Debunking White Privilege: The Economic Reality
auntblabby
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i have been called a white n*! !*r. and i'm not even white.
[Asian]. since I am "off-white"
I seem not to have been blessed with the same kind of privilege as other non-colored amuuricans. walking through an airport I was stopped no less than 4 times and searched. i feel watched in stores. i hate airports. in the army, i was hated by the majority colored folk in my duty section, and shunned/harassed by every color. i will admit that on one hand i want me some of that white privilege that is talked about, but at the same time i feel NOBODY should have any special privileges, that is my inner socialist speaking.
I'm white and I am not privileged in any way
- My grandparents on my Dad's side were in WW2. Grandma escaped a death camp with her sister (rest of her family was killed) and my grandfather was in the Polish resistance. Poles have been oppressed many times in the past.
- I am also of Irish and Scottish descent, oppressed in the past as well.
- I have autism, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, depression, delayed sleep phase syndrome, high blood pressure, acid reflex, social anxiety, etc. My mom and dad have various medical conditions too.
- I am not rich by any means, neither is my family
If anyone tried to pull the white privilege card as an insult towards me, I'd honestly lose all respect for them.
Just because your ancestors had a terrible life and you have various medical conditions doesn't mean you aren't privileged in any way.
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Just because your ancestors had a terrible life and you have various medical conditions doesn't mean you aren't privileged in any way.
This seems to be a valid observation to me. I'll admit that I have been lucky in life, in certain ways.
If someone who labors under substantial adversity wants to remind me of that luck, then I have been open to it.
On the other hand, the usual situation is that when someone--a person whom dozens or even thousands of persons want to listen too--wants to lecture me about my "privilege," it is very easy for me to be insulted. First of all, most of the people who I have encountered doing this are the sort of person who was popular in high school. In my case, I was bullied, harassed, and isolated in high school like so many of my fellow posters on this website. If some a-hole wants to start lecturing me about my lack of guilt for a few small victories in life, then they can piss off.
Another thing that bothers me about white people who moan about "white privilege" to other white people is that they sound like "homophobes." In other words, people who rant about homosexuals all the time frequently turn out to be as gay as the day is long themselves. And so, I figure, people who rant about "white privilege" all day long probably just don't want me to notice what an elitist bigot they are.
I've had many thought-provoking conversations about race and privilege with people of color, but I can't count more than one or two that were possible with other "white" people. If more of the country was like New York, the passive aggressive types wouldn't get past first base with this.
So yes, indeed just because I've had some problems doesn't mean that I'm not privileged in a few, or even many ways. These are negotiable. But the one thing that isn't negotiable is that although anyone can criticize me, I retain full control over who I let guilt-trip me.
ASPartOfMe
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The definition of White Privilege is about bieng born white, no other factor comes into it.
White Privilege - Wikipedia Article
EXPLAINING WHITE PRIVILEGE TO A BROKE WHITE PERSON...
That was an excellent article, thanks for sharing it. Privilege is not something anyone should feel guilty or ashamed for, it's a condition of your birth that you have no control over. It would be silly to feel bad about being born white just as it would be silly to feel bad for being born with red hair or freckles--it's not anything you accomplished, and it's not reflected in your character as a person. The only thing that people should feel responsible for is the choices they make, and what colour your skin is or what class you were born into is not something you choose.
While I do agree the article explains the concept very well I do not agree with it. I wish the concept of privilege would go back to a money and especially connections based concept. Even with that concept much much more whites and NT's still would be defined as privileged compared to blacks and autistics because of descrimination, history and other societal factors. The problem is not how one is born but descrimination overt, covert, institutional etc.
While the new definition correctly applied does not guilt trip anybody, in real life it is mostly the opposite both intended and how it is percieved.
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