White privilege is a myth

[canpakes]

My thought about your victim victor observation is that I was not thinking of victors here. I can see however if a group of people feel like they have been held back by force and strong arm devices they may see those doing that as victors and experience serious discouragement. They also might experience anger, rersentment determination, resolve, endurance.Not all of those reactions are health. Either way it is healthier for all if the forceful or manipulative methods which have so widely been used in America stop.Many of them have.

That is what the fellow in that video suggested would be actually helpful. He is correct.

And there you have it. In an attempt to claim that privilege doesn’t exist, Atlanticmike posts a video in which the host speaks to the existence of … racism and white privilege … and where that same host asks folks not to use their racism and white privilege in a harmful away regarding their attitudes towards blacks.

Thanks, Atlanticmike, for killing your own argument that privilege supposedly doesn’t exist, by contradicting it with this video.

[canpakes]

Atlanticmike implores people to “stop treating black people differently!!”… that’s sound advice. If folks had always done that, there’d likely not be much to talk about regarding ‘privilege’.

A black author decided to explain to a white colleague what privilege looked like, from her perspective. Her thoughts follow below, and will be split up over several posts due to length.

My White Friend Asked Me on Facebook to Explain White Privilege. I Decided to Be Honest

LORI LAKIN HUTCHERSON
SEP 8, 2017

“Trust me, nobody is mad at you for being white. Nobody.”

Yesterday I was tagged in a post by an old high school friend asking me and a few others a very public, direct question about white privilege and racism. I feel compelled not only to publish his query, but also my response to it, as it may be a helpful discourse for more than just a few folks on Facebook.

Here’s his post:

To all of my Black or mixed race Facebook friends, I must profess a blissful ignorance of this “White Privilege” of which I’m apparently guilty of possessing. By not being able to fully put myself in the shoes of someone from a background/race/religion/gender/nationality/body type that differs from my own makes me part of the problem, according to what I’m now hearing. Despite my treating everyone with respect and humor my entire life (as far as I know), I’m somehow complicit in the misfortune of others. I’m not saying I’m colorblind, but whatever racism/sexism/other -ism my life experience has instilled in me stays within me, and is not manifested in the way I treat others (which is not the case with far too many, I know).

So that I may be enlightened, can you please share with me some examples of institutional racism that have made an indelible mark upon you? If I am to understand this, I need people I know personally to show me how I’m missing what’s going on. Personal examples only. I’m not trying to be insensitive, I only want to understand (but not from the media). I apologize if this comes off as crass or offends anyone.

Here’s my response:

Hi, Jason. First off, I hope you don’t mind that I’ve quoted your post and made it part of mine. I think the heart of what you’ve asked of your friends of color is extremely important and I think my response needs much more space than as a reply on your feed. I truly thank you for wanting to understand what you are having a hard time understanding. Coincidentally, over the last few days I have been thinking about sharing some of the incidents of prejudice/racism I’ve experienced in my lifetime—in fact I just spoke with my sister Lesa about how to best do this yesterday—because I realized many of my friends—especially the white ones—have no idea what I’ve experienced/dealt with unless they were present (and aware) when it happened. There are two reasons for this: 1) because not only as a human being do I suppress the painful and uncomfortable in an effort to make it go away, I was also taught within my community (I was raised in the ’70s and ’80s—it’s shifted somewhat now) and by society at large NOT to make a fuss, speak out, or rock the boat. To just “deal with it,” lest more trouble follow (which, sadly, it often does); 2) fear of being questioned or dismissed with “Are you sure that’s what you heard?” or “Are you sure that’s what they meant?” and being angered and upset all over again by well-meaning-but-hurtful and essentially unsupportive responses.

So, again, I’m glad you asked, because I really want to answer. But as I do, please know a few things first: 1) This is not even close to the whole list. I’m cherry-picking because none of us have all day; 2) I’ve been really lucky. Most of what I share below is mild compared to what others in my family and community have endured; 3) I’m going to go in chronological order so you might begin to glimpse the tonnage and why what many white folks might feel is a “where did all of this come from?” moment in society has been festering individually and collectively for the LIFETIME of pretty much every black or brown person living in America today, regardless of wealth or opportunity; 4) Some of what I share covers sexism, too—intersectionality is another term I’m sure you’ve heard and want to put quotes around, but it’s a real thing too, just like white privilege. But you’ve requested a focus on personal experiences with racism, so here it goes:

1. When I was 3, my family moved into an upper-middle-class, all-white neighborhood. We had a big backyard, so my parents built a pool. Not the only pool on the block, but the only one neighborhood boys started throwing rocks into. White boys. One day my mom ID’d one as the boy from across the street, went to his house, told his mother, and, fortunately, his mother believed mine. My mom not only got an apology, but also had that boy jump in our pool and retrieve every single rock. No more rocks after that. Then mom even invited him to come over to swim sometime if he asked permission. Everyone became friends. This one has a happy ending because my mom was and is badass about matters like these, but I hope you can see that the white privilege in this situation is being able to move into a “nice” neighborhood and be accepted not harassed, made to feel unwelcome, or prone to acts of vandalism and hostility.

More to follow.

“Trust me, nobody is mad at you for being white. Nobody.”

[canpakes]

… continues …

2. When my older sister was 5, a white boy named Mark called her a “nigger” after she beat him in a race at school. She didn’t know what it meant, but in her gut she knew it was bad. This was the first time I’d seen my father the kind of angry that has nowhere to go. I somehow understood it was because not only had some boy verbally assaulted his daughter and had gotten away with it, it had way too early introduced her (and me) to that term and the reality of what it meant—that some white people would be cruel and careless with black people’s feelings just because of our skin color. Or our achievement. If it’s unclear in any way, the point here is if you’ve never had a defining moment in your childhood or your life where you realize your skin color alone makes other people hate you, you have white privilege.

[canpakes]

Hi, Cultellis!

I’ve got you on ignore because your schtick is so damn boring, but I keep seeing notifications from you, so you must really need my attention right now. : )

I see that you’re looking to respond to posts. Hey, go for it! Feel free to respond to mine upstream, or to the author’s thoughts below. Don’t feel so weak, or down, or as if you need to play the angry, dim-witted racist. Instead, Dazzle me! Show the world your thoughts. I have a gold star sticker ready for you when you’ve mustered your courage.

You can do it!. :: hugs ::

I’ll check back in a week to see how it’s going.

Now, part 3 -

3. Sophomore year of high school. I had Mr. Melrose for Algebra 2. Some time within the first few weeks of class, he points out that I’m “the only spook” in the class. This was meant to be funny. It wasn’t. So, I doubt it will surprise you I was relieved when he took medical leave after suffering a heart attack and was replaced by a sub for the rest of the semester. The point here is, if you’ve never been ‘the only one’ of your race in a class, at a party, on a job, etc. and/or it’s been pointed out in a “playful” fashion by the authority figure in said situation, you have white privilege.

[Chap]

3. Sophomore year of high school. I had Mr. Melrose for Algebra 2. Some time within the first few weeks of class, he points out that I’m “the only spook” in the class. This was meant to be funny. It wasn’t. So, I doubt it will surprise you I was relieved when he took medical leave after suffering a heart attack and was replaced by a sub for the rest of the semester. The point here is, if you’ve never been ‘the only one’ of your race in a class, at a party, on a job, etc. and/or it’s been pointed out in a “playful” fashion by the authority figure in said situation, you have white privilege.

I have never in my life heard 'spook' used to refer to anything but a ghost. (Maybe that's just my un-Americanness showing)

What proportion of black Americans actually regard this as an unpleasant reference to themselves? I ask purely out of non-American ignorance.

I do agree of course that teachers and those in similar positions should do their best to avoid calling attention to the the ethnicity of anyone under their authority. A student is a student: no more need be said.

[Gunnar]

What proportion of black Americans actually regard this as an unpleasant reference to themselves? I ask purely out of non-American ignorance.

I don't know the proportion of Americans who actually regard the word "spook" as an unpleasant or derogatory reference to Black Americans, but I can tell you that all throughout my life I have often heard both White and Black Americans regard it as such, though I think it is used less frequently in that regard now than it used to be in years past.

[huckelberry]

spook, well established American slang, probably now a bit old fashioned. I am not remembering the last time I have heard it used but I certainly have heard it used. Perhaps in the days when it would refer to a negro.

[canpakes]

What proportion of black Americans actually regard this as an unpleasant reference to themselves? I ask purely out of non-American ignorance.

I don't know the proportion of Americans who actually regard the word "spook" as an unpleasant or derogatory reference to Black Americans, but I can tell you that all throughout my life I have often heard both White and Black Americans regard it as such, though I think it is used less frequently in that regard now than it used to be in years past.

The last I heard it used was back east, from a fairly old fellow.

It doesn’t carry the same weight as other derogatory terms, but I can’t imagine that anyone would want to be referred to with it anyway.

[Chap]

What proportion of black Americans actually regard this as an unpleasant reference to themselves? I ask purely out of non-American ignorance.

I don't know the proportion of Americans who actually regard the word "spook" as an unpleasant or derogatory reference to Black Americans, but I can tell you that all throughout my life I have often heard both White and Black Americans regard it as such, though I think it is used less frequently in that regard now than it used to be in years past.

Thanks! Well, I am glad to have learned something.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

I guess AM and Xanax don’t know much about red lining:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining

and black WW2 veterans being denied VA loans:

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/black ... s-gi-bill/

Since they don’t read I’ll tl;dr:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockbusting

Whoops, that’s more reading.

- Doc