Is 'white privilege' a thing?

[RR1997]

White privilege obviously exists. I think most can agree that whites have a significant advantage over non-whites in just about every way.

However, I believe that white privilege isn't that big of an issue.

[OSR stands with Israel]

White privilege obviously exists. I think most can agree that whites have a significant advantage over non-whites in just about every way.

However, I believe that white privilege isn't that big of an issue.

Arent Asians more successful

[angus]

I reckon it's a thing.  I hadn't even heard the phrase till about five years ago, and I still don't know what it means, exactly, but I see the term on the internet regularly, even in fairly respectable places.  That makes it a thing, even if the nature of the thing eludes me.

I disagree that whitefolk have privileges over others in every way.  If you feel that way, you might want to get out more.  I have been in many places where I was the only whiteboy in the house, and in some cases was glad to be guest of nonwhite folks.  (Someone asks whether Asians are more successful.  I can assure you that in Asia they are, at least in some aspects of navigation of life.)  And that's just counting interactions vis-a-vis other humans.  The sun and other natural phenomena can also be much less forgiving to the pale of face than to some of the others.  Then again, melanin is one of the higher melting-point compounds in skin, so if the end of the world comes with ice, we may have some slight advantage.  At least if suffering longer due to less frost-bite counts as success.

Nevertheless, once a phrase is coined and repeated enough times, it becomes a thing, by definition, so I vote yes.  It's rather like asking whether Pluto is a "dwarf planet."  

You have to also remember that for at least 700 years, Europeans have claimed racial, religious, and moral superiority over the rest of the world.  Indigenous Americans ("indians") in what is now Peru, Mexico, and Brazil have used harsh acids and bases to try to lighten their skins, often endangering their lives.  Real Indians (Indians in India) make a decent living selling skin-lightening creams, owing to a long history of perception of lightness with goodness.  For at least 400 years, lonely lasses would remain lonely virgins rather than marry an apparent "white" man of indeterminant origin.  Even in the good ol' USA, there was a long period during which drinking fountains and toilets were marked as either "white only" or "colored only."  After several hundred years of extermination by Europeans (in the case of the indigenous Americans) or humiliation by Europeans (in the case of sub-Saharan Africans), it is understandable that a vestigial state of mistrust might exist among these populations of the descendants of those who enjoyed the fruits of the conquest.  Certainly, from about 1500 till about 2000 in Latin America, and from about 1620 till about 1970 in Anglo America, a legal, moral, and practical privilege accompanied an absence of melanin.  I know a black guy who now lives in Pennsylvania, but who was born in Cleveland, Mississippi in 1954, and he has quite a few interesting stories.  Apparently in his youth, just looking into the eyes of certain white women was enough to get one lynched.

Still, the modern application of the term is somewhat elusive and vague.  Maybe Sam Jackson and Spike Lee are still pissed off that the grammy award committee is populated with mostly white men.

[Goldwater]

This is going to end well...

[RINO Tom]

Obviously it's at least sort of a "thing," or people wouldn't use that phrase so much.

It's somewhat overblown, at least when echoed by affluent minorities.

[angus]

Obviously it's at least sort of a "thing," or people wouldn't use that phrase so much.

It's somewhat overblown, at least when echoed by affluent minorities.

The only person I've ever known in person, in real life, to use the phrase was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed white woman.  Granted, she was extremely overweight, hideous, mannish, warty, very obviously lesbian, and exceedingly bitter about her life, but she was about as "white" as they come.  And hardly affluent.

To be fair, she usually threw in the word male, as in "white male privilege."  Maybe that's technically and subtly a different thing.  I'm not exactly sure, though.

[RINO Tom]

Obviously it's at least sort of a "thing," or people wouldn't use that phrase so much.

It's somewhat overblown, at least when echoed by affluent minorities.

The only person I've ever known in person, in real life, to use the phrase was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed white woman.  Granted, she was extremely overweight, hideous, mannish, warty, very obviously lesbian, and exceedingly bitter about her life, but she was about as "white" as they come.  And hardly affluent.

To be fair, she usually threw in the word male, as in "white male privilege."  Maybe that's technically and subtly a different thing.  I'm not exactly sure, though.

Many of my (happen-to-be-liberal) female friends are quite bitter about the "male privilege" I enjoy.  It hasn't caught up to me yet!

In 2016, outside of certain pockets of the country, the only "White privilege" or "male privilege" that exists is the simple fact that getting ahead depends HEAVILY on who you know, and there are more White people and more men in positions of influence (due to ACTUAL White and male privilege existing in the past) to cash in favors with.  That will likely slowly change, and it already has to some extent.

[RR1997]

I too believe that the issue of white privilege is overblown.

[angus]

Many of my (happen-to-be-liberal) female friends are quite bitter about the "male privilege" I enjoy.  It hasn't caught up to me yet!

Well, there may be one. 

Last week I was in Mexico.  If you have ever spent any time in any medium-HDI countries, you may have noticed that one of the first things you notice is a lack of public toilets.  At times I found myself full of beer and wandering about looking for an alley or a tree.  I never took more than about 45 seconds to empty my bladder.  Having a handy hose ideal for emptying the bladder is some thing of an advantage.  I wouldn't use the word "privilege" though.  English is my first language, and I'm certain that the word advantage describes it better.  Then again, there are certain advantages females enjoy.  When was the last time you noticed a female felt constrained to choke herself with a piece of silk at a formal gathering?  Or completely cover her legs and arms and legs in wool, no matter how hot the time of year?

I think it's time that folks be honest.  There are always advantages and disadvantages, even in characteristics with which we were born, or have no choice.  I was an orphan, for example.  I managed to put myself through college and graduate school.  I wouldn't choose it that way, but I don't bitch about it.  It's just what the stars had in mind for me.  I hope my son doesn't have it that way.  I should probably drink less alcohol and eat less red meat.  My blood pressure is, and has been for years, exceedingly high, and I'd hate for him not to have a father.  I know what that's like and it isn't good.  Still, I wouldn't call it a privilege to have a father.  I'd call it an advantage.

Feel free to correct my understanding of the English language if you think I have it wrong.

[Hillary pays minimum wage]

It's overblown but there's a lot of young so is lists in here who are about to cry and play the race card.  As for priveleges, life isn't fair.  We got along fine without Democrats spreading misery equally and we don't need it now.

[RR1997]

Although you can't deny that it exists to some extent.

Many are scared of non-whites. Blacks are much more likely to be incarcerated for the same crime. It's been proven that whites obtain employment with much more ease. They are less likely to experience discrimination. They don't have to worry about being accepted or not. People with 'white-sounding' names are much more likely to get job interviews (this has been proven). Whites are overall superior in most ways, the list goes on and on.

I don't think that white-privilege is that much of a problem though. Liberals overblow the issue way too much, Income is more of a factor when it comes to privilege than race is. I don't think that minorities should use white-privilege as an excuse to not try. Everyone can succeed if they put in the effort.

[Hillary pays minimum wage]

I reckon it's a thing.  I hadn't even heard the phrase till about five years ago, and I still don't know what it means, exactly, but I see the term on the internet regularly, even in fairly respectable places.  That makes it a thing, even if the nature of the thing eludes me.

I disagree that whitefolk have privileges over others in every way.  If you feel that way, you might want to get out more.  I have been in many places where I was the only whiteboy in the house, and in some cases was glad to be guest of nonwhite folks.  (Someone asks whether Asians are more successful.  I can assure you that in Asia they are, at least in some aspects of navigation of life.)  And that's just counting interactions vis-a-vis other humans.  The sun and other natural phenomena can also be much less forgiving to the pale of face than to some of the others.  Then again, melanin is one of the higher melting-point compounds in skin, so if the end of the world comes with ice, we may have some slight advantage.  At least if suffering longer due to less frost-bite counts as success.

Nevertheless, once a phrase is coined and repeated enough times, it becomes a thing, by definition, so I vote yes.  It's rather like asking whether Pluto is a "dwarf planet."  

You have to also remember that for at least 700 years, Europeans have claimed racial, religious, and moral superiority over the rest of the world.  Indigenous Americans ("indians") in what is now Peru, Mexico, and Brazil have used harsh acids and bases to try to lighten their skins, often endangering their lives.  Real Indians (Indians in India) make a decent living selling skin-lightening creams, owing to a long history of perception of lightness with goodness.  For at least 400 years, lonely lasses would remain lonely virgins rather than marry an apparent "white" man of indeterminant origin.  Even in the good ol' USA, there was a long period during which drinking fountains and toilets were marked as either "white only" or "colored only."  After several hundred years of extermination by Europeans (in the case of the indigenous Americans) or humiliation by Europeans (in the case of sub-Saharan Africans), it is understandable that a vestigial state of mistrust might exist among these populations of the descendants of those who enjoyed the fruits of the conquest.  Certainly, from about 1500 till about 2000 in Latin America, and from about 1620 till about 1970 in Anglo America, a legal, moral, and practical privilege accompanied an absence of melanin.  I know a black guy who now lives in Pennsylvania, but who was born in Cleveland, Mississippi in 1954, and he has quite a few interesting stories.  Apparently in his youth, just looking into the eyes of certain white women was enough to get one lynched.

Still, the modern application of the term is somewhat elusive and vague.  Maybe Sam Jackson and Spike Lee are still pissed off that the grammy award committee is populated with mostly white men.

Yes those whiners need to get out more and see for themselves how bad other countries have it.  Those liberals think they're entitled to everything.  Meanwhile it's us white men who are forced to carry society on our backs.

[angus]

Meanwhile it's us white men who are forced to carry society on our backs.

I seriously hope you're being sarcastic.

The post just above yours points out some severe disadvantages that some populations face, and I suspect that some of that disadvantage is a result of the thinking described in your post, which I will repeat that I hope was meant in some sort of jest.

[Hillary pays minimum wage]

Although you can't deny that it exists to some extent.

Many are scared of non-whites. Blacks are much more likely to be incarcerated for the same crime. It's been proven that whites obtain employment with much more ease. They are less likely to experience discrimination. They don't have to worry about being accepted or not. People with 'white-sounding' names are much more likely to get job interviews (this has been proven). Whites are overall superior in most ways, the list goes on and on.

I don't think that white-privilege is that much of a problem though. Income is more of a factor when it comes to privilege than race is. I don't think that minorities should use white-privilege as an excuse to not try. Everyone can succeed if they put in the effort.

It's our culture as humans not Americans that those in a vast majority have it easier.  Most other countries aren't racially diverse so it's not a problem.  Would it kill minorities to act a little civilized from time to time and become one with a different race?  I don't think in asking too much of their people.  

[RR1997]

White privilege obviously exists. I think most can agree that whites have a significant advantage over non-whites in just about every way.

However, I believe that white privilege isn't that big of an issue.

Arent Asians more successful

On average, yes.

Discrimination against Asians exists too. Ever hear of the term 'bamboo ceiling'? Asians are much less likely to be promoted into managerial positions because they are stereotyped as passive and weak. People with 'Asian-sounding' names are also much less likely to get job interviews.

Discrimination against Asians is obviously no where near as bad as discrimination against African-Americans and Hispanics. There are plenty of Asians in managerial positions, but whites have a significantly easier time getting promoted. There are still plenty of Asian managers and CEOs.

I'm an Asian-American whose parents are successful, but there are plenty of struggling Asians.

[Hillary pays minimum wage]

Meanwhile it's us white men who are forced to carry society on our backs.

I seriously hope you're being sarcastic.

The post just above yours points out some severe disadvantages that some populations face, and I suspect that some of that disadvantage is a result of the thinking described in your post, which I will repeat that I hope was meant in some sort of jest.

They did face disadvantages but now it's evening out.

[RR1997]

Although you can't deny that it exists to some extent.

Many are scared of non-whites. Blacks are much more likely to be incarcerated for the same crime. It's been proven that whites obtain employment with much more ease. They are less likely to experience discrimination. They don't have to worry about being accepted or not. People with 'white-sounding' names are much more likely to get job interviews (this has been proven). Whites are overall superior in most ways, the list goes on and on.

I don't think that white-privilege is that much of a problem though. Income is more of a factor when it comes to privilege than race is. I don't think that minorities should use white-privilege as an excuse to not try. Everyone can succeed if they put in the effort.

It's our culture as humans not Americans that those in a vast majority have it easier.  Most other countries aren't racially diverse so it's not a problem.  Would it kill minorities to act a little civilized from time to time and become one with a different race?  I don't think in asking too much of their people.  

Most Asians "act a little civilized from time to time and become one with a different race", but many of them still face discrimination in their everyday lives.

This post was incredibly racist btw.

[Hillary pays minimum wage]

White privilege obviously exists. I think most can agree that whites have a significant advantage over non-whites in just about every way.

However, I believe that white privilege isn't that big of an issue.

Arent Asians more successful

On average, yes.

Discrimination against Asians exists too. Ever hear of the term 'bamboo ceiling'? Asians are much less likely to be promoted into managerial positions because they are stereotyped as passive and weak. People with 'Asian-sounding' names are also much less likely to get job interviews.

Discrimination against Asians is obviously no where near as bad as discrimination against African-Americans and Hispanics. There are plenty of Asians in managerial positions, but whites have an easier time getting promoted. There are still plenty of Asian managers and CEOs.

I'm an Asian-American whose parents are successful, but there are plenty of struggling Asians.

Us whites do have it easier in our world but blacks have it easier in their world of ghetto and violence.  I've lived in the slums and must say I was an outcast because of the color of my skin.  They thought because I was the only human they knew with a car or job meant I was priveleges and wanted to take advantage of me.  My roommates had them over until 3am blasting music and smoking pot while their kids were running around screaming.  They hated their kids.  A black girl who was friends with my roommates asked us if we knew any neighbors who would take her kid for the night.  Now how many of you would toss your child off to a stranger so you could drink and do drugs?  As for the dad, she made jokes about who got her pregnant and had no clue so she was going through her past hook ups to see who thexeasiestcyo manipulate was so she could lie and say there was a dad. I've been oppressed the same as anyone else and until you've been there and not just some young socialist posting from your parent's house, don't tell me I'm racist or a troll.  They discriminate against us too.

[Hillary pays minimum wage]

Although you can't deny that it exists to some extent.

Many are scared of non-whites. Blacks are much more likely to be incarcerated for the same crime. It's been proven that whites obtain employment with much more ease. They are less likely to experience discrimination. They don't have to worry about being accepted or not. People with 'white-sounding' names are much more likely to get job interviews (this has been proven). Whites are overall superior in most ways, the list goes on and on.

I don't think that white-privilege is that much of a problem though. Income is more of a factor when it comes to privilege than race is. I don't think that minorities should use white-privilege as an excuse to not try. Everyone can succeed if they put in the effort.

It's our culture as humans not Americans that those in a vast majority have it easier.  Most other countries aren't racially diverse so it's not a problem.  Would it kill minorities to act a little civilized from time to time and become one with a different race?  I don't think in asking too much of their people. 

[angus]

Most other countries aren't racially diverse

That's an interesting point.  The very wealthiest (per-capita) societies are not very diverse, but a number of countries are very diverse.  We celebrate diversity, but history shows us that diversity usually means adversity.  I know that it's politically incorrect to point this out, but look at the situation in Sri Lanka that finally (maybe) ended a few years ago.  Or in Yugoslavia once communism fell and left Yugoslavia to its own devices.  Or even in Iraq after the US foolishly (albeit righteously) invaded and deposed a dictator who, however brutally, at least kept the peace.  

That said, we are a land of immigrants.  Most came here for economic advantage (again, I emphasize the word advantage), but some came here at a disadvantage.  And some were already here, and for them possession was not nine-tenths of the law, was it?  Unlike most societies, we have gone out of our way to embrace diversity.  (I say most, because Canada similarly preaches a fondness of diversity)  I say that we should continue to celebrate diversity.  I'm not against having a month off for Ramadan, in addition to the month I already get for Christmas.  More holidays is not necessarily a bad thing!  I'm also not against ocassionally being reminded that material ambition is not universally viewed as a virtue.  

I think we're taking the thread a bit far afield, but I also think that it's important for all of us to re-evaluate our views from time to time.  It is true that homogeneous societies can be stable, peaceful, and industrious, but it is also true that they can become stagnant and authoritarian.  Racial, religious, ethnic, and philosophical diversity challenges us, and those challenges can make us stronger and smarter, if we can learn to trust one another.  None of the nonEuropean folks I know  go around wearing the victim mentality on their sleeves.  I don't think that the OP intended that we should think that they do.  They love their children too.  They want the same things that the paleface wants.  They may be from collectivist societies and not always understand why we do the things we do, or they may have been in the Americas for much longer than my 20th-century immigrant grandparents have been--which is certainly the case with the descendants of the sub-Saharan Africans--but we're all Americans now.  Better that we learn to learn what is good in each other, and stop bickering about "privilege."

[Hillary pays minimum wage]

Although you can't deny that it exists to some extent.

Many are scared of non-whites. Blacks are much more likely to be incarcerated for the same crime. It's been proven that whites obtain employment with much more ease. They are less likely to experience discrimination. They don't have to worry about being accepted or not. People with 'white-sounding' names are much more likely to get job interviews (this has been proven). Whites are overall superior in most ways, the list goes on and on.

I don't think that white-privilege is that much of a problem though. Income is more of a factor when it comes to privilege than race is. I don't think that minorities should use white-privilege as an excuse to not try. Everyone can succeed if they put in the effort.

It's our culture as humans not Americans that those in a vast majority have it easier.  Most other countries aren't racially diverse so it's not a problem.  Would it kill minorities to act a little civilized from time to time and become one with a different race?  I don't think in asking too much of their people.  

Most Asians "act a little civilized from time to time and become one with a different race", but many of them still face discrimination in their everyday lives.

This post was incredibly racist btw.

Not racist, you mean relentlessly honest.  I've never met an Asian I didn't like.  Actually most people I have not liked have been white elitist or rednecks with unstable brains.  However, the worst group of whites is young guilty white liberals who have no clue what they're talking about.  I states above my struggles in the ghetto world.  I know what I'm talking about when it comes to the underpriveleged.  Had you gone through the annoyances I have, you'd be a little tougher on them too.

[Hillary pays minimum wage]

Most other countries aren't racially diverse

That's an interesting point.  The very wealthiest (per-capita) societies are not very diverse, but a number of countries are very diverse.  We celebrate diversity, but history shows us that diversity usually means adversity.  I know that it's politically incorrect to point this out, but look at the situation in Sri Lanka that finally (maybe) ended a few years ago.  Or in Yugoslavia once communism fell and left Yugoslavia to its own devices.  Or even in Iraq after the US foolishly (albeit righteously) invaded and deposed a dictator who, however brutally, at least kept the peace.  

That said, we are a land of immigrants.  Most came here for economic advantage (again, I emphasize the word advantage), but some came here at a disadvantage.  And some were already here, and for them possession was not nine-tenths of the law, was it?  Unlike most societies, we have gone out of our way to embrace diversity.  (I say most, because Canada similarly preaches a fondness of diversity)  I say that we should continue to celebrate diversity.  I'm not against having a month off for Ramadan, in addition to the month I already get for Christmas.  More holidays is not necessarily a bad thing!  I'm also not against ocassionally being reminded that material ambition is not universally viewed as a virtue.  

I think we're taking the thread a bit far afield, but I also think that it's important for all of us to re-evaluate our views from time to time.  It is true that homogeneous societies can be stable, peaceful, and industrious, but it is also true that they can become stagnant and authoritarian.  Racial, religious, ethnic, and philosophical diversity challenges us, and those challenges can make us stronger and smarter, if we can learn to trust one another.  None of the nonEuropean folks I know  go around wearing the victim mentality on their sleeves.  I don't think that the OP intended that we should think that they do.  They love their children too.  They want the same things that the paleface wants.  They may be from collectivist societies and not always understand why we do the things we do, or they may have been in the Americas for much longer than my 20th-century immigrant grandparents have been--which is certainly the case with the descendants of the sub-Saharan Africans--but we're all Americans now.  Better that we learn to learn what is good in each other, and stop bickering about "privilege."

Racial diversity is a great attribute of America.  It's nice to see races getting along for the most part.  There's still work to be done with immigration reform and affirmative action programs.  We're proof it can happen.  Let's build a rainbow as a goal for the world.

[Enduro]

White privilege is a thing

Black privilege is a thing

All races have some sort of privilege; instead, let's just treat each other better than what we would treat ourselves.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Yes (not a complete and utter moron)

[angus]

let's just treat each other better than what we would treat ourselves.

that's kinda hard for me.  I'm an asshole by nature, but I'm working on it.  I'll probably live longer if I can learn to be nice to people.  Way off topic.  It doesn't make me any better to be an equal-opportunity asshole, either.  At least in my ethical system it doesn't.  Maybe that's not actually so far off topic.  We do seem to be converging (at least on this forum, although thankfully not in the real world) on a philosophy that it's okay to be an asshole sometimes, so long as you're an equal-opportunity asshole.  I don't really buy it.  I'm willing to admit that an asshole is an asshole, no matter whom is sprayed with the excrement emanating from the puckering orifice, even if I'm the asshole.