Is white privilege real? To what extent?

[paulpablo]

Kind of amused this thread is even a thing.

Look, when my friends and I go on photography walks, you know what happens? I get spoken to politely by the cops who are watching the big buildings in Charlotte. They yes ma'am and no ma'am me and flirt with me on occasion (ew to the security guards).

You know what they do to my black friend? Chase him off - usually trying to haul him off...for questioning. And he has a more professional looking kit than I do - like you can tell (if you're a photog) that this dude is ready to do some serious artsy architecture photography. But his skin is darker than khaki so of course he's profiled. I never have to worry that someone will label me a thug, terrorist or anything else. Because I"m white and I'm female.

That's just a small "snapshot" in our daily differences.

Yes, white privilege is real.

In this instance I'd say that it could be a case of female privilege.

Just because of the fact that as a white man I've been threatened by a security guard, that he would steal my phone off me for taking pictures of a building he worked in. I was actually just taking pictures of a street sign nearby.  It would have been completely illegal for him to do that but he still made the threat.

That was while cycling through the city center, as an attractive female I'm pretty sure no one would stop you asking why you're in the area and that they suspect you of stealing cars.  Which happened to me.  Or you won't get passers by shouting "How many drugs have you sold today?"  Maybe I just manage to look like a criminal even while being innocent and white somehow.  I just can't imagine these things ever happening to an attractive female, and flirting with security guards and the police never works for me either.