather be an African American in large areas of the US? No, I wouldn't. Would you rather be a woman? Certainly not.

 

[Revoltingest]

I think the privileged amongst us might be a little understandably delighted that they got the luck of the draw so to speak. Would you rather be an African American in large areas of the US? No, I wouldn't. Would you rather be a woman? Certainly not.

Some might disagree with you there.
Tell Mystic that she'd be better off as a man, you might find a whole lotta "cat toys" heading your way.

 

[moodys]

Some might disagree with you there.
Tell Mystic that she'd be better off as a man, you might find a whole lotta "cat toys" heading your way.

Mystic?

I noticed you didn't offer your take on it my fellow man. Would you rather be an African American? Would you rather be a woman?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I remember in my philosophy class there was an elderly black man who I had a conversation with. He mentioned that when he was in high school many many years ago black people playing sports was still very much frowned upon, and he could have been one of the first black quarterbacks for the school but he let social expectations, dogma, and bigotry hold him back. Now my initial thought was was the he should have went ahead and done it anyways, but I had a very quick second thought that could have made me sound rather unaware. As a white person I have never had to deal with people in white bed-sheets burning crosses in my backyard or threaten to kill me and my family just trying to enjoy civil liberties that are not denied to me because I am white. Or even without the bed-sheets of the Klan, I don't have to deal with people hating me just because I have a pale skin complexion. I may sometimes be the butt-end of a joke referring to just how pale I am, but it not the racially fueled hatred that people who appear to be anything other than white are known to be subjected to.
And let's be honest, how over privileged are we as white people when some of us complain about a black history month when those of white descend dominate history in our culture the other eleven months, and still a good part of that month.
Actually the more I have associated with those of different backgrounds, ethnicities, mental and/or physical handicap, and even those who many consider to be scum, the more I have come to realize that I will probably never be fully aware of just how far reaching white privilege is. And of course anymore speaking English is a privilege, because to so many it is just such a hassle and monumentaly inconvenience to "press 1 for English." We are so privileged that some of us are wanting and trying to make English the official language of America.

 

[Revoltingest]

Mystic?
I noticed you didn't offer your take on it my fellow man. Would you rather be an African American? Would you rather be a woman?

Mystic is a poster here. She seems quite happy being female.
I would rather not be anything else. But my reasons point to so much more than race & gender.
I wouldn't want to be: neurotypical, non-American, religious, physically small/weak, gay,
unintelligent, a Democrat, a Republican, a moderator here, a sociopath, a lawyer, etc, etc.

 

[moodys]

Mystic is a poster here. She seems quite happy being female.
I would rather not be anything else. But my reasons point to so much more than race & gender.
I wouldn't want to be: neurotypical, non-American, religious, physically small/weak, gay,
unintelligent, a Democrat, a Republican, a moderator here, a sociopath, a lawyer, etc, etc.

I don't know why anyone would be. As you've just stated yourself, you would rather not be anything else buddy