Reply to So Called White Priviledge

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=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 benefited from white privilege, 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 "privileged." [/quote]

You ask your Polish friend if she would like to wake up tomorrow as a person of color.  
Same name, same job, same house, same spouse, same kids, same everything EXCEPT now she has to walk around 24/7 as a person of color as instead of white.

Ask her if she would rather be a person of color every single time she makes a mistake (as we all do) and say she loses her temper.
Ask her if she would rather be a person of color every single time she makes a mistake (as we all do) and say she oversleeps and gets to work late.
Ask her if she would rather be a person of color every single time she makes a mistake (as we all do) and say she forgets to pay for something nearly walks out with it.

Ask her if she would like to be a person of color even when she doesn't make a mistake...how about when she simply steps into a store or goes to a job interview.
Ask her if she would like to be a person of color even when she doesn't make a mistake...how about when she simply waves down a cab or walks down the street.
Ask her if she would like to be a person of color even when she doesn't make a mistake...how about when she simply wants to get behind the wheel of her car and take a drive.

If your Polish friend is like, [i]"No that's okay, I'll pass on being a person of color"[/i] then you can kindly tell her that she is full of shit - she knows got damn well she's privileged.  [/quote]

I'd rather be a person of color when applying to college, when applying for scholarships, when applying to top law schools, when interviewing with law firms as a summer associate, and when trying to make partner.  Firms are trying so hard to up their diversity statistics, that being a person of color is a real advantage.[/quote]

Lol - yeah you wanna be a person of color when applying for shit and interviewing for shit but I'm not talking about bits and pieces here and there where "in theory" being a minority can be an advantage.
[b]I'm talking about every hour of every day of your life being a person of color and dealing with the prejudices and presumptions and biases and bigotry that comes into play in your everyday existence to the point that you can't even walk into a store and buy a pack of gum without the clerk staring you down because they just automatically assume you're a criminal.[/b]
I'm talking about every hour of every day of your life being a person of color and dealing with the prejudices and presumptions and biases and bigotry that comes into play in your everyday existence to the point that you can't even carry on a conversation with another parent at your child's school without them being surprised at the mention of your husband because they just automatically assume you're a single mother.  
That's the epitome of being privileged...the fact that you aren't even cognizant of just how ignorant you are about what others endure and you think just because your everyday existence is all smiles and laughter theirs must be too.  
"What are they complaining about", right?
The legacy of people of color in this country is rooted in struggle and in overcoming those struggles and that legacy hasn't changed one bit just because of a few Affirmative Action programs or because of more efforts to encourage diversity - those things don't have shit to do with the day to day struggles of being a person of color in this country and people of color are perceived and treated and THAT is what privileged people just don't seem to understand.  Life is in essence a compilation of our day to day experiences and for people of color the reality is that their day to day experiences are all the more stressful and all the more difficult because of the skin they're in.[/quote]

[b]Don't you think it's a very understandable reaction?[/b]  Does the prejudice beget the crime, or does the crime beget the prejudice?[/quote]

wow.[/quote]

I think that the question is a very legitimate one.  This is straight from the wikipedia page on "race and crime in the US":

[quote]Homicide

According to the US Department of Justice, blacks accounted for 52.5% of homicide offenders from 1980 to 2008, with whites 45.3% and "Other" 2.2%. The offending rate for blacks was almost 8 times higher than whites, and the victim rate 6 times higher. Most homicides were intraracial, with 84% of white victims killed by whites, and 93% of black victims killed by blacks.[40][41][42]

In 2013, African Americans accounted for 52.2% of all arrests for murder, and Whites accounted for 45.3% [43]
Youth crime

The "National Youth Gang Survey Analysis" (2011) state that of gang members, 46% are Hispanic/Latino, 35% are black, 11.5% are white, and 7% are other race/ethnicity.[44]

According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reports, in the year 2008 black youths, who make up 16% of the youth population, accounted for 52% of juvenile violent crime arrests, including 58.5% of youth arrests for homicide and 67% for robbery. Black youths were overrepresented in all offense categories except DUI, liquor laws and drunkenness.[45]
Robbery

According to the National Crime Victimization Survey in 2002, the black arrest rate for robbery was 8.55 times higher than whites, and blacks were 16 times more likely to be incarcerated for robbery than non-Hispanic whites. Robberies with white victims and black offenders were more than 12 times more common than the reverse.[46][47][/quote][/quote]

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