Is white privilege real? To what extent?

[Neo-Scholastic]

Yeah it's a privilege not to be shot in the back because I have a pistol in my pocket while a white guy can stand out in public with an AK 47 giving shit to the cop who comes to investigate.  It's also a privilege not to fit the description and therefore be pulled over at a much higher rate than black drivers.  I also feel privileged not to be incarcerated at a much higher rate.  Receiving more lenient sentences from judges who feel more empathy for a young guy that reminds them of themselves or someone they knew, some might say that was a privilege.  In the U.S., it is a much easier row to hoe being white and much easier to think that conditions are the same for everyone else.  I don't assume the situation is the same everywhere else in the world.

I have intentionally opted not to make such blanket statements. I have seen the data parsed many different ways and perceptions may or may not reflect reality. Plus not all disparate effects can be attributed to racism. Correlation is not causation. Professional hockey players are disproportionately white. Basketball players are disproportionately black. Jews are over represented among doctors and lawyers. Lots more Poles are masons and carpenters. Mexicans make up most dry-wallers and tapers. It seems like gays are over-represented in design fields like architecture (but that's just personal experience).