White Privlige and Ignoring the Problem

[Ben Davis]

...unless they are actually victims of direct racism or are put at a disadvantage as a result of institutionalised racism (e.g. white privilege).

Institutionalized racism is something of the past.

Have to disagree with you there, institutionalised racism is alive & well, simply not enshrined in law any more. The facts back it up. If you're non-caucasian in the UK, when compared to caucasians, you're:

- less likely to achieve as many qualifications
- more likely to have lower exam scores
- more likely to be bullied
- more likely to be unemployed
- more likely to earn less for the same job
- more likely to be refused a mortgage
- more likely to pay a higher interest rate for the same mortgage
- less likely to have savings
- more likely to have a lower interest rate on your savings
- more likely to be stopped and searched
- more likely to be arrested
- more likely to be imprisoned for an offense
- more likely to receive a harsher penalty for an offense
- more likely to die in custody
- less likely to receive good medical advice
- more likely to die in hospital
- less likely to run for public office
- less likely to be successful when running for public office

...the list goes on. The %'s are different for different ethnicities but the trends are clear as are the implications: there are institutional barriers to equality, not based on legal statutes.

What about black privilege & affirmative action?

All discrimination is bad including positive discrimination however given the massive list of inequalities, I'm not too worried about that at the moment. I think that's something which will clear itself up as the trust is earned by those of us who try to tackle the institutional causes of discrimination. Besides, it helps me check my privilege.