So Called White Priviledge

[Anonymous]

So, who exactly benefits from white privilege. I can see myself a white, upper middle class male being born on third base, but what about white working class ethnic and people derogatorily referred to as rednecks and hillbillies. When I told my Polish - American friend she benefitted from white priviledge, she responded that she spend two years in a refugee camp before coming to the U.S. and she has earned every single thing she has and that no one can tell her she's "priviledged."

[Anonymous]

In the US, there is at least some privilege associated with the fact that you have white skin, regardless of your personal circumstances and economic class.

Send her a link to here:

http://occupywallstreet.net/story/explaining-white-privilege-broke-white-person

"I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented."

"When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is."

"If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race."

"I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time."

These may or may not apply to your friend as well:

"If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area, which I can afford and in which I would want to live."

"I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me."

"I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed."

"If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege."

[Anonymous]

You seriously cited OWS as a source?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You seriously cited OWS as a source?

No kidding. Who would share a link from this site? LOL!!!

[Anonymous]

With all your education (assuming this from your self-description), I don't think you understand that white privilege is not just economic.

I'm not a big wikipedia fan but this basic definition says it all..."... a term for societal privileges that benefit people identified as white in Western countries, beyond what is commonly experienced by non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances."

In other words, what is acceptable and desirous for your well-being (economic or non-economic) should also be afforded to those who are none-white.

Your Polish-American friend who spent two hellish years in a refugee camp can still go into a department store and most likely won't be followed, can most likely not be criminally stereotyped and assumed to be on welfare, etc. The poorest white "redneck and hillbillies" in your comment can easily walk through a Potomac neighborhood with so much as a glance versus someone non-white where the possibility of police being called is much greater (even though neither class had any nefarious behavior in mind). That is white privilege.

Again, white privilege is not confined to social-economic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, who exactly benefits from white privilege. I can see myself a white, upper middle class male being born on third base, but what about white working class ethnic and people derogatorily referred to as rednecks and hillbillies. When I told my Polish - American friend she benefitted from white priviledge, she responded that she spend two years in a refugee camp before coming to the U.S. and she has earned every single thing she has and that no one can tell her she's "priviledged."

THIS, in large part, is what is driving Trump's popularity. Those of us who live in the DC-area bubble, where an income of $100k is considered merely OK, have a very skewed idea of the struggles that truly average whites - those with HS degrees and wages of $15 or $20/hr - deal with in their daily lives. (And that describes the majority - most people in this country are either lower-middle or working class). They see all the concern - and financial benefits - go to the truly impoverished, who in many cases live an equal or even better lifestyle than they, thanks to gov't assistance. That's exacerbated by the gov't support given to illegal immigrants (largely through K-12 school support and in-state tuition but also through policies such as sanctuary cities.) They are simply fed up...and thus, the Trump revolution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With all your education (assuming this from your self-description), I don't think you understand that white privilege is not just economic.

I'm not a big wikipedia fan but this basic definition says it all..."... a term for societal privileges that benefit people identified as white in Western countries, beyond what is commonly experienced by non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances."

In other words, what is acceptable and desirous for your well-being (economic or non-economic) should also be afforded to those who are none-white.

Your Polish-American friend who spent two hellish years in a refugee camp can still go into a department store and most likely won't be followed, can most likely not be criminally stereotyped and assumed to be on welfare, etc. The poorest white "redneck and hillbillies" in your comment can easily walk through a Potomac neighborhood with so much as a glance versus someone non-white where the possibility of police being called is much greater (even though neither class had any nefarious behavior in mind). That is white privilege.

Again, white privilege is not confined to social-economic.

PP again. Meant 'not confined to economic.'

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, who exactly benefits from white privilege. I can see myself a white, upper middle class male being born on third base, but what about white working class ethnic and people derogatorily referred to as rednecks and hillbillies. When I told my Polish - American friend she benefitted from white priviledge, she responded that she spend two years in a refugee camp before coming to the U.S. and she has earned every single thing she has and that no one can tell her she's "priviledged."

THIS, in large part, is what is driving Trump's popularity. Those of us who live in the DC-area bubble, where an income of $100k is considered merely OK, have a very skewed idea of the struggles that truly average whites - those with HS degrees and wages of $15 or $20/hr - deal with in their daily lives. (And that describes the majority - most people in this country are either lower-middle or working class). They see all the concern - and financial benefits - go to the truly impoverished, who in many cases live an equal or even better lifestyle than they, thanks to gov't assistance. That's exacerbated by the gov't support given to illegal immigrants (largely through K-12 school support and in-state tuition but also through policies such as sanctuary cities.) They are simply fed up...and thus, the Trump revolution.

If all the advantages went to the poor, there would be NO disadvantaged.

And if you think people who are receiving some government assistance are living the lifestyle of Trump, you are delusional. Your anger is misdirected. Ask Trump why he finds it okay to have a gold plated toilet seat and faucets while the very people you say are struggling did not get paid by him.

The so-called Trump revolution is about Trump becoming more powerful. If you think he will do anything that might diminish his bottom line, you are sadly mistaken. Trump's popularity is based on a hatred of anyone different and the perception that the spoils go to illegal and minorities which couldn't be further from the truth. The spoils go to the wealthy, and Trump is a perfect example of that, past and present.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With all your education (assuming this from your self-description), I don't think you understand that white privilege is not just economic.

I'm not a big wikipedia fan but this basic definition says it all..."... a term for societal privileges that benefit people identified as white in Western countries, beyond what is commonly experienced by non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances."

In other words, what is acceptable and desirous for your well-being (economic or non-economic) should also be afforded to those who are none-white.
U
Your Polish-American friend who spent two hellish years in a refugee camp can still go into a department store and most likely won't be followed, can most likely not be criminally stereotyped and assumed to be on welfare, etc. The poorest white "redneck and hillbillies" in your comment can easily walk through a Potomac neighborhood with so much as a glance versus someone non-white where the possibility of police being called is much greater (even though neither class had any nefarious behavior in mind). That is white privilege.

Again, white privilege is not confined to social-economic.

PP again. Meant 'not confined to economic.'

The problem is that the white guy in flyover country, with a HS diploma and a job at the shop paying $18/hr, isn't thinking about the fact that he can go into a rich neighborhood without being suspected of something nefarious. (There ARE no rich neighborhoods near him, anyway..) He is focused on trying to stretch his paycheck to pay for the groceries, rent, and electric.....and everything seems under control this month....and then, the old car breaks down and needs $400 in repairs.

So now, the budget is kaput for the month. He was planning to take his wife, who stays at home with their two young children, to the fanciest restaurant in town for her 30th birthday, but now they can't go. In fact, he has to return the special $100 gift he bought her, and replaces it with a $25 thing to come up with the car repair money. The social-economic aspects of white privilege are higher up the Maslow ladder. He's just worried about survival. Mention white privilege to him, and you're pushing him even more to vote for Trump.

This isn't an extreme example. This is the typical, average white guy. (Also typical everyone, but we are talking about white privilege.)

[Anonymous]

You tell your Polish friend to commit a crime, any crime, from jaywalking to murder and then you tell them to compare the circumstances of their arrest and the harshness of their sentence (if any) to that of a person of color who committed the same crime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, who exactly benefits from white privilege. I can see myself a white, upper middle class male being born on third base, but what about white working class ethnic and people derogatorily referred to as rednecks and hillbillies. When I told my Polish - American friend she benefitted from white priviledge, she responded that she spend two years in a refugee camp before coming to the U.S. and she has earned every single thing she has and that no one can tell her she's "priviledged."

THIS, in large part, is what is driving Trump's popularity. Those of us who live in the DC-area bubble, where an income of $100k is considered merely OK, have a very skewed idea of the struggles that truly average whites - those with HS degrees and wages of $15 or $20/hr - deal with in their daily lives. (And that describes the majority - most people in this country are either lower-middle or working class). They see all the concern - and financial benefits - go to the truly impoverished, who in many cases live an equal or even better lifestyle than they, thanks to gov't assistance. That's exacerbated by the gov't support given to illegal immigrants (largely through K-12 school support and in-state tuition but also through policies such as sanctuary cities.) They are simply fed up...and thus, the Trump revolution.

If all the advantages went to the poor, there would be NO disadvantaged.

And if you think people who are receiving some government assistance are living the lifestyle of Trump, you are delusional. Your anger is misdirected. Ask Trump why he finds it okay to have a gold plated toilet seat and faucets while the very people you say are struggling did not get paid by him.

The so-called Trump revolution is about Trump becoming more powerful. If you think he will do anything that might diminish his bottom line, you are sadly mistaken. Trump's popularity is based on a hatred of anyone different and the perception that the spoils go to illegal and minorities which couldn't be further from the truth. The spoils go to the wealthy, and Trump is a perfect example of that, past and present.

First, you say my anger is misplaced. I wasn't talking about myself. I was explaining how working class whites feel, and why they are angry. (Actually, you sound sort of angry.) And second, I never said people on gov't assistance live the life of Trump! But there have been studies that show it would take $x amount of dollars in income to equate to the value of gov't asst (sub housing, food stamps, welfare, etc.), and the amount was quite a bit higher than many working class people make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You seriously cited OWS as a source?

No kidding. Who would share a link from this site? LOL!!!

You're doing a reverse "appeal to authority" here. Just because OWS says it doesn't mean it's automatically wrong, and the same is true for the other side - just because O'Reilly says something, it's not automatically wrong even though he's an incredibly biased source, too. (Hannity, OTOH, is always wrong ).

Dismissing information simply because of the source is intellectually lazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, who exactly benefits from white privilege. I can see myself a white, upper middle class male being born on third base, but what about white working class ethnic and people derogatorily referred to as rednecks and hillbillies. When I told my Polish - American friend she benefitted from white priviledge, she responded that she spend two years in a refugee camp before coming to the U.S. and she has earned every single thing she has and that no one can tell her she's "priviledged."

THIS, in large part, is what is driving Trump's popularity. Those of us who live in the DC-area bubble, where an income of $100k is considered merely OK, have a very skewed idea of the struggles that truly average whites - those with HS degrees and wages of $15 or $20/hr - deal with in their daily lives. (And that describes the majority - most people in this country are either lower-middle or working class). They see all the concern - and financial benefits - go to the truly impoverished, who in many cases live an equal or even better lifestyle than they, thanks to gov't assistance. That's exacerbated by the gov't support given to illegal immigrants (largely through K-12 school support and in-state tuition but also through policies such as sanctuary cities.) They are simply fed up...and thus, the Trump revolution.

If all the advantages went to the poor, there would be NO disadvantaged.

And if you think people who are receiving some government assistance are living the lifestyle of Trump, you are delusional. Your anger is misdirected. Ask Trump why he finds it okay to have a gold plated toilet seat and faucets while the very people you say are struggling did not get paid by him.

The so-called Trump revolution is about Trump becoming more powerful. If you think he will do anything that might diminish his bottom line, you are sadly mistaken. Trump's popularity is based on a hatred of anyone different and the perception that the spoils go to illegal and minorities which couldn't be further from the truth. The spoils go to the wealthy, and Trump is a perfect example of that, past and present.

First, you say my anger is misplaced. I wasn't talking about myself. I was explaining how working class whites feel, and why they are angry. (Actually, you sound sort of angry.) And second, I never said people on gov't assistance live the life of Trump! But there have been studies that show it would take $x amount of dollars in income to equate to the value of gov't asst (sub housing, food stamps, welfare, etc.), and the amount was quite a bit higher than many working class people make.

PP again. And you also said that Trump's popularity is based on hating people who are different - racism, in other words. But it's simply not true. Much of it is driven by the fact that these working class whites, struggling to pay the bill, feel ignored - as if their problems don't count. When liberals are unable to acknowledge that and revert to the racism accusations, it gets them even angrier. (And before you criticize me again, I'm simply pointing out how the struggling white guy with the HS degree feels. I'm not talking about myself.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, who exactly benefits from white privilege. I can see myself a white, upper middle class male being born on third base, but what about white working class ethnic and people derogatorily referred to as rednecks and hillbillies. When I told my Polish - American friend she benefitted from white priviledge, she responded that she spend two years in a refugee camp before coming to the U.S. and she has earned every single thing she has and that no one can tell her she's "priviledged."

THIS, in large part, is what is driving Trump's popularity. Those of us who live in the DC-area bubble, where an income of $100k is considered merely OK, have a very skewed idea of the struggles that truly average whites - those with HS degrees and wages of $15 or $20/hr - deal with in their daily lives. (And that describes the majority - most people in this country are either lower-middle or working class). They see all the concern - and financial benefits - go to the truly impoverished, who in many cases live an equal or even better lifestyle than they, thanks to gov't assistance. That's exacerbated by the gov't support given to illegal immigrants (largely through K-12 school support and in-state tuition but also through policies such as sanctuary cities.) They are simply fed up...and thus, the Trump revolution.

If all the advantages went to the poor, there would be NO disadvantaged.

And if you think people who are receiving some government assistance are living the lifestyle of Trump, you are delusional. Your anger is misdirected. Ask Trump why he finds it okay to have a gold plated toilet seat and faucets while the very people you say are struggling did not get paid by him.

The so-called Trump revolution is about Trump becoming more powerful. If you think he will do anything that might diminish his bottom line, you are sadly mistaken. Trump's popularity is based on a hatred of anyone different and the perception that the spoils go to illegal and minorities which couldn't be further from the truth. The spoils go to the wealthy, and Trump is a perfect example of that, past and present.

First, you say my anger is misplaced. I wasn't talking about myself. I was explaining how working class whites feel, and why they are angry. (Actually, you sound sort of angry.) And second, I never said people on gov't assistance live the life of Trump! But there have been studies that show it would take $x amount of dollars in income to equate to the value of gov't asst (sub housing, food stamps, welfare, etc.), and the amount was quite a bit higher than many working class people make.

If only so many of those working class people in certain didn't keep voting for the party dedicated to limiting/eliminating the social safety net, opposing any increase to the minimum wage, opposing support for medical care, etc. then maybe they'd actually have programs to help themselves, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, who exactly benefits from white privilege. I can see myself a white, upper middle class male being born on third base, but what about white working class ethnic and people derogatorily referred to as rednecks and hillbillies. When I told my Polish - American friend she benefitted from white priviledge, she responded that she spend two years in a refugee camp before coming to the U.S. and she has earned every single thing she has and that no one can tell her she's "priviledged."

THIS, in large part, is what is driving Trump's popularity. Those of us who live in the DC-area bubble, where an income of $100k is considered merely OK, have a very skewed idea of the struggles that truly average whites - those with HS degrees and wages of $15 or $20/hr - deal with in their daily lives. (And that describes the majority - most people in this country are either lower-middle or working class). They see all the concern - and financial benefits - go to the truly impoverished, who in many cases live an equal or even better lifestyle than they, thanks to gov't assistance. That's exacerbated by the gov't support given to illegal immigrants (largely through K-12 school support and in-state tuition but also through policies such as sanctuary cities.) They are simply fed up...and thus, the Trump revolution.

If all the advantages went to the poor, there would be NO disadvantaged.

And if you think people who are receiving some government assistance are living the lifestyle of Trump, you are delusional. Your anger is misdirected. Ask Trump why he finds it okay to have a gold plated toilet seat and faucets while the very people you say are struggling did not get paid by him.

The so-called Trump revolution is about Trump becoming more powerful. If you think he will do anything that might diminish his bottom line, you are sadly mistaken. Trump's popularity is based on a hatred of anyone different and the perception that the spoils go to illegal and minorities which couldn't be further from the truth. The spoils go to the wealthy, and Trump is a perfect example of that, past and present.

First, you say my anger is misplaced. I wasn't talking about myself. I was explaining how working class whites feel, and why they are angry. (Actually, you sound sort of angry.) And second, I never said people on gov't assistance live the life of Trump! But there have been studies that show it would take $x amount of dollars in income to equate to the value of gov't asst (sub housing, food stamps, welfare, etc.), and the amount was quite a bit higher than many working class people make.

If only so many of those working class people in certain didn't keep voting for the party dedicated to limiting/eliminating the social safety net, opposing any increase to the minimum wage, opposing support for medical care, etc. then maybe they'd actually have programs to help themselves, too.

That's the problem. They are just above the safety net, so no goodies for them. They see themselves voting to give more to other people a step down from them on the economic ladder.