
Why I’ll Never Apologize for My White Male Privilege - nvk
http://time.com/85933/why-ill-never-apologize-for-my-white-male-privilege/
======
ssx
What an awful opinion piece! The fact it is on Time.com is part of the "white
privilege". lolz.

The reason why they say "check your privilege" because we should foster the
notion that non-white people have a different American experience than white
people.

If a minority got into Stanford, there is a thought that probably goes into
everyone's mind, that they had an advantage because they were a minority.
White people don't have that same stigma.

It's a mind set. It's understanding that there are our society has a problem,
and that it needs to get checked at the door.

~~~
argumentum
> _If a minority got into Stanford, there is a thought that probably goes into
> everyone 's mind, that they had an advantage because they were a minority.
> White people don't have that same stigma._

Out of curiosity, where do you think that stigma arises from? In my view, this
is one of the best arguments against affirmative action based on purely on
race, ethnicity or gender. In my high school, which was the top ranked public
high school in California, admission was based on test scores and an essay.

Because at that time the school had an race-based affirmative action policy,
the black girl (who would eventually be valedictorian) complained that
everyone _assumed_ she got in because she was black (though she tested high
enough regardless).

They removed this policy eventually after complaints from parents demanding
equal treatment. Ironically in a few years white parents in the district
started complaining that their kids were being pushed out by asian and indian
kids.

------
msie
Link to a good response:
[https://medium.com/p/12a3018d5abc](https://medium.com/p/12a3018d5abc) (nvk
posted the response but I don't know how long the two submissions will be
together on the index page).

~~~
IanDrake
>As I knocked on the door, two officers came up from behind me out of the
bushes, guns drawn, and shouted at me to freeze. It turns out they thought I
was trying to rob them. That wouldn’t have happened if I was white.

Bullshit. What was this guy dress like? Black, white, or whatever, you're
judged primarily by the way you dress.

A white guy dressed like a hoodrat doesn't fair much better with the police.

Hell, I'm white and I've had a pine pig (our special term for National
Seashore park rangers) un-holster his gun because I approached him and asked
how much money a parking ticket was going to cost the pretty girl he was
writing it for. I was 16 and weighed in at 145lbs, wearing board shorts and a
t-shirt.

~~~
Nanzikambe
That may be true where you live, it certainly isn't elsewhere. Or at very
least, it isn't the _only_ factor at play.

As a non-white, who is usually dressed smartly and frequently in a suit, in my
experience, that seldom helps. I'm still stopped at almost every airport,
border, or other "random" check. Whilst I won't assert that there's
necessarily bigotry at work, there's certainly a selection bias. To use your
example, a non-white guy dressed as a "hoodrat", amongst a majority white
"hoodrat" population, will experience this.

It's inevitable, the poster above who called it a majority privilege is right
on the mark.

------
Jun8
Lumping people together as "white" is as ridiculous as doing the same for
other races. Think about the within-cluster variation inherent in such a group
for a second, it's mind-boggling.

When I first heard from a Chinese friend that they label all Westerners into a
single group, I first laughed at the naivete, then sobered up at the
cluelessness of the assertion. Of course, there's _some_ truth to it: From a
super high level perspective all non-Chinese to the West _are_ a single group
(defined by their non-Chinese-ness), question is: in what context is such a
crude abstraction useful?

But, worse, aside from being non-useful, such stereotyping by (some) thinkers
is the very thing they criticize in despise in others, so it's an error in
thinking, too!

~~~
ssx
"But, worse, aside from being non-useful, such stereotyping by (some) thinkers
is the very thing they criticize in despise in others, so it's an error in
thinking, too!"

Wrong, it has to start somewhere. The idea that stereotyping will just fix
itself probably won't happen. Now, yes, the idea of "white privilege" is
targeting one group, but it is the majority in this country (for now, 30 years
it may change) and it is the group that has been the root of racism/bigotry in
this country. But if it makes you feel better, you can say "majority
privilege" instead.

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monochr
As the dailyshow asked a while ago. Are Jews really white?

The answer in America is that they are white+, the answer in Europe is one of
guilt and resentment. The idea that you should check the same privileges the
world over is incredibly Americo-centric and racist.

Should a Basque check their privillage for being white while having been under
constant genocidal pressure for close to 300 years? Should a Turk in Crimea do
that because their ancestors were murdered time and time again by the
Orthodox, while one in Anatolia shouldn't even though their grandparents
contributed in one of the first modern genocides against the Armenians?

Privilege has nothing to do with skin color and everything to do with economic
and social status. The Blacks of the US aren't disadvantaged because they are
black, it's because they are poor and serve as the default criminal class. A
place that the Irish had a hundred years previously. To pretend that it does
is a way for spoiled college kids to feel they are making a difference in the
world without doing anything.

------
leff_f
"With great power, comes great responsibility" When you ignore your
responsibility it becomes a privilege.

