What do you think of white privilege?

It exists. Its bad.

That's my short answer.

 

Just one of the many hierarchical structures that need to be torn to the ground.

 

I definitely think it is a real thing and that it has very serious implications. I'm not going to bring up all the loads of evidence that show that white people in employment, the justice system, and even in university administration are more likely to be treated preferably over nonwhite people, but there are many studies that have been done on the subject that I would suggest you read about.

 

How do you tear down a theoretical concept that doesn't have intention or law behind it?

 

It exists, but it's much less apparent the deeper below the poverty line you go.

 

It's a bullshit retort often used when someone has no valid points or a week argument when discussing issues of race and class.

Happy days

 

So then "white privilege" is the idea that all things being equal, white people are treated preferentially?

It seems to me that many people understand white privilege to mean "all white people are better off than all non-white people" which we know is categorically false. But I also think this false understanding of white privilege is essentially a straw-man, leading it to be dismissed as invalid from the get-go.

 

I think it's fairly unequivocal that white people in Western nations are privileged. White people are more likely to live in financial security than certain other races, though white people are not necessarily the richest. White people are more likely to possess higher levels of social capital than other races and in some cases, the mere fact of being white is an element of social capital.

These are fairly broad strokes. The concept of white privilege clearly doesn't seek to claim that all white people are better off socially and economically than all non-white people. Nor do I believe that anyone with a modicum of political sense would believe that acknowledging white privilege is a panacea to all social and economic ills. That would be ridiculous.

However, I do take issue with discussions about white privilege. Too often, even in academic contexts, it seems directionless. This is particularly relevant when white privilege is discussed in relation to economics. It's great that we can acknowledge the racial breakdown of income and wealth distribution. That's actually a fantastic thing to do for statistical and historical reasons.

But too often, the discussion stops there. Identifying the intersection of race, income inequality and wealth inequality is important, but it's mainly important in terms of developing adequate policy solutions. We often don't make that leap, leaving it at the level of identity politics, and subjecting ourselves to not quite knowing what we want to get out of the discussion.

That lack of direction can lead to ridiculously fiery exchanges. Instead of explaining the purpose, mechanisms and desired outcomes of a race-targeted economic solution such as affirmative action, it's easy with the language of white privilege to skip the important bits. So you have discussions of affirmative action that identify the evil (relatively limited access to education institutions for certain racial groups) but don't articulate the why and the how of the solution. When concerns or opposition are raised, it's easier to jump straight to 'only racists oppose this because of their white privilege'. That's clearly alienating and unhelpful, especially if, without specifics, the interlocutors are engaging on very different levels of thought and making arguments without real engagement.

In that sense, white privilege is merely a distraction. As an incontrovertible fact, the concept can help you set up why there's a problem. I think few would disagree that certain inequalities exist, nor would most people believe that racial injustice is in any way a good thing. But diagnosis, for all it is important, isn't a solution; you have to engage at a more specific level when outlining what you want to do. To do so, you will very rarely need to keep referring to white privilege. It's an off-putting rhetorical mistake.

Another issue is that people defending the concept of white privilege against detractors often do so at the expense of other issues. Intergenerational, geographic and class inequalities are also highly important. To try to frame discussions about inequality through the prism of race is often too simple, especially given that certain opponents aren't questioning that there is a problem but asking whether race is the only issue at play. In police shootings, for example, it's not just an issue of race. It's also an issue of training, armament, accountability mechanisms and police culture. White privilege isn't the biggest part of that and it can be a hindrance to your ability to communicate and convince when you can't move beyond that one point.

Sometimes you really have to question whether your intention is to pose cultural and policy solutions to issues that touch on race or whether you intend to validate the concept of white privilege. When you do the latter, you can lose focus and get stuck in a sort of academic circle-jerk. The former, funnily enough, will usually validate the concept of white privilege more than attempts to directly do so will accomplish, because it's less alienating and more outcomes-focussed. Yes, there are times where you'll get stuck arguing with someone whose moral compass you find lacking. But when your main concern is validating white privilege as a concept, you're often the one holding serious discussion hostage.

TLDR: White privilege is a valid concept but can be an impediment to identifying and communicating solutions when obsessed over. Often an unhelpful intellectual shortcut. Do it well or cut it out.

 

To look at it by demographics, Asians are the "Better" race in most places (Of course this argument doesnt even apply to 80% of the world) .
White privilege, is a concept that is old; and needs to be burned to the ground.
There is no such thing, and as soon as we realize that; we will stop trying to make it a thing.

 

I feel like I have privileges, but not due to the fact I'm white, but rather that I live in a first world country into a middle class family with a reasonably stable income and I get a good education and enough money for food each day. I feel like how privileged people are depend on what class you are born in, your parent's jobs/income, the neighbourhood and country you live in, rather than the colour of your skin. There are exceptions though in different areas.

 

Those who have privilege are generally unaware of their privilege. You almost have to be motivated to be able to see it...it's like the air you breathe. But if you pay careful attention, you can spot instances of it all around...white privilege, straight privilege, male privilege, cis privilege. Lots of people hurt by it, and yet very few in the privileged groups who allow themselves to actually see it in operation.

 

I think there is definitely white privilege in many ways. As a white person, I don't deal with people using cultural appropriation in an offensive way, at least personally, and while I do face some stereotypes as a white person, I don't have a lot of the very negative ones associated with people of other races: like people thinking black people are dangerous or criminals, or people over-sexualizing latina women, and many others.

And yes, there is certainly class privelage and many other things. Just because you're white doesn't mean you get treated well by society, but I think being white definitely has some privileges and it's certainly not fair.

More than that, I think we need to stop arguing over who has more privileges and actually just look at the problems and the lack of privileges certain individuals face based on superficial traits and focus our energy on that.

 

Out of curiosity, what do you consider cultural appropriation in an offensive way? Because I've seen people complain about the most simplest things and sometimes even taking it out of context. It's gotten to the point where I can barely take it seriously anymore.

 

That's how/why it's allowed to continue... besides humans being self-serving creatures.

 

In terms of employment, apparently Asians are the most "privileged", statistically speaking.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_intelligence

The only reason this whole "privilege" trend exists because it's a way for people to avoid personal responsibility while simultaneously feeling good about themselves.

Ironically, more companies are hiring more and more non-white people now. Not because of their qualifications, but because it's bad PR to not meet your "POC Employee" quota in this day and age.

 

To the extent that there have been cases of white people being told they're not wanted because they're not colored. Much progress, very current year. :eusa_naug

 

I can't see how a "racial quota" is anything other than racist and/or an insult. On one hand, it ignores people who are more qualified in favor of someone else based on nothing other than their race (i.e. racism), or it implies that non-white people can only be hired or admitted by being given a "leg up" because they're otherwise not qualified on their own (insult). It seems like a lose-lose situation to me.

 

I think the only case in which there is some form of white privilege nowadays is that we're less likely to be victims of having racial abuse thrown at us. But then again, lately white people have been victims of that as well here recently, if they have a foreign accent, so it seems to be more of a case of xenophobia more than anything else. Then again, I could be wrong, since I am white so there could be some information that I'm missing/haven't experienced racism.

 

Couldn't agree with this more. There is privilege within every kind of category that probably won't be extinguished for a long while, if ever. It's not something that we should put blame on. People can't help what they're born into or what is given to them. It's only what they make of it and themselves after that matters. If you sit back and ignore that you're in a privileged position denying that it even exists, then the divide starts becoming clearer.

 

As someone who goes to a school with many affluent white people, I feel that society needs to get a handle on white privilige. Hell, I'm part white and these affluent white people feel that they're better than me just because 50% of my race is Chinese. Granted, not every rich white person acts like this, but a large amount do. Back to the point, white privilige has deep roots, probably way back even before colonization of America, but it most likely has sometime to do with wealth and education. It just frustrates me to see people believe they can do certain things, 'just because they're white'. As much as I would love to see this issue dealt with, I know it's just not going to happen.