02-13-2016, 09:08 PM
(02-13-2016, 01:13 PM)Matt_Crimson Wrote: I believe white privilege does exist. Again, as I state in many other arguments, the problem with the whole "white privilege" issue is that a lot of people who argue about it have their own idea of what "white privilege" means. To me, white privilege doesn't mean that everyone who is white is somehow richer or automatically better off than everyone else. To me, white privilege is a type of privilege that exists for every race. I am a black man and I believe there is black privilege. I believe there are various types of privileges that exist for everyone. I even believe there is heterosexual privilege.
The reason people argue about "white privilege" so much is because of the years of oppression that happened in America. Obviously this idea of oppression has greatly diminished, but the idea of white privilege still does exist. Fact of the matter is, you are a lot less likely to be harassed by someone for being white vs being black. I notice whenever black people complain about being racially profiled, a lot of white people (not all) like to make the argument that "well if this black person or that black person didn't dress like a thug, they wouldn't get harassed". The argument simply is not true.
There have been multiple times where I've been bothered just for being black. I've gone into numerous stores where I have been constantly followed by white employees even after telling them that I was fine and that I didn't need any help.... and I'm far from dressing like a "thug". I'm a preachers son and grew up in a household where I wouldn't be caught dead with my pants hanging below my butt. I dress like a regular guy, there's nothing "thuggish" about me, yet I still get followed.
One time I was in a store and noticed I was constantly being eyed around corners by an employee even though I had not done anything. I was simply looking at clothes. This employee was so obsessed with watching me that he almost neglected to help other customers because if he did he wouldn't be able to keep an eye on me. Funny thing is I noticed an old lady grab something and start walking out of the store with it and I quickly walked over and told the employee that "I think that old lady just walked out of the store with something". The employee quickly caught up to her and mall security was called and escorted her out of the building.
I even still get called the N word when I'm just walking down the street. One time me and my girlfriend who is white (now wife) were walking to a waffle house when she came to visit me in Cincinnati and as we were walking down the street, 4 white guys in a pickup truck drove by and one of them yelled "Get out of here niggger". Simply put, being white means you will get harassed a lot less than if you're black, that's part of what white privilege is. This issue as a whole gets a little more complicated than that, but I don't feel like writing pages upon pages about "white privilege".
To put it short, privilege exists for every race in different ways and the amount of that privilege depends on who owns the most authority. A lot of the time, people of color are the ones who get harassed or looked down upon the most or as seen as the most "dangerous".
You started out great... admitted to having black privilege, which is wonderful, and if more blacks admitted to having black privilege, then we can have a real honest discussion about race. You do mention a very good point of what privilege is and how it can mean different things to different people. The problem with that is, when you have a definition of a word and I have a similar but slightly different definition of that same word, then it creates confusion. To say we all have privileges, but you have more privileges is to simplistic and not very well argued. Different people from different background face different challenges. To lump all white people as privilege is to ignore their own struggles, which some have struggled more than some black people that they have met.
Sorry, but Jayden Smith and even daddy Will Smith has not struggled nearly as much as the majority of white people in this country. The video I posted has shown black success stories even before the end of slavery. If you think the children of those blacks "suffered" and didn't enjoy more privileges than the whites around them, then you are either deceitful or not very bright.
Then you go into "blacksplaining".
You fall for the "oppression" in America.
Have you ever seen the treatment white kids that dress like Goths get? Ever here them called freaks? Emo? Funny when blacks talk about the way people dress they always mention the "Thug" outfit, without realizing that a white person who wears his pants sagging and tank tops is also called a thug and also ridiculed. It isn't just a race thing, but don't let that stop blacks from making out about them. There are also many other types of styles and each and everyone gets criticized and mocked.
Then as black man, you know how often a white man is harassed and you know it is way less than what a black man is. That line might work with Dino, Fred and Patty (all naive, all sheltered and stunted mentally) but it doesn't work with me. Since you have no idea what it is like being white in this country, just like I wouldn't have a clue what it is like being black in this country. Just like I don't allow Fred to control arguments, I won't allow you to control the experiences that you cannot possibly know anything about.
You can go onto youtube and run a search of black on white violence, and you will see plenty of white people being harassed and attacked for being white. I witnessed this before the internet was a thing, to some it is "news" to me it has been happening for a long time. I have witnessed black cops forcibly arrest white people and have even had ex police officers admit that they target and profile white people. I have yet to have a single one admit that they do this with blacks.
Oh no, you were called "******"? (mods only using the same he is using, if the word breaks a rule, remove from both or our post or request both of us to remove). Let's see, Cracker, whitebread, honkey, beach boy, blowfish, cabbage, cancer, cocksauce and so many other slurs and names that I have been called by blacks. But hey, you were called a name, so that is important. Those slurs directed at are nothing and don't even rate on the same level, why? Privilege.
So simply put, you have not stated 1 thing that a white person in this country can also experience. Have you ever had to stand up in front of a college class and have the white, female, teacher make you state your privilege for the amusement of other whites? That happens in our colleges today, with black, female, professors making white kids stand up to go over their privileges while the black kids in class smirk and laugh and joke. The black kids are excluded from these exercises though.
Bottom line: You are right it is good to be black in America, which is why people like Rachel Dolenzel feel that being white is so terrible, she must identify as black.
