I believe white privilege still exists. There's nothing you can do about it except realize it that happens. The general purpose isn't to force white people to feel guilty though. It's an attempt to crack a second understanding in race relations and how it deals with an unofficial class standard in our country. The best example of white privilege would be the demographics in sentencing standards among criminals who commit the same degree of crime. Nicer post if you decided to use paragraphs.... I think the true test to the reception of Asian Americans will be the rising emergence of China and our government's military/political response to China influence. At worst, the treatment Chinese Americans will recieve will be what the Japanese experienced 60 years ago.
I'm not confusing any subject. You brought up "green" in the first place. I read that as you saying no matter what you look like, as long as you have green you are straight. I responded to it with a situation where green doesn't matter. Yes, it was a racist situation. White privelage deals with race (overtly...see his Indian Dave example). My question was why did you mention green in the first place (as far as what context to this conversation). Again, you are one of the ones to bring race into this discussion: Where did the article say anything about apoligizing for being white? You mention b****ing a lot. Where was the writer b****ing?
What I meant about doing nothing is that it takes a receptive audience to persuade them over the points of white privilege. It's much easier to witness and realize than to learn from words.
Is his skin white? Fine, if ya'll want to counts Jews as being financially underprivileaged then I'll go again. Lets speed it up a little. Looking at the top Americans on Forbes 100 richest: 1. Bill Gates 2. Warren Buffet 3. Paul Allen 4. Joseph Ellison 5. Jim Walton 6. John Walton 7. Robson Walton 8. Alice Walton 9. Helen Walton 10. Steve Balmer Operah isn't on the list at all. So I named 10. Now you name 10.
My bad on the paragraphs. I just took an idea and it spilled out of control without me realizing it. Anyways, isn't that just an excuse not to promote or hire people of color? There's a pretty good diversity in business and law schools, but what is being pointed out is that when you look at the real world, you don't see that diversity reflected. And what about really unqualified white guys who become CEOs or whatever. Do other people get that same chance? Oh let's not forget about women too. They are the largest minority if that makes any sense. I guess a reverse situation is pro sports where it is dominated by blacks. You can easily say certain groups of people aren't good enough to cut it, but you have to look at the opportunities. Before all the European players came in, the knock on them were that they were soft and just shooters. Now there's allstar calibur players like Dirk (Even though I hate his game and refuse to acknowledge him as a franchise level player) because the league slowly opened up and scouts came in. On the flip side, D-I players from college can easily wash out after a stellar collegiate career, but at least they were given a chance in the first place.
No offense, but it flabbergasts me that someone could say this. Even if you ignored racism or wage inequity, etc. just that fact that whites are the majority makes it an advantage to be white. Just like if you went to Japan there would be a disadvantage to be white - people in the majority of anything always have a different status. Now once you combine our history...man. Anyway, you are basically saying there is no difference so I assume you would readily agree to be black starting today (or re-do your life from birth)?
Who controls America? The filthy rich. Who are the filthy rich? whites? Using trickle down economics, who appears to have benefited? whites? I'm not saying minorities can't make it in America ...they can. I'm not implying that we need broad sweeping social changes to correct things. But this new wave of right-wing propaganda that whites are the new minority is a load of crap. America is decent these days at social equality but we are far from economic equality.
Stanley O'Neal, Richard Parsons, Kenneth Chenault, Reginald Lewis, John H. Johnson, Vernon Jordan, Roger W. Ferguson, Magic Johnson post-NBA/post-talk show...am I playing this game right? How about Percy Miller or Sean Combs: you wanna tell me some other "white-privileged" country where a black guy from his twenties to mid-thirties can make his first, second, third or, I dunno, 300th million cutting b****-n-ho albums? If so, please let me know, and teach me how to rap. I've been to too many Dairy Queens, and read too many articles about Eastern Europe - with their decadent, carefree, happy-go-lucky Chechnyans and Bosnians - to be universally jealous of whites. That having been said, in the professional sector, I bet there's little denying the benefits of nepotism, favoritism and social networking (ie, golf and weddings).
I agree. My father graduated from high school at the top of his class, and had to get a job working as a guard for an air mail company, thinking he was damned lucky to get it during the late '30's. WWII comes along, and he enlists, marries my mother, and goes on to become a radar expert. Gets out and works 3 jobs to support Mom and two young children, while going to college on the GI Bill, one of the jobs being an instructor at a Houston university. Fast forward several years to the late '50's. The chairman of his department drops dead in a hallway, and the Dean plucks an assistant professor in his mid-30's over numerous, more qualified candidates to replace him. He was white, on an entirely white faculty. Dad was a progressive Democrat, and talked to me about those days when I was older. After he got his position, he used his influence, wherever possible, to hire minorities. He said it was difficult because of the dearth of available people. The, "system," produced very few who were qualified enough to get past the prejudice of those above Dad in the university, those who made those decisions. Why did I post that? Because Dad was the poster child of a Depression era kid pulling himself up, and becoming extremely successful from hard work, his intelligence, and some people who took a chance on him. Dad said himself that a Black man would have had an infinitesimal shot at doing what he was able to do. People talk about how great our country is, and how it is the, "Land of Opportunity." Dad's point was that the opportunities differed depending on the color of your skin, that it was a travesty, and to never forget it. I haven't. Keep D&D Civil.
I read your writings and you have valid points and of course there are prejudices and racism going on. My writing was on the optimistic side of the debate, defending White guys when need arises. My only concern is I hope I didn't ruin your day by the revelation that Kate Beckingsale is part Asian.
Hey no prob. I doesn't matter what Kate Beckingsale is. Hotness transcends all barriers. Unfortunately she being married does not.
Neither are about 240 million or so allegedly privileged whites. If I hadn't spent my whole life using Gates & Ballmer's software (we had a PC Jr. when I was growing up), shopping at the Waltons store or - believe it or not - working for a company owned by Mr. Buffett since college, which happens to use Ellison's software as well, then maybe I would assume that their fortunes were race-privilege-based. You wanna know a real racial injustice? Making a billion dollar fortune by copying Phil Donahue and Barbara Walters.
Correction, 200 million whites, not 240 million. Census Bureau has two white listings, one with and one without Hispanics.
I don't quite follow. I assume you are referencing Oprah here. But who exactly is the racial injustice to?
I mean it jokingly, but in the spirit of debate I'll assert that Oprah is essentially the Elvis of talk show hosts, profiting wildly off of the talents and techniques of significantly less-compensated white innovators before her. I'm sure if Dick Cavett, Dinah Shore, Jack Parr, Sally Jesse Raphael, Morton Downey Jr. or white Tom Snyder were...uh...overweight...black women...from Chicago, then they would..um..be billionaires too? Nothing more suppressive than Midwestern fat black woman privilege. I hope Marsha Warfield, Nell Carter and Carol Moseley-Braun can appreciate their good fortune.
Your joke still doesn't make sense though. It's like saying Michael Jordan's entire success in basketball was paved by Bob Cousy and Pete Maravich and his stealing and profiting wildly off of the talent and techniques of these significantly less-compensated white innovators before him is a racial injustice. Do see how ludicrous this appears, even as a joke. Plus your two initial examples of Donahue and Walters are in fact Jewish minorites anyways. So much for the racial injustice theory!
I didn't think anybody would be ridiculous enough to respond to the game. Its more of a thought game. But yes, good job. But lets add a twist. Now for fun, lets add up the combined net worth of your list vs. my list. Without looking, I'm pretty sure my list beats your list by 100 fold. If you were to make a pie chart of the combined net worth of all Americans, I'd guess 70% of it would be owned by whites. To put it another way, if whites make up 60% of all American's (I haven't looked), I'm confident that whites own significantly more than 60% of the net worth.
