EDIT: Forgot the link: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/6-things-white-people-highlight-151602356.html
So....this is probably something I shouldn't make an article about. Mainly because it's such an over the top BS article that it's obviously just troll bait. And honestly because it kind of breaks my "I dont care" philosophy here.
But as it turns out, I do care when self righteous people shove this stuff in my face, which is why I'm perfectly willing to throw my stuff back into theirs. So let's get to it.
Feminist scholar and anti-racism educator Peggy McIntosh famously described white privilege as an “invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks.”
In other words, white people typically move through life unaware of all the head starts, resources and access the color of their skin affords them. They don’t recognize these unearned advantages until they’re pointed out — and even then, some white people will try to deny the existence of their privilege.
I mean, I don't deny that the concept of privilege exists in a sense. I just think it's a really terrible way of describing things and it comes off as self righteous shaming more than anything productive.
Here's the thing, "Feminist scholar". yeah, these ideas are mostly known within academia. They are NOT commonly known and understood among the general public. And these concepts come off as sorta insular and disconnected with the public. Even worse, trying to "inform" the public about them ends up going poorly because the way the issue is framed is so terrible that people feel like they're being shamed and demonized just for existing and they just SHUT DOWN and don't wanna even listen. It's just a toxic approach to politics that's best off dropped.
Of course, commentators like this don't know HOW to turn that stuff off. They're so high from sniffing their own farts all of the time they'll just start writing tone deaf articles like this.
It should be noted that merely acknowledging your white privilege isn’t enough — but it is one small and necessary step toward taking action and wielding that privilege to help dismantle the systems that oppress the Black community and other people of color in this country.
We talked to educators, activists, therapists and professors about the things white people often say that highlight their privilege without them realizing it.
"You see, acknowledging your own sin isn't enough, you have to atone". Yeah, again. Totally not a cult /s. These guys are toxic and in their own little world. They just assume that not only people acknowledge being privileged, but then they need to basically become activists to advance their cause. It's like these people dont realize they sound creepy and cultish from the outside.
1. “It’s not my job to fix racism because I’m not racist.”
What you’re essentially saying is that because the systemic racism doesn’t hurt you personally — a privileged position to be in — you don’t need to be involved in the fight against it. White people must step up to the plate, act as allies and use their privilege for good.
“It takes the actions of every single person to call out racist behavior and be a part of the solution,” Michelle Saahene, co-founder of From Privilege to Progress, told HuffPost. “It’s a privilege to be able to only talk about race and never experience it. It’s a privilege to choose not to talk about it or acknowledge it.”
This statement also ignores the fact that racism is largely a structural issue, not just an individual one.
“People of color would also like to live in a world where their skin color didn’t impact the way they were treated and just never talk about race,” Saahene added. “But systemic racism is real, people of color must talk about race, to navigate a system that was never meant for their freedom — and continues with the support of white silence.”
To push and be blunt, IT ISN'T. Also, let's point out the disconnect between how the two sides use the term race. For the left, it's a systemic approach to society that leads to unequal outcomes between people of different races. For the right, it's a set of hateful ideas, and what leftists would rather call "prejudice".
For the right, racism is a heart issue, for the left, it's a structural one. Both of them are valid.
However, I don't really think that whites should have to take any action to go out of their way and care about these issues. Sorry, I don't. I think all of this stuff about being a good ally is a lot of gaslighting and guilt tripping, and that people aren't required to be activists for any specific issue. They are not required to go out of the way, or inconvenience themselves in any way to solve this issue. And this is why lefties end up alienating people like me.
Just like on immigration, I'm only PASSIVELY left on social issues of this variety. I ain't gonna stick my neck out. I aint gonna inconvenience myself. I'm not gonna expend energy on it. And I resent anyone who tries to use these issues as a cudgel to manipulate me into doing something I otherwise wouldn't. NO. I don't HAVE to go out of my way or inconvenience myself over this issue. And anyone who thinks that I do can screw right off. That's why I push back so hard on the caring thing. These guys literally expect me to drop things I care about to go all in on solving structural racism or whatever, and it just ain't the best use of my time. Sorry, but it isn't. It's a difficult issue to address, trying to address it raises a lot of issues involving fairness and resentment between racial groups, and it's probably better to raise up the minimum standard of living anyway.
Like instead of a UBI, if they had their way, they'd probably ONLY give it to POC to offset "privilege", which would just make whites resentful and think it's not fair. Or they'd give more money to POC, or something like that. It's a losing issue to frame it like that. heck I saw a bunch of people on the NYC subreddit the other say complaining about Eric Adams giving migrants a cash grant to sustain themselves while waiting for their refugee claims to be heard. And people were obviously pissed and like "OH YEAH WHAT ABOUT GIVING US MONEY?!". Gee, if only a candidate ran against Eric Adams for mayor who was pro UBI. If only...
But yeah, I get the resentment. And that's why addressing systemic racism is so touchy and toxic. You try to address it and then whites will suddenly be like "what about us?", and they aint necessarily wrong. And no one wants to be told they shouldnt get free money because "privilege'.
Addressing systemic racism is always like this. It can be college applications. Or job applications. And then you got lefties who wanna mandate diversity and conservatives who want a merit based system. And then the left points out POC cant do as well in merit based systems because of systemic factors against them, so propose systems that are supposed to even things out and cause resentment. That's what fixing systemic racism actually looks like, and it's just a toxic cesspit that ain't worth even dealing with. I'm for equal rights, but if we wanna address race issues, we gotta address them indirectly in a color blind way.
These guys just go full on into guilting and shaming people for not making this their issue #1, when why should we? it literally doesnt affect us, addressing the issue is hella divisive, and we have other things to worry about. Why should we take time and energy out of our days for THIS?! Because of a guilt trip and a cultish obsession with this issue? Please.
2. “I don’t see color.
The intent behind this statement is to demonstrate that you’re not a prejudiced person. But, as psychologist Erlanger Turner put it, “we all see racial difference unless we’re visually impaired.” Refusing to acknowledge the color of someone’s skin is also a refusal to acknowledge the struggles they’ve endured and discrimination they’ve faced because of their race.
“For most white people, they have the privilege to receive many benefits in society based on ‘whiteness’ that people of color don’t receive,” said Turner, an assistant professor of psychology at Pepperdine University who studies mental health among racial and ethnic communities. “For example, think about the recent protests [in Michigan] when white men went into a state government building with guns and they didn’t experience any harm. Yet, Black people engage in peaceful protests and police are shooting them with rubber bullets. That’s white privilege.”
Again keep in mind what I said. For the right racism is a heart issue. For the left it's a systemic issue. And when the right says this theyre trying to assert that they're not racist. But for a leftist that isnt good enough because they're complicit in racist power structures and blah blah blah. I even seen people mocking people who said this sentiment in the comments section where I found this article. And it's dumb. Basically, this is the idea I was raised with, and it came from a set of liberal ideals. Theres a huge disconnect between liberal ideas and leftist ones. Liberals want equality under the law. leftists wanna get in the nitty gritty of the power structures. Now, is equality under the law always enough? No, of course not. But again, addressing these issues systemically is difficult, unrewarding, and politically divisive.
"I dont see color" might not be literal, of course people can SEE skin color, the point is that people are trying to NOT be racist or "prejudiced". Like, they're trying. This used to be the ideal. Now that legal equality is reached now we're focusing on this diminishing returns stuff that's divisive. But yeah, that's liberalism in its truest sense of the word vs leftism. Leftism is obsessed with social structures and liberalism is just...legal equality. And for some people, that's all we're for.
3. “There’s no need to worry about the police if you’re not doing anything illegal.”
The way white people perceive and interact with law enforcement is far different from the way Black and Latino people do. Black people have been killed by police while doing everyday activities: Botham Jean was eating ice cream in his living room, Breonna Taylor was sleeping in her bed and Atatiana Jefferson was playing video games with her nephew, just to name a few. There’s also a history of police disproportionately pulling over, stopping and arresting Black people over minor infractions or for no apparent reason. And, as was the case with George Floyd — the Minneapolis man who was killed in police custody after allegedly buying cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill — even minor incidents can escalate into deadly violence.
“White people often claim that Black people, specifically, should have nothing to worry about if they, Black people, aren’t doing anything illegal,” said anti-racism educator Myisha T. Hill, author of “Check Your Privilege: Live Into the Work.” “This is because white people tend to feel an innate sense of safety and security from the policing policies that racially profile and target Black people, in many cases leading to the use of excessive or even lethal force. This is a prime example of white privilege.”
To be honest, this one is BRAINDEAD. Like...for the people saying it. I actually agree there are systemic issues with policing that are well within our ability to attempt to address, and we can probably do it without "defunding the police" or abolishing it (since those are leftists sentiments that are nuts and go too far).
But yeah, we should address racial profiling in policing. This one I cede to the author.
4. “I don’t want to post about racism on social media because I’m scared of the backlash.”
If the fear of relatives unfollowing you on Instagram or leaving “all lives matter!” comments on your Facebook posts prevents you from speaking up at all, your priorities are out of order. Refusing to use your voice and platform in this way is “putting your comfort above all else,” even “above humanity,” Saahene said.
“It is a privilege to not have to take a risk of alienating yourself from others,” she said. “It’s saying that the drama or backlash you don’t want to face from potential racists is more important than speaking out against innocent people being oppressed.”
Again, this is what pisses me off with these people. Who are you to tell me what my priorities should be? Why should i sacrifice friendships on the altar of self righteousness? And this goes both ways. like, I have friends who are SJWs I'd never show this article to. Because if they knew i actually thought like this, maybe they wouldnt like me any more. So I prefer not to hit that beehive.
But that's the problem. Leftists WANNA hit the beehive, and they shame people for NOT taking their political extremism so far that they're willing to burn bridges with friends over nonsense politics. And these people can screw off.
This right here is why no one likes these people, and why I end up being so vocal. Push comes to shove I am willing to burn bridges if an argument comes to a head, and it's not gonna go the way that they want it to. Because Im more likely to burn bridges with them because they seem least willing to tolerate differences in opinion with others.
Again, the people who get my ire most on these issues are the ones who force me to get involved. I'm willing to be a PASSIVE ally. But if you shove the stuff in my face and make ultimatums, I'm gonna show you the door. Plain and simple.
5. “I don’t have white privilege.”
Some white folks insist white privilege doesn’t apply to them because they’re not wealthy or because they’ve worked hard for what they have or because their life has been a struggle in any number of ways. They get defensive when they hear the term because they don’t really understand it.
White privilege doesn’t mean all white people live charmed lives. “It simply means that the color of your skin is not one of the reasons you may experience personal or professional hurdles,” said Abigail Makepeace, a marriage and family therapist who specializes in trauma.
For white people to dismiss the benefits they’ve reaped because of their whiteness only goes to show how oblivious — and privileged — they really are.
“The mere assumption that someone does not benefit from systemic privilege reveals how inherently unaware they may be of systemic racism,” Makepeace said. “Ignorance of complicity indicates that someone has been protected from and sheltered by the system — a luxury that POC have never had.”
Again, telling people they are "privileged" is toxic and theres a discounnect here. Because privilege has multiple definitions. Theres the academic sociology one that they use, and then there's the idea that someone is just unfairly advantaged. And a lot of whites dont FEEL unfairly advantaged. because here's the thing. Capitalism kicks the crap out of all of us. We're all forced to work, and grind our lives away, and after spending decades working just to eek out a decent life, being told we were "privileged" feels insulting. It's like 'we worked all our lives for everything we got and now you're telling us we're privileged? Screw you". That's literally what whites who dont understand this stuff think. It's tone deaf. While the lefties are technically right from the sociological perspective, they need to stop saying this crap to people. it's like they dont understand how abrasive and offputting they really are. The language they use is incendiary, and them waving this stuff in white peoples' faces is just pissing them off.
Again, this stuff seems like a weird cult. THese people are in their own little world. They're not entirely wrong from a factual perspective. Again, this stuff does have academic validity. But you understand why I can't stand them? This is the crap they say. And it's done deaf and alienating. But dont you dare tell you that or they'll have a fricking aneurysm. Because in their mind there's no way they can possibly be wrong.
6. “I’m not sure when I should start talking to my kids about racism.”
One of the most common concerns Hill hears from white moms is not knowing when or how they should broach the subject of racism with their children. The question itself demonstrates that white parents have the ability to wait for the “right” time to talk to their kids about racial discrimination; Parents of color are often forced into having those conversations with their kids at a young age.
“This urge to shelter their white children from the realities of racism is directly born of their own white privileges. Black, brown, indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, people of color, do not have the luxury of putting blinders up to shield our children from racism,” Hill said. “Our livelihoods depend on us constantly having these heart-wrenching conversations with our children, from very early ages, about why they have to behave differently from white children and what to do if we are pulled over by the police. Because our safety is never guaranteed.”
Conversations about race need to become the norm in white homes, too, Saahene said, in order to “teach anti-racism and raise socially conscious and inclusive children to be a part of the solution.” This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
More weird shaming stuff. And also, why SHOULD we teach kids this stuff? These ideas are complex, and as an ex conservative, i literally needed to take an entire class on this stuff in college level sociology to get it. To understand privilege...makes you...privileged. Really. It's the ironic thing. Most people who understand this stuff are college educated whites and they are kinda in their own little cult with it. This comes off as brainwashing and indoctrinating the next generation from a young age, which is kinda dangerous IMO. And shaming people isn't the answer either.
Just....ugh. Like....I hope I'm making sense here. To some extent these guys have a valid perspective, as a student of sociology, critical is real, it's valid, but the language they use is insular, and the force with which they try to push these ideas is offputting. These guys dont know how to market their ideas at all. It's really a social media mind virus similar to religion IMO. It's a cult. It's a fricking political cult. Leftism in general is a cult at this point. I'm shifting back to liberalism hard for a reason. Because I beleive such ideas are more based on liberty, freedom of thoughts, and equality for all. But the left wants people to believe ideology unquestioningly, and uses similar social structures of shame and bullying and gaslighting to push their message that I'd expect from a religion. And they're as evangelical as a religion. And just as intolerant, if not more intolerant, of those with differing views.
Honestly, I think "woke ideology", ie, ideology that is rooted in an obsession with power structures related to identity groups, is toxic. It's divisive. It's dangerous.
On the last point, if I had kids, I certainly WOULDNT be teaching them any of this stuff until they were old enough to understand it, because i wouldnt wanna indoctrinate them. The whole get them while they're young thing is sickening. Teacher, leave them kids alone!
But yeah. I decided to write this because it perfectly encapsulates my entire gripe with disdain with these guys. It goes into why i dislike them foisting stuff on me, the cultish elements, forcing me to be an activist, the intense shaming, encouraging people to throw relationships away in the name of these ideals. I mean, it's NUTS. THIS IS A CULT. Sorry, it is. And I'm not sorry for calling it out, nor resisting it.
Systemic racism is real. I'm not gonna deny it. There is some truth to their ideology. But like I always say, it's just ONE WAY of looking at the world. It's not the end all be all of all political ideology, nor should it be treated as such. And it gets way too much attention as it is.
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