The Prejudice of Implicit Privilege

[sealchan]

I did some reading this morning that made me realize more fully this notion of how prejudice as it creates social injustice can exist even outside the psychological attitude of the individual. It consists of an implicit "privilege" enjoyed by some due to historical and other institutionalized benefits some people receive and others don't although this effective privilege is not explicitly stated in any formal, social contract. In other words, the privilege is largely systemic.

This has opened a door in my mind of understanding and helps to seal the last piece of the puzzle I have been working on since the election of our current president...how did his despicable behavior become acceptable to so many people to the point that he was elected?

Even if individuals do not harbor any deep seated prejudice against various "others", they often devalue or overlook the experiences of those others to the point that they unknowingly perpetuate systemic laws, customs and other patterns of behavior (from consumer product design to indirect institutional effective discrimination) that give them an advantage.

This presents an interesting challenge for those who seek to facilitate the further improvement of society for the underprivileged with the cooperation of the privileged who, of course, seek out that government should be serving their needs and that since everyone's rights are equal (for the sake of argument) there is no reason why any government action or policies shouldn't be a problem so long as they are not explicitly biased in their application to members of society. Those who unknowingly enjoy the privilege of their class will actively resist changes in government policy that are meant to continue to erode the imbalance and inequity in society that continues to be demonstrated in daily acts which determine privileged access to resources of value shared by all people.

In the United States where whites regularly have (if not appreciate or are even aware of) privileged access to any number of resources and/or avoidance of distressing or disturbing experiences, there is a deep ignorance of the suffering of their fellow Americans that has become an open distrust as others seem to want to force certain policies and changes that seem to create undue disadvantage for those unknowingly privileged. This is exacerbated by years of job outsourcing which some argue helps our economy but others fear means that the rich are benefiting by sacrificing the jobs of the poor. So those who feel their livelihoods are being given away not only to people outside of our country but also to "others" within our country who, they are able to rationalize, are less deserving or who are less invested in America.

Anyway this is my latest thoughts on what is most strongly driving American politics today...I'm no expert...but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night (not really)!

Any thoughts are welcome...

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

I did some reading this morning that made me realize more fully this notion of how prejudice as it creates social injustice can exist even outside the psychological attitude of the individual. It consists of an implicit "privilege" enjoyed by some due to historical and other institutionalized benefits some people receive and others don't although this effective privilege is not explicitly stated in any formal, social contract. In other words, the privilege is largely systemic.

This has opened a door in my mind of understanding and helps to seal the last piece of the puzzle I have been working on since the election of our current president...how did his despicable behavior become acceptable to so many people to the point that he was elected?

Even if individuals do not harbor any deep seated prejudice against various "others", they often devalue or overlook the experiences of those others to the point that they unknowingly perpetuate systemic laws, customs and other patterns of behavior (from consumer product design to indirect institutional effective discrimination) that give them an advantage.

This presents an interesting challenge for those who seek to facilitate the further improvement of society for the underprivileged with the cooperation of the privileged who, of course, seek out that government should be serving their needs and that since everyone's rights are equal (for the sake of argument) there is no reason why any government action or policies shouldn't be a problem so long as they are not explicitly biased in their application to members of society. Those who unknowingly enjoy the privilege of their class will actively resist changes in government policy that are meant to continue to erode the imbalance and inequity in society that continues to be demonstrated in daily acts which determine privileged access to resources of value shared by all people.

In the United States where whites regularly have (if not appreciate or are even aware of) privileged access to any number of resources and/or avoidance of distressing or disturbing experiences, there is a deep ignorance of the suffering of their fellow Americans that has become an open distrust as others seem to want to force certain policies and changes that seem to create undue disadvantage for those unknowingly privileged. This is exacerbated by years of job outsourcing which some argue helps our economy but others fear means that the rich are benefiting by sacrificing the jobs of the poor. So those who feel their livelihoods are being given away not only to people outside of our country but also to "others" within our country who, they are able to rationalize, are less deserving or who are less invested in America.

Anyway this is my latest thoughts on what is most strongly driving American politics today...I'm no expert...but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night (not really)!

Any thoughts are welcome...

A double standard is the root of ALL evil, and the elite it protects could be from the left (usually) right or center. The privilege meme is nothing more than a feint in hopes of moving attention away from the usually leftist privileged elite. It's the latest politically correct example of screwing with the lexicon.

 

[sealchan]

I will add in a reply here...

The reason why someone like Trump can be elected president seems to me to have to do with the fear that many white people are feeling with their declining status. Liberals within the US seem to want to hand the "minorities" all the rights and privileges while major corporations seem to want to export all the jobs. It seems like everyone but the "whites" are important and now, in spite of knowing better, the threat of the loss of a respectable job is or is being made to seem as if that is something to blame on others. Trump promises, without being explicitly (mostly) racist, to make White America Great Again. He doesn't care what any fancy, intellectually snobby liberal has to say, in fact he doesn't care about facts at all. Facts have become the weapons of the liberal elite.

When the educated and the intellectual tells you time and time and time again that you are loosing your job but you are gaining a stronger economy...but you still have no job, that doesn't satisfy. If someone tells you that cultural changes are coming and you can't ignore them but you don't know where you fit in with all of that...it is refreshing to see a clown take center stage and distract us from all the "truth" that one is told but that doesn't somehow truly satisfy your deepest needs for comfort and security.

Add the conservative penchant for using anxiety regarding cultural change to promote certain policies and you have a anxiety driven culture of anti-intellectual attitudes towards globalism and multi-culturalism (in fact, no authorities know anything) that is willing to overlook the faults of and elect the most obviously corrupt person possible because he thumbs his nose at those people whom the now disadvantaged white people see as largely irrelevant. Trump is willing to say what his base wants to hear and in a democracy one cannot criticize that. However, long term, our democracies health may depend on our ability to grow out of such implicitly biased behavior and make sure that all of us understand what it will take for us to have a healthy political and economic society where everyone has a place and knows both to what they are entitled and to what any sacrifice they make is for.

 

[sealchan]

A double standard is the root of ALL evil, and the elite it protects could be from the left (usually) right or center. The privilege meme is nothing more than a feint in hopes of moving attention away from the usually leftist privileged elite. It's the latest politically correct example of screwing with the lexicon.

I think you just made my case.

 

[sealchan]

A double standard is the root of ALL evil, and the elite it protects could be from the left (usually) right or center. The privilege meme is nothing more than a feint in hopes of moving attention away from the usually leftist privileged elite. It's the latest politically correct example of screwing with the lexicon.

"White privilege" has been a topic of academic study long before it became a popular term.

It may be merely "academic" to many, but it is a painful reality to many as well.

Instead of listening to any leftist elites or political opinions, we might do better as a society to listen to the stories that people have to tell...from all sides.

 

[Revoltingest]

The reason why someone like Trump can be elected president seems to me to have to do with the fear that many white people are feeling with their declining status.

Liberals (some) love to accuse us of that.
It helps them dismiss us as ignant backwoods racists.
They ignore our proffered reasons for voting for him &
against her, instead making up a rationale for us.
Not so tolerant, eh.
And they do little to fight the privilege they so loudly decry.
In reality, a man like Trump gets elected because the w parties
offered pretty lame opposition. Time to up their games.

 

[sealchan]

Liberals (some) love to accuse us of that.
It helps them dismiss us as ignant backwoods racists.
They ignore our proffered reasons for voting for him &
against her, instead making up a rationale for us.
Not so tolerant, eh.
And they do little to fight the privilege they so loudly decry.
In reality, a man like Trump gets elected because the w parties
offered pretty lame opposition. Time to up their games.

Do you feel that a significant number of people voted for the worse of the two candidates in protest regarding the overall state of politics/choices offered?

 

[sealchan]

Liberals (some) love to accuse us of that.
It helps them dismiss us as ignant backwoods racists.
They ignore our proffered reasons for voting for him &
against her, instead making up a rationale for us.
Not so tolerant, eh.
And they do little to fight the privilege they so loudly decry.
In reality, a man like Trump gets elected because the w parties
offered pretty lame opposition. Time to up their games.

From what little I did read it seems that challenging a groups "privilege" often brings up prejudicial behavior where that behavior doesn't exist outside of the challenge to their supposed privilege. If those challenged don't buy into the story of their own implicit privilege, certainly one would expect them to protest against charges of being racist.

There is a serious breakdown in mutual understanding in this country and in the conversation is critically failing. I am trying to sincerely understand this.

I will admit that I find it very hard to understand how anything Clinton did or might have done could compare to how bad Trump was even before he was elected. Normally that would have ended his run for office but it so clearly has not. What has fundamentally changed in America's political culture?

 

[Augustus]

There is a serious breakdown in mutual understanding in this country and in the conversation is critically failing. I am trying to sincerely understand this.

Any conversation using the term 'white privilege' is going to critically fail, precisely because it is an impediment to mutual understanding. The term actually prohibits it.

 

[joe1776]

"White privilege" has been a topic of academic study long before it became a popular term.

It may be merely "academic" to many, but it is a painful reality to many as well.

Instead of listening to any leftist elites or political opinions, we might do better as a society to listen to the stories that people have to tell...from all sides.

If we're hiring for a management job, we want someone highly intelligent, with ample experience and someone who isn't an arrogant, know-it-all jerk who will ignore advice.

I'll be 83 years old soon and I never saw a presidential candidate in my voting years who was well- qualified in my opinion. My votes were against candidates rather than for one.. The democratic process is a lousy way to choose our leaders.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

I did some reading this morning that made me realize more fully this notion of how prejudice as it creates social injustice can exist even outside the psychological attitude of the individual. It consists of an implicit "privilege" enjoyed by some due to historical and other institutionalized benefits some people receive and others don't although this effective privilege is not explicitly stated in any formal, social contract. In other words, the privilege is largely systemic.

This has opened a door in my mind of understanding and helps to seal the last piece of the puzzle I have been working on since the election of our current president...how did his despicable behavior become acceptable to so many people to the point that he was elected?

Even if individuals do not harbor any deep seated prejudice against various "others", they often devalue or overlook the experiences of those others to the point that they unknowingly perpetuate systemic laws, customs and other patterns of behavior (from consumer product design to indirect institutional effective discrimination) that give them an advantage.

This presents an interesting challenge for those who seek to facilitate the further improvement of society for the underprivileged with the cooperation of the privileged who, of course, seek out that government should be serving their needs and that since everyone's rights are equal (for the sake of argument) there is no reason why any government action or policies shouldn't be a problem so long as they are not explicitly biased in their application to members of society. Those who unknowingly enjoy the privilege of their class will actively resist changes in government policy that are meant to continue to erode the imbalance and inequity in society that continues to be demonstrated in daily acts which determine privileged access to resources of value shared by all people.

In the United States where whites regularly have (if not appreciate or are even aware of) privileged access to any number of resources and/or avoidance of distressing or disturbing experiences, there is a deep ignorance of the suffering of their fellow Americans that has become an open distrust as others seem to want to force certain policies and changes that seem to create undue disadvantage for those unknowingly privileged. This is exacerbated by years of job outsourcing which some argue helps our economy but others fear means that the rich are benefiting by sacrificing the jobs of the poor. So those who feel their livelihoods are being given away not only to people outside of our country but also to "others" within our country who, they are able to rationalize, are less deserving or who are less invested in America.

Anyway this is my latest thoughts on what is most strongly driving American politics today...I'm no expert...but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night (not really)!

Any thoughts are welcome...

You're just now finding out about this? I guess you missed the threads I have made.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

Any conversation using the term 'white privilege' is going to critically fail, precisely because it is an impediment to mutual understanding. The term actually prohibits it.

There was a South Park episode about this. Where Token, the token black character, (that's the joke) keeps getting upset when one of the main characters keeps telling him 'I understand what you're going through.' The resolution of the episode is when that character acnowledges that he cannot and will not ever understand what Token is going through.

 

[David T]

You're just now finding out about this? I guess you missed the threads I have made.

No he saw a black man with a beard and fled!!!

I am kidding folks!!! But it was funny..

 

[LuisDantas]

Any conversation using the term 'white privilege' is going to critically fail, precisely because it is an impediment to mutual understanding. The term actually prohibits it.

How so?

 

[sealchan]

Any conversation using the term 'white privilege' is going to critically fail, precisely because it is an impediment to mutual understanding. The term actually prohibits it.

I can see that it is challenging and that many would outright reject it, but it is an apt term and description of something that has a great negative impact on a lot of Americans.

But even breaking down specific cases of white privilege has had its problems in spite of statistical evidence. I suspect that ideas such as 'racial profiling' and 'unconscious bias' won't start a difficult conversation any more smoothly...

But given that white males are not a majority now and will only diminish as a majority in this country over time, it would seem to be prudent for those individuals (which includes myself) to not dismiss such ideas because in doing so you would merely be casting the vast majority of your fellow Americans in the category of "deplorables".

 

[Audie]

A double standard is the root of ALL evil, and the elite it protects could be from the left (usually) right or center. The privilege meme is nothing more than a feint in hopes of moving attention away from the usually leftist privileged elite. It's the latest politically correct example of screwing with the lexicon.

Nah. Self indulgence is.

 

[sealchan]

You're just now finding out about this? I guess you missed the threads I have made.

I'm sure I must have missed those threads...I'm mainly focused on religion, science and such but I do find myself more and more motivated to look at political issues after recent events.

 

[sealchan]

I'm not one to enjoy describing a problem, especially a pressing one without offering a solution...in the simplest terms I recommend that you identify those people who claim some identity that you find disturbing...that identity is an "Other" for you. Then find the opportunity to the stories of those Others. If you are not personally familiar with a person who is "other" then listening to their stories is your next best approach. Picking those stories based on your own personal interests will help you to find some base of commonality.

If you find people around you are holding you back from doing this then you have met the systemic wall that lies between you and the Other.

 

[Augustus]

There was a South Park episode about this.

I remember that episode

Where Token, the token black character, (that's the joke) keeps getting upset when one of the main characters keeps telling him 'I understand what you're going through.' The resolution of the episode is when that character acnowledges that he cannot and will not ever understand what Token is going through.

I actually meant it in a different way though. The language we use to discuss issues can be as, or even more, important than the issue itself.

Once you frame the issue in terms of privilege you have lost the ability to change the minds of people who have not already been primed with a certain ideological tendency.

It's one of the most egregiously counterproductive pieces of terminology that could be constructed if the purpose is mutual understanding which very much belies its roots in a certain type of ideological advocacy.

Given the choice, which seems more likely to succeed:

a) Convince people to be empathetic with people being discriminated against
b) Convince people that they should be ashamed of some unearned privilege they have based on an accident of birth and that, implicitly, they are collectively responsible for oppressing everyone else

Many modern progressives create a framework in which they are bound to fail. Framing a discussion in a way that even people who agree with them won't agree with them is insane.

Often though, the purpose is not to convince others, but to bask in a sense of self-righteousness. This is an unfortunate characteristic of modern political discourse for many people of all persuasions.

 

[Augustus]

it is an apt term

It really is not an apt term if you are aiming for mutual understanding. See above post for explanation.