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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Equity should mean giving everyone the support they need. The problem that cartoon shows is that it actually gives some absolutely nothing. They aren’t allowed equal opportunity to advance beyond where they are. [/quote]

I actually agree with this, and I wouldn't have said that a few years ago. I understand the argument for equity in terms of giving support/assistance to those most in need in order to "level the playing field."

The problem is that the way this works in practice is that people get divided into two groups: privileged and underprivileged. The privileged group is not supposed to get any extra help and may even be asked to give up certain things to help the other group. And the underprivileged group gets support and help in order to make up for their lack of privilege.

But where does the line get drawn? It gets really messy and can result in more inequity, not less. Sometimes privileged people game the system to get themselves on the "underprivileged" side of the line. And sometimes people with one privilege are deemed privileged even if they are underprivileged in other ways. I think this often happens with poor white people, because people instinctively think that race privilege can trump economic privilege and... it's not true.

You can also see this debate over the line in action at times, as right now with white women. For a long time, all women were on the "underprivileged" side of the line. But people are starting to recognize that some women aren't really underprivileged at all. Like if you are white, and especially if you are rich, and for sure if you are very well connected, it's really hard to argue that you are underprivileged.

Oh, and before people come at me -- I'm an UMC white woman. So this isn't about me being resentful of women or black people or whatever. I've just increasingly noticed that whether you get labeled privileged or not doesn't always line up with who I know to be most in need of accommodations and support. Often it's just a political determination that is divorced from need. I've become pretty cynical about it.[/quote]

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