Ten Things You Should Know About White Privilege

[pnwmom]

http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/10/13/10-things-you-should-know-about-white-privilege

1. You should know about ... Peggy McIntosh's 'Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack'
In 1988, Academic and Feminist, Peggy McIntosh wrote a 50-point essay, identifying and noting down some of the daily effects of privilege in her life as a white person living in the U.S. Although the underlying concepts date back at least as far as to the work of W.E.B Du Bois in the 1930s, it was Ms McIntosh's essay in the 1980s that made it gain popularity in social discourse. It is well worth noting, and with no small amount of irony, that it took the work of a white person to gain notoriety for a concept that many prominent black academics and intellectuals had been identifying and 'unpacking' for decades already.

A sneak preview of 'Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack' is as follows,

'I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race'.

'I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race.'

'I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.'


2. You should know that ... White privilege is not class privilege

SNIP

[LWolf]

1. I know

that while I have experienced, and still experience, the patronization of sexism, I still get more trust and credit up front because of my white skin than someone with darker skin gets. And both darker skin AND female...I cannot comprehend how difficult it must be to deal with both inherent racism and sexism together, every day.

While I know I'm not supposed to expect marginalized people to educate me about white privilege, I'd be lying if I said they hadn't. Because that privilege means that some simply haven't looked and thought beyond their own experience, and need things brought to their attention to "get" it.

For example: I have spent my life "not seeing color." Simply because I was raised to judge people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin; that value is so deeply embedded that I always see people first. To be honest, I also tend not to even notice what someone is wearing, or their fashion choices with color, with hair, with accessories, etc. It was never intended to pretend that racism doesn't exist, because evidence of racism is always all around all of us. I have, though, listened when PoC talk about this phenomenon, and learned from it.

I can't speak for the rest of my race. Just for me. For me, though, I can say this: when you need support, I want to be there, in whatever way best supports. If you want me to get out of the way, I'll do that, too. When it comes to the struggle for racial justice, I'll follow your lead. And to do that, you might just have to keep talking to me about what you need me to do, collectively and individually.

[annabanana]

2. I second this post..

and mean it from the depths of my privileged white heart...

[annabanana]

4. (lotta recs, not enough kicks.)

[LWolf]

11. And doesn't that just make the point? nt

[forjusticethunders]

3. I still kinda ehhhh at the framing of privilege versus disadvantage

there's a (very very very) soft (but still there) implication that the problem is that white people aren't being oppressed, as opposed to the problem being that black people ARE being oppressed.

I don't want white people to be followed around in stores by POC security guards just to turn the tables, I want no racial profiling period.

[gollygee]

5. It's a response to the misbelief that the US is a meritocracy

And we see it even here at DU. In another thread on the first page of GD, someone says that affirmative action shouldn't exist because "life is what you make of it" or something. It's too easy for people to disregard that their lives have been easier than the lives of others because of their skin color.

[snooper2]

6. Pretty Privilege comes first

[pnwmom]

7. I've never heard that non-pretty people are more likely to be falsely arrested. n/t

[Taitertots]

8. The whole concept of "privilege" is meaningless and trivial

Judging people by their race (so called "white priviledge&quot is the epitome of racism.

[pnwmom]

9. You completely miss the point. Every time the police treat a black person

differently than they would a white person, it's an example of racism and white privilege.

White privilege isn't meaningless or trivial -- at least not to those who lack the privilege.

[Taitertots]

10. It is racism. The concept of white privilege remains unable to be coherently mapped onto reality

The concept of white privilege is meaningless and trivial.

[pnwmom]

14. White privilege is the Bundy gang not being convicted,

but if 7 black men had done the same thing, they would have.

[Taitertots]

15. So, it's effectively meaningless to the 99.9999% of white people who weren't involved with that

And based solely on your stereotypes about the police.

[pnwmom]

16. It is highly meaningful for every white person who isn't arrested or jailed

for something that would have gotten a black person arrested or jailed.

The Bundys could behave as they did because of their perception of their white privilege.

[Taitertots]

17. That is based only on your prejudices/stereotypes about the police / courts

I'm not going to speculate about their motivations and I see no evidence that supports your opinions about their motivations (I.e. "Perception of their own white priviledge&quot .

You must be the ubermensch because you seem to believe that you know the future and know the motivations of people you've never met.

[dalton99]

12. see: Malheur Wildlife Refuge Takeover