Whilst having a discussion about "white privilege" the other day (I am a white old man), the topic arose of how many different "advantages" one might have, as a baby born randomly in the U.S. The list is overwhelming. For example,
one might be born...
to a wealthy family,
in a great school district,
in a great neighborhood,
with devoted, loving parents,
with highly-educated parents,
with tall and/or beautiful genes,
in a great and supportive extended family,
to a family of immigrants with a great, entrepreneurial attitude,
with a superior I.Q.
with a conspicuous talent, whether it be in Art, mechanical things, music, oratory, or whatever,
into a favored race or ethnicity,
into a family that strongly promotes education, or hard work, or
into a family with a strong religious tradition that enhances chances for prosperity (LDS).
As I say, the list is almost endless. And for every one of these advantages, one could describe the opposite circumstance of birth - poor family, single parent, ghetto, no talent, short, ugly, etc.. and see how they might each disadvantage the kid.
And when reviewing and pondering this list of factors that, through no merit or fault of the individual, might affect the person's prospects in life, one extracts the factor of RACE, to see where it fits relatively among these factors.
It is a factor, and it can be a negative factor, however, in our particular society that factor is mitigated (though not entirely) by various programs, attitudes, de-facto set-asides, and so on, which have mainly arisen in the past 50 years. Indeed, one might note that black Africans and Jamaicans who emigrate to the United States have experienced economic and cultural success that mirrors the "white" population. Further, if you look at, on the one hand, "white" people who are born disadvantaged (say, in Appalachia, with low IQ, in broken homes) and whose success is relatively low, and on the other hand "black" kids who are born to middle class families, have nurturing, loving parents, have above average IQ's, the differences in other factors overwhelm the impact of race.
Hence, the conclusion might be: "By itself, being Black in America is no big deal." It limits your prospects to some extent, but the OTHER factors associated with being Black, illegitimacy, poor schools, lack of positive role models, a culture that disdains academic excellence, and so on, greatly outweigh the race factor.
Yeah, I have endured "white privilege" all my life, but its counterpart, "Black disrespect" is not such a big deal, in the big picture.
one might be born...
to a wealthy family,
in a great school district,
in a great neighborhood,
with devoted, loving parents,
with highly-educated parents,
with tall and/or beautiful genes,
in a great and supportive extended family,
to a family of immigrants with a great, entrepreneurial attitude,
with a superior I.Q.
with a conspicuous talent, whether it be in Art, mechanical things, music, oratory, or whatever,
into a favored race or ethnicity,
into a family that strongly promotes education, or hard work, or
into a family with a strong religious tradition that enhances chances for prosperity (LDS).
As I say, the list is almost endless. And for every one of these advantages, one could describe the opposite circumstance of birth - poor family, single parent, ghetto, no talent, short, ugly, etc.. and see how they might each disadvantage the kid.
And when reviewing and pondering this list of factors that, through no merit or fault of the individual, might affect the person's prospects in life, one extracts the factor of RACE, to see where it fits relatively among these factors.
It is a factor, and it can be a negative factor, however, in our particular society that factor is mitigated (though not entirely) by various programs, attitudes, de-facto set-asides, and so on, which have mainly arisen in the past 50 years. Indeed, one might note that black Africans and Jamaicans who emigrate to the United States have experienced economic and cultural success that mirrors the "white" population. Further, if you look at, on the one hand, "white" people who are born disadvantaged (say, in Appalachia, with low IQ, in broken homes) and whose success is relatively low, and on the other hand "black" kids who are born to middle class families, have nurturing, loving parents, have above average IQ's, the differences in other factors overwhelm the impact of race.
Hence, the conclusion might be: "By itself, being Black in America is no big deal." It limits your prospects to some extent, but the OTHER factors associated with being Black, illegitimacy, poor schools, lack of positive role models, a culture that disdains academic excellence, and so on, greatly outweigh the race factor.
Yeah, I have endured "white privilege" all my life, but its counterpart, "Black disrespect" is not such a big deal, in the big picture.
