Although I’m only half white (like President Obama), I’m still uncomfortable with the blanket concept “white privilege.” To me, it feels like making folks responsible, accountable, and culpable for stuff that happened generations before they were born. That’s a lot of unearned historical guilt to place upon folks just going about living their lives.
June 28, 2021 at 1:04 pm
White privilege is a racist stereotype, it’s not a real thing. Being white has never gotten me out of a ticket after being pulled over by the police, I have never gotten a better interest rate on a credit card because I’m white and nobody in the grocery store has EVER said to me, “Hey you’re a white person, how about you cut in line in front of me.” As a child I was bullied by white people just like everyone else.
I understand that racism is real but I think a lot of people need to calm down and get some help for their anxiety.
June 28, 2021 at 1:27 pm
The blanket concept “white privilege” is similar to the blanket concept “climate change.” With “climate change” any weather that happens that’s unsavory is due to “climate change” and “climate change” is nefariously due to human industrialization.
“White privilege” seeks to accomplish the same. If ever a perceived social inequity occurs it’s attributed to systemic racism, regardless if the claim makes logical sense or not. And, as you ironically observe, “white privilege” uses a stereotype to explain and justify division. How is this useful when approaching solutions for social reform?