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Jon Stewart on white privilege (cc: unnamed posters... etc.)

One Brow said:
As evidence of what some people think, sure. Are you saying that no one thinks like that?
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Judging by the comment section, yes people actually do think like that. There is also a group that still believes the Earth is flat, and they deserve about as much credit as Michael Savage and wnd news.
 
E.J. Wells said:
Judging by the comment section, yes people actually do think like that. There is also a group that still believes the Earth is flat, and they deserve about as much credit as Michael Savage and wnd news.
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No disagreement on that score. I was just saying that these are among the sorts of people who will fight any loss of privilege, and their numbers are not insignificant,
 
One Brow said:
No disagreement on that score. I was just saying that these are among the sorts of people who will fight any loss of privilege, and their numbers are not insignificant,
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That's where we will disagree. They are beyond insignificant. Think of all the people you know. Of the probable thousands, how many think the way that those people do? You're pretty damn weird, so you probably know more than most, but even then, it is a trivial number compared to the number of non-morons out there.
 
E.J. Wells said:
Think of all the people you know. Of the probable thousands, how many think the way that those people do?
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My father and step-mother, at least some of the time (I can often reason him out of it).
My wife's parents, grandmother, and well over half of their siblings/cousins/etc. (I can't tell you how much I hate visiting them).
At least one student every year (which is why I don't talk politics in class).

That's off the top of my head.
 
One Brow said:
My father and step-mother, at least some of the time (I can often reason him out of it).
My wife's parents, grandmother, and well over half of their siblings/cousins/etc. (I can't tell you how much I hate visiting them).
At least one student every year (which is why I don't talk politics in class).

That's off the top of my head.
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You missed the part where I stated that you don't count, because you're weird as sin. That would also include your family. So, that leaves us with one student out of how many? Hundreds? Rich and compelling.
 
You can't fix Detroit with Affirmative Action. 90% of Successful blacks are going to do what 90% of successful people do. Buy a McMansion in a safe neighborhood with good schools.

The idea that some people(not claiming that that is anyone here)have in their heads that black doctors and lawyers are responsible to fix the problems of inner city black communities is naive, not fair, and racist.
 
E.J. Wells said:
You missed the part where I stated that you don't count, because you're weird as sin. That would also include your family. So, that leaves us with one student out of how many? Hundreds? Rich and compelling.
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In a typical year, about 100-120, and that's just the student that's vocal (there are always several who say something for every one who does).
 
HighlandHomie said:
So many people are so insecure/dense that when they hear the term 'white privilege' they automatically think it's a reflection/indictment of them because they're white. You can still be white, a good person and acknowledge white privilege exists in this country (duh).

Jon Stewart had a great monologue the other night about the topic...

Watch here
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a good friend shared this link (some of my other good friends... "trout" ... may have seen it already...) and I thought I'd share it here

I think it does a good job explains the concept in a way that takes race completely out of the picture (unless you're into bicycle racing perhaps)

https://qz.com/257474/what-riding-my-bike-has-taught-me-about-white-privilege/

I am white. So I have not experienced racial privilege from the “under” side firsthand. But my children (and a lot of other people I love) are not white. And so I care about privilege and what it means for racial justice in our country. And one experience I have had firsthand, which has helped me to understand privilege and listen to privilege talk without feeling defensive, is riding my bike.

Now, I know, it sounds a little goofy at first. But stick with me. Because I think that this can be an analogy that might help some white people understand privilege talk without feeling like they’re having their character attacked.

About five years ago I decide to start riding my bike as my primary mode of transportation. As in, on the street, in traffic....I live in the capital city of the epicenter of the auto industry: Lansing, Michigan. This is not, by any stretch, a bike-friendly town. And often, it is down-right dangerous to be a bike commuter here...

...I can imagine that for people of color life in a white-majority context feels a bit like being on a bicycle in midst of traffic. They have the right to be on the road, and laws on the books to make it equitable, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are on a bike in a world made for cars...

Now most people in cars are not intentionally aggressive toward me. But even if all the jerks had their licenses revoked tomorrow, the road would still be a dangerous place for me. Because the whole transportation infrastructure privileges the automobile. It is born out of a history rooted in the auto industry that took for granted that everyone should use a car as their mode of transportation...

And so people in cars—nice, non-aggressive people—put me in danger all the time because they see the road from the privileged perspective of a car... [drivers] don’t realize that a pothole or a build up of gravel or a broken bottle, which they haven’t given me enough room to avoid and which they don’t even have to be aware of, could send me flying from my bike or cost me a bent rim or a flat tire.

So the semi driver who rushes past throwing gravel in my face in his hot wake isn’t necessarily a bad guy...
But the fact that “the system” allows him to do those things instead of being mindful of me is a privilege he has that I don’t. (I have to be hyper-aware of him).

This is what privilege is about. Like drivers, nice, non-aggressive white people can move in the world without thinking about the “potholes” or the “gravel” that people of color have to navigate...

Nice, non-aggressive drivers that don’t do anything at all to endanger me are still privileged to pull out of their driveway each morning and know that there are roads that go all the way to their destination. They don’t have to wonder if there are bike lanes and what route they will take to stay safe. In the winter, they can be certain that the snow will be plowed out of their lane into my lane and not the other way around.

And it’s not just the fact that the whole transportation infrastructure is built around the car. It’s the law, which is poorly enforced when cyclists are hit by cars, the fact that gas is subsidized by the government and bike tires aren’t, and just the general mindset of a culture that is in love with cars after a hundred years of propaganda and still thinks that bikes are toys for kids and triathletes.

So when I say the semi driver is privileged, it isn’t a way of calling him a bad person or a man-slaughterer or saying he didn’t really earn his truck, but just way of acknowledging all that–infrastructure, laws, government, culture–and the fact that if he and I get in a collision, I will probably die and he will just have to clean the blood off of his bumper. In the same way, talking about racial privilege isn’t a way of telling white people they are bad people or racists or that they didn’t really earn what they have.

It’s a way of trying to make visible the fact that system is not neutral, it is not a level-playing field, it’s not the same experience for everyone. There are biases and imbalances and injustices built into the warp and woof of our culture.
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yeah, kind of long...
I tried to condense a bit without diminishing it - - I think it's definitely worth reading.
 
It occurred to me the other day that being chronically ill helps me process what white privilege is like.

Managing my illnesses is a constant thing. I have to think about it all the time and it affects everything I do in ways that a healthy person would never be able to understand, and in ways that I cannot explain to them. Not having to think about health issues every minute is a privilege.

Sorry I derailed the thread with heavy stuff. Let's go back to minor annoyances, please.

Sent from my moto z3 using JazzFanz mobile app
 
JazzGal said:
It occurred to me the other day that being chronically ill helps me process what white privilege is like.

Managing my illnesses is a constant thing. I have to think about it all the time and it affects everything I do in ways that a healthy person would never be able to understand, and in ways that I cannot explain to them. Not having to think about health issues every minute is a privilege.

Sorry I derailed the thread with heavy stuff. Let's go back to minor annoyances, please.

Sent from my moto z3 using JazzFanz mobile app
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OK, here's a pet peeve: the phrase "white privilege". I understand the effect and agree that it's real, but think "white privilege" is a horrible term for it. In my opinion it doesn't help draw attention to the issues that minorities face, but rather seems like it's too often being employed to scapegoat today's whites for the wrongs that past generations committed. And I've had friends and family members use it to silence individuals who have their own views on racial issues that are different than the liberal/progressive agenda (namely, me): "You only feel that way because of your white privilege". No, sorry, I feel that way because of giving reasoned consideration to the issues.

(That being said, I thought your chronic illness analogy was really interesting and probably accurate in a lot of ways.)
 
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