Things Many White People Seem To Not Understand

[MikeK]

I ask myself on a daily basis, "What do I have that I didn’t earn?"
-- Peggy MacIntosh​

1. White Privilege is being able to move into a new neighborhood and being fairly sure that your neighbors will be pleasant to you and treat you with respect.
   
2. White Privilege is being able to watch a movie, read a book and open the front page of a newspaper and assume that unless otherwise indicated, you and every white person whom you know or can imagine could well be the protagonist; you and your race is widely represented and spoken for. It's also being about to encounter any narrative about non-whites and empathetically dissociate yourself from it.
3. White Privilege is being able to seek legal, financial and medical help without having your race work against you.
4. White Privilege is living in a world where you are taught that people with your skin tone hold the standard for beauty.
5. White Privilege is never being told to, “get over slavery”.
6. White Privilege is having the prevalence and importance of the English language and finding amusement in ridiculing people of color/immigrants for their accents and their difficulty in speaking a language that is not their native tongue.
7. White Privilege is arrogantly believing that reverse racism actually exists and believing it is something other than racism.
8. White Privilege is being able to stay ignorant to the fact that racial slurs are part of a systematic dehumanization of entire groups of people who are and have historically been subjugated and hated just for being alive.
9. White Privilege is not having your name turned into an easier-to-say Anglo-Saxon name.
10. White Privilege is being able to fight racism one day, then ignore it the next.
11. White privilege is having your words and actions attributed to you as an individual, rather than have them reflect members of your race.
12. White Privilege is being able to talk about racism without appearing self-serving.
13. White Privilege is being able to be articulate and well-spoken without people being surprised.
14. White Privilege is being pulled over or taken aside and knowing that you are not being singled out because of your race/colour.
15. White Privilege is not having to teach your children to be aware of systematic racism for their own protection.
16. White Privilege is not having to acknowledge the fact that we live in a system that treats people of color unfairly politically, socially and economically and being able to choose, instead, -- if/when it suits you -- to believe that people of color are inherently less capable.
17. White Privilege is not having your people and their culture stereotyped and subsequently appropriated, romanticized or eroticized for the gain and pleasure of other white people.
18. White Privilege is being able to ignore the consequences of race.

Now, if as or after you read the list above, what crossed your mind was/were:

• ways to discredit the statement(s) rather than ways in which the statement(s) is so, and/or
• whether a statement is binarily applicable either in general or specifically,
• whether the inapplicability of one statement -- broadly or specifically -- to you or the white people whom you know has something to do with whether White Privilege exists,
• whether a single statement or the whole list sought to describe or label you specifically or white people in general rather than a body of cultural attitudes and experiences,

well, that's not white privilege, it's an outcome of White Privilege. What that is at least one of thee things -- white guilt, denial or racial bias -- but not knowing you personally, I can't say which. I suppose it could also be be incomprehension, but there's no "fancy" language there, so hopefully none of the literalists (or anyone else) here show us that they truly didn't get the substantive themes and contexts of the statements.

Lastly, to be clear, I didn't create the OP seeking to irk folks, truly. I want folks -- black and white -- to recognize that on a daily basis, whites enjoy a set of advantages and immunities that are a direct result of the oppression of people of color. I also want blacks to realize that often enough and unconsciously they feed the beast too and to that end, they aren't helping eradicate it. That's how deeply ingrained White Privilege is in American culture.

Interestingly, I didn't actually come to understand White Privilege until I discovered my own angst and apprehension when I spent a year living and traveling in places where there were no white people, or if there were I never saw them. And to be honest, it was some months later that I understood the emotions I'd felt . It was years later before the term "White Privilege" made its way to me and I came to have a tidy little label for what I'd experienced and discovered.

How you perceive the notion of that even being possible and indeed happening? Makes you squirm in your chair a bit and maybe feel a little uncomfortable, right? But here’s the thing – I’m not "on about" White Privilege to make you feel comfortable, that’s not my aim. I've created this thread to ideally erase the invisibility of the privileges you have that continue to help maintain white supremacy, yet I realize that's probably far too optimistic an objective. I’m trying merely to offer a few palpable illustrations of what White Privilege is in the hope that maybe one day, not necessarily one day soon, when you see it manifest, you'll recognize it for what it is and maybe even know that it's not fair that we enjoy a privilege no other Americans do, and in recognition of that, do something about ending it.


Additional Reading:

• THE ORIGINS OF “PRIVILEGE” -- An interview
  
• WHITE PRIVILEGE AND MALE PRIVILEGE: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women's Studies
  
• UNDERSTANDING WHITE PRIVILEGE
  
• The Invisibility of White Privilege

As a White person I cannot empathize with the overall thrust of your commentary. But while I do sincerely sympathize with the intelligent, decent, peaceful, hard-working and productive Black people I've known, I must say their perpetuated suffering is attributable not only to those Whites whose attitudes are governed by a racist orientation but to those Blacks who are deservedly regarded, by both Black and White people, as n!ggers.

 

[Sunni Man]

Nothing pisses me off more than hearing the BS called White Privilege. ......

I'm white male who grew up in an average lower middle class neighborhood. We weren't rich, only owned one car; but always had food on the table and clothes on our backs. Attended public school that had american Indians, blacks, mexicans.

Drafted for Vietnam; the same day as another kid who was a native american from my high school. He didn't come back and his name is on the "Wall". (maybe it was because of white privilege that I survived?) ....

Long story short.......used the G.I Bill......like any vet could; black, white, brown. Earned a degree, landed a job, married, bought a house, and raised a family, had a long productive career.

But now I am informed that it was all because of "white privilege".

That I had two side jobs while attending college had zero to do with my success. Because everything was handed to me due to my white skin. ........

 

[Uncensored2008]

[]right on schedule unhinged pulls the unnecessary and racist children of the holocaust pic right out of his ass.

Come on duhs, you racist ***** have a plan for the "white problem."

 

[320 Years of History]

So, at this point, which of the following lines have appeared in refutation of the OP? I don't know, and I'm not going looking for them, but I'll rebut them here.

Colorblind
“People are just people.” “I don’t see color.” “We’re all just human.” “Character, not color, is what counts with me.”

“Colorblindness” negates the cultural values, norms, expectations and life experiences of people of color. Even if an individual white person can ignore a person’s skin color, society does not. Claiming to be “colorblind” can also be a defense when someone is afraid to discuss racism, especially if the assumption is that all conversation about race or color is racist. Color consciousness does not equal racism.


Reverse Racism
“Blacks cry ‘racism’ for everything, even though they are more or just as racist as white people.”

Racism = racial prejudice + systemic institutional power to act on one's prejudices. To say people of color can be racist, denies the power imbalance inherent in racism. Although some Black people dislike whites and act on that prejudice to insult or hurt them, that’s not the same as systematically oppressing them and negatively affecting every aspect of their lives. People of color, as a social group, do not possess the societal, institutional power to oppress white people as a group. An individual Black person who is abusing a white person, while clearly wrong, is acting out a personal racial prejudice, not racism.


Blame the Victim
“Blacks are not willing to work hard.” “Blacks feel entitled and want everything handed to them.” “Blacks hold themselves back, not racism.” “We have advertised everywhere, there just aren’t any qualified blacks for this job.”

When blame-the-victim tactics are used, it provides an escape from discussing the real problem: racism. Therefore, the agents of racism, white people and their institutions, can avoid acknowledging a system of oppression exists. As long as the focus remains on black folks, white people can minimize or dismiss our experiences and never have to deal with their responsibility or collusion in racism and white privilege.


Deny, Deny, Deny
“Blacks are unfairly favored, whites are not.”

This form of denial is based on the false notion that the playing field is now level. When some white folks are expected to suddenly share their privilege, access and advantage, they often perceive it as discrimination. White people’s attacks on programs like affirmative action and black History Month are usually rooted in this false perception.


Pull Yourself Up by Your Bootstraps
“America is the land of opportunity, built by rugged individuals, where anyone with grit can succeed if they just pull up hard enough on their bootstraps. So Blacks need to pull themselves up from the bottom like everyone else.”

U.S. social propaganda has convinced many people that an individual’s hard work is the main determinant of success in the country. This ideology totally denies the impact of either oppression or privilege on any person’s chance for success, and pretends that every individual, regardless of color, gender, disability, etc., has the same access to the rights, benefits and responsibilities of society. It also implies that blacks have only their individual character flaws or cultural inadequacies to blame, and not racism.


Racism Is Over
“Blacks live in the past. We dealt with racism in the 1960s with all the marches, sit-ins and speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. Laws have been changed. Segregation and lynching have ended. We have some details to work out, but real racism is pretty much a thing of the past. They need to get over it and move on.”

The absence of legalized, enforced segregation does not mean the end of racism. This denial of contemporary racism, based on an inaccurate assessment of both history and current society, romanticizes the past and diminishes today’s reality.

If there is no race problem, there would be no school-to-prison pipeline in Mississippi that leads to the arrest and sentencing of Black students for infractions as insignificant as wearing the wrong color socks. New York City’s Stop and Frisk policy that led to 400,000 police encounters with innocent Black and Latino New Yorkers, would not have happened.

If there is no race problem, a black person would not be 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person, even though Blacks and whites use marijuana at similar rates.

 

[ptbw forever]

You can literally create a cartoon to illustrate any bullshit belief you want.

 

[320 Years of History]

I am informed that it was all because of "white privilege".

If that's what you think my OP said, you too didn't understand it.

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

you can always tell when a thread is spot on, the usual I'm not a racist racists are attracted to it like flies to shit.

half white (Irish) half cheetwood Cherokee.
racist? nope. you on the other hand...

I am an American. Nothing else matters.

 

[OldLady]

Those are TRUE, TN.

Derp derp derpity derp.

******* racist piece of shit.

Boy, you sure told me!

 

[Meathead]

So, at this point, which of the following lines have appeared in refutation of the OP? I don't know, and I'm not going looking for them, but I'll rebut them here.

Colorblind
“People are just people.” “I don’t see color.” “We’re all just human.” “Character, not color, is what counts with me.”

“Colorblindness” negates the cultural values, norms, expectations and life experiences of people of color. Even if an individual white person can ignore a person’s skin color, society does not. Claiming to be “colorblind” can also be a defense when someone is afraid to discuss racism, especially if the assumption is that all conversation about race or color is racist. Color consciousness does not equal racism.


Reverse Racism
“Blacks cry ‘racism’ for everything, even though they are more or just as racist as white people.”

Racism = racial prejudice + systemic institutional power to act on one's prejudices. To say people of color can be racist, denies the power imbalance inherent in racism. Although some Black people dislike whites and act on that prejudice to insult or hurt them, that’s not the same as systematically oppressing them and negatively affecting every aspect of their lives. People of color, as a social group, do not possess the societal, institutional power to oppress white people as a group. An individual Black person who is abusing a white person, while clearly wrong, is acting out a personal racial prejudice, not racism.


Blame the Victim
“Blacks are not willing to work hard.” “Blacks feel entitled and want everything handed to them.” “Blacks hold themselves back, not racism.” “We have advertised everywhere, there just aren’t any qualified blacks for this job.”

When blame-the-victim tactics are used, it provides an escape from discussing the real problem: racism. Therefore, the agents of racism, white people and their institutions, can avoid acknowledging a system of oppression exists. As long as the focus remains on black folks, white people can minimize or dismiss our experiences and never have to deal with their responsibility or collusion in racism and white privilege.


Deny, Deny, Deny
“Blacks are unfairly favored, whites are not.”

This form of denial is based on the false notion that the playing field is now level. When some white folks are expected to suddenly share their privilege, access and advantage, they often perceive it as discrimination. White people’s attacks on programs like affirmative action and black History Month are usually rooted in this false perception.


Pull Yourself Up by Your Bootstraps
“America is the land of opportunity, built by rugged individuals, where anyone with grit can succeed if they just pull up hard enough on their bootstraps. So Blacks need to pull themselves up from the bottom like everyone else.”

U.S. social propaganda has convinced many people that an individual’s hard work is the main determinant of success in the country. This ideology totally denies the impact of either oppression or privilege on any person’s chance for success, and pretends that every individual, regardless of color, gender, disability, etc., has the same access to the rights, benefits and responsibilities of society. It also implies that blacks have only their individual character flaws or cultural inadequacies to blame, and not racism.


Racism Is Over
“Blacks live in the past. We dealt with racism in the 1960s with all the marches, sit-ins and speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. Laws have been changed. Segregation and lynching have ended. We have some details to work out, but real racism is pretty much a thing of the past. They need to get over it and move on.”

The absence of legalized, enforced segregation does not mean the end of racism. This denial of contemporary racism, based on an inaccurate assessment of both history and current society, romanticizes the past and diminishes today’s reality.

If there is no race problem, there would be no school-to-prison pipeline in Mississippi that leads to the arrest and sentencing of Black students for infractions as insignificant as wearing the wrong color socks. New York City’s Stop and Frisk policy that led to 400,000 police encounters with innocent Black and Latino New Yorkers, would not have happened.

If there is no race problem, a black person would not be 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person, even though Blacks and whites use marijuana at similar rates.

If you're going to copy and paste nonsense at least provide a link even though it's from a ding bat site. You're going to rebut...my ass.

 

[ptbw forever]

I am informed that it was all because of "white privilege".

If that's what you think my OP said, you too didn't understand it.

You don't understand it.

Peggy McIntosh is just as batshit crazy as Jane Elliot or Robert Jensen, and both of them very much do say that(and more).

No one ever has the guts to debate anyone on the actual validity of "white privilege".

 

[imawhosure]

Nothing pisses me off more than hearing the BS called White Privilege. ......

I'm white male who grew up in an average lower middle class neighborhood. We weren't rich, only owned one car; but always had food on the table and clothes on our backs. Attended public school that had american Indians, blacks, mexicans.

Drafted for Vietnam; the same day as another kid who was a native american from my high school. He didn't come back and his name is on the "Wall". (maybe it was because of white privilege that I survived?) ....

Long story short.......used the G.I Bill......like any vet could; black, white, brown. Earned a degree, landed a job, married, bought a house, and raised a family, had a long productive career.

But now I am informed that it was all because of "white privilege".

That I had two side jobs while attending college had zero to do with my success. Because everything was handed to me due to my white skin. ........

[]right on schedule unhinged pulls the unnecessary and racist children of the holocaust pic right out of his ass.

Come on duhs, you racist ***** have a plan for the "white problem."

you can always tell when a thread is spot on, the usual I'm not a racist racists are attracted to it like flies to shit.

half white (Irish) half cheetwood Cherokee.
racist? nope. you on the other hand...

I am an American. Nothing else matters.

Cmon people, wake up! The reason you are seeing threads like this on here and other political sites, is the same reason you just heard about the Hillary commercial trying to connect Trump with the KKK. Polls show in Florida he is ahead by 4 points, with slightly over 20% African American vote for him.

They can't have their indentured servants escaping the liberal plantation, and if those numbers spread, Hillary will be DOA on election day, sooooooooo, here, there, and everywhere, you are going to see threads like this, to get "the hired help" thinking the correct way again! Right astro-turfers-)

 

[TNHarley]

So, at this point, which of the following lines have appeared in refutation of the OP? I don't know, and I'm not going looking for them, but I'll rebut them here.

Colorblind
“People are just people.” “I don’t see color.” “We’re all just human.” “Character, not color, is what counts with me.”

“Colorblindness” negates the cultural values, norms, expectations and life experiences of people of color. Even if an individual white person can ignore a person’s skin color, society does not. Claiming to be “colorblind” can also be a defense when someone is afraid to discuss racism, especially if the assumption is that all conversation about race or color is racist. Color consciousness does not equal racism.


Reverse Racism
“Blacks cry ‘racism’ for everything, even though they are more or just as racist as white people.”

Racism = racial prejudice + systemic institutional power to act on one's prejudices. To say people of color can be racist, denies the power imbalance inherent in racism. Although some Black people dislike whites and act on that prejudice to insult or hurt them, that’s not the same as systematically oppressing them and negatively affecting every aspect of their lives. People of color, as a social group, do not possess the societal, institutional power to oppress white people as a group. An individual Black person who is abusing a white person, while clearly wrong, is acting out a personal racial prejudice, not racism.


Blame the Victim
“Blacks are not willing to work hard.” “Blacks feel entitled and want everything handed to them.” “Blacks hold themselves back, not racism.” “We have advertised everywhere, there just aren’t any qualified blacks for this job.”

When blame-the-victim tactics are used, it provides an escape from discussing the real problem: racism. Therefore, the agents of racism, white people and their institutions, can avoid acknowledging a system of oppression exists. As long as the focus remains on black folks, white people can minimize or dismiss our experiences and never have to deal with their responsibility or collusion in racism and white privilege.


Deny, Deny, Deny
“Blacks are unfairly favored, whites are not.”

This form of denial is based on the false notion that the playing field is now level. When some white folks are expected to suddenly share their privilege, access and advantage, they often perceive it as discrimination. White people’s attacks on programs like affirmative action and black History Month are usually rooted in this false perception.


Pull Yourself Up by Your Bootstraps
“America is the land of opportunity, built by rugged individuals, where anyone with grit can succeed if they just pull up hard enough on their bootstraps. So Blacks need to pull themselves up from the bottom like everyone else.”

U.S. social propaganda has convinced many people that an individual’s hard work is the main determinant of success in the country. This ideology totally denies the impact of either oppression or privilege on any person’s chance for success, and pretends that every individual, regardless of color, gender, disability, etc., has the same access to the rights, benefits and responsibilities of society. It also implies that blacks have only their individual character flaws or cultural inadequacies to blame, and not racism.


Racism Is Over
“Blacks live in the past. We dealt with racism in the 1960s with all the marches, sit-ins and speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. Laws have been changed. Segregation and lynching have ended. We have some details to work out, but real racism is pretty much a thing of the past. They need to get over it and move on.”

The absence of legalized, enforced segregation does not mean the end of racism. This denial of contemporary racism, based on an inaccurate assessment of both history and current society, romanticizes the past and diminishes today’s reality.

If there is no race problem, there would be no school-to-prison pipeline in Mississippi that leads to the arrest and sentencing of Black students for infractions as insignificant as wearing the wrong color socks. New York City’s Stop and Frisk policy that led to 400,000 police encounters with innocent Black and Latino New Yorkers, would not have happened.

If there is no race problem, a black person would not be 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person, even though Blacks and whites use marijuana at similar rates.

"black people cant be racist" go **** yourself white boy

 

[OldLady]

Nothing pisses me off more than hearing the BS called White Privilege. ......

I'm white male who grew up in an average lower middle class neighborhood. We weren't rich, only owned one car; but always had food on the table and clothes on our backs. Attended public school that had american Indians, blacks, mexicans.

Drafted for Vietnam; the same day as another kid who was a native american from my high school. He didn't come back and his name is on the "Wall". (maybe it was because of white privilege that I survived?) ....

Long story short.......used the G.I Bill......like any vet could; black, white, brown. Earned a degree, landed a job, married, bought a house, and raised a family, had a long productive career.

But now I am informed that it was all because of "white privilege".

That I had two side jobs while attending college had zero to do with my success. Because everything was handed to me due to my white skin. ........

[]right on schedule unhinged pulls the unnecessary and racist children of the holocaust pic right out of his ass.

Come on duhs, you racist ***** have a plan for the "white problem."

you can always tell when a thread is spot on, the usual I'm not a racist racists are attracted to it like flies to shit.

half white (Irish) half cheetwood Cherokee.
racist? nope. you on the other hand...

I am an American. Nothing else matters.

Cmon people, wake up! The reason you are seeing threads like this on here and other political sites, is the same reason you just heard about the Hillary commercial trying to connect Trump with the KKK. Polls show in Florida he is ahead by 4 points, with slightly over 20% African American vote for him.

They can't have their indentured servants escaping the liberal plantation, and if those numbers spread, Hillary will be DOA on election day, sooooooooo, here, there, and everywhere, you are going to see threads like this, to get "the hired help" thinking the correct way again! Right astro-turfers-)

320's a Democratic shill? Don't think so, dude.

 

[BlindBoo]

I can never truly understand what it is like growing up black in America. I only know how my black friends have described it over the years. One of them did take me to an old bar on the other side of the tracks one night. Long time ago. Nary a white soul in sight. All eye turned as we walked in and it got strangely quite for a second. I turned to my friend and said, "That's what you mean huh" as he grinned. Me being a long hair type, there were some laughs and most went about their night. A few were ass-holes but most were just there to have a good time like any bar, and we did.

Did you expect to be gangbanged or something?

No you sick ****, he wanted to show me how it felt when he walked into an all white bar with me.

 

[Uncensored2008]

If that's what you think my OP said, you too didn't understand it.

You're just spewing your racist hatred - probably on orders from one or more of the Soros hate sites.

Democrats: Hating people based on skin color for over 200 years; now available in "hating whites."

 

[CrusaderFrank]

White Privilege...lol

 

[Uncensored2008]

[

320's a Democratic shill? Don't think so, dude.

You can't make this shit up.

Racist **** = democrat - 100% of the time.

 

[imawhosure]

Nothing pisses me off more than hearing the BS called White Privilege. ......

I'm white male who grew up in an average lower middle class neighborhood. We weren't rich, only owned one car; but always had food on the table and clothes on our backs. Attended public school that had american Indians, blacks, mexicans.

Drafted for Vietnam; the same day as another kid who was a native american from my high school. He didn't come back and his name is on the "Wall". (maybe it was because of white privilege that I survived?) ....

Long story short.......used the G.I Bill......like any vet could; black, white, brown. Earned a degree, landed a job, married, bought a house, and raised a family, had a long productive career.

But now I am informed that it was all because of "white privilege".

That I had two side jobs while attending college had zero to do with my success. Because everything was handed to me due to my white skin. ........

[]right on schedule unhinged pulls the unnecessary and racist children of the holocaust pic right out of his ass.

Come on duhs, you racist ***** have a plan for the "white problem."

you can always tell when a thread is spot on, the usual I'm not a racist racists are attracted to it like flies to shit.

half white (Irish) half cheetwood Cherokee.
racist? nope. you on the other hand...

I am an American. Nothing else matters.

Cmon people, wake up! The reason you are seeing threads like this on here and other political sites, is the same reason you just heard about the Hillary commercial trying to connect Trump with the KKK. Polls show in Florida he is ahead by 4 points, with slightly over 20% African American vote for him.

They can't have their indentured servants escaping the liberal plantation, and if those numbers spread, Hillary will be DOA on election day, sooooooooo, here, there, and everywhere, you are going to see threads like this, to get "the hired help" thinking the correct way again! Right astro-turfers-)

320's a Democratic shill? Don't think so, dude.

Well OL, why don't you ask him/her why on this particular day he/she decided to start a thread like this! I know, I know, coincidence; just like Bill Clinton meeting Lynch on one day at an airport, then the next day, Obama FINALLY goes and campaigns for Hillary.

You may be a liberal, but that doesn't mean you can't think, does it!

 

[Defiant1]

Blacks who are treated badly in today's America are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

 

[Meathead]

I can never truly understand what it is like growing up black in America. I only know how my black friends have described it over the years. One of them did take me to an old bar on the other side of the tracks one night. Long time ago. Nary a white soul in sight. All eye turned as we walked in and it got strangely quite for a second. I turned to my friend and said, "That's what you mean huh" as he grinned. Me being a long hair type, there were some laughs and most went about their night. A few were ass-holes but most were just there to have a good time like any bar, and we did.

Did you expect to be gangbanged or something?

No you sick ****, he wanted to show me how it felt when he walked into an all white bar with me.

I can never truly understand what it is like growing up black in America. I only know how my black friends have described it over the years. One of them did take me to an old bar on the other side of the tracks one night. Long time ago. Nary a white soul in sight. All eye turned as we walked in and it got strangely quite for a second. I turned to my friend and said, "That's what you mean huh" as he grinned. Me being a long hair type, there were some laughs and most went about their night. A few were ass-holes but most were just there to have a good time like any bar, and we did.

Did you expect to be gangbanged or something?

No you sick ****, he wanted to show me how it felt when he walked into an all white bar with me.

So you felt privileged you weren't gang banged or disappointed?