RE: My privilege as a straight, white, cisgender, middle class thin male
December 27, 2014 at 8:41 pm
(This post was last modified: December 27, 2014 at 8:45 pm by Dystopia.)
Quote:Since privelge is how society treats you, no. You cannot change the fact that you are white, straight, cis male, and you cannot stop people treating you accordingly. The only thing you can do is apologise for factors outside of your control. Not only is that useless and pointless, it's not fair.Apologise for what? So are you advocating that it's not fair for people to be treated equally regardless of skin colour? Are you saying we shouldn't fight against racism, homophobia or sexism/misogyny? Privilege is not how society treats you, it's when you are treated positively because of factors that you didn't contribute to and that have little to no relevance to the treatment you receive
Quote:No. Where did you get that from?You're saying blacks should be more careful just because they were born black. You're saying they should be afraid instead of fighting against stereotypes.
Quote:I said that black people are fully aware that they are discriminated against, particularly by the police. And that they shouldn't give the police any reason to come after them. They should be extra careful because they know that they will be targeted. And yet the black community of Ferguson, rioted and looted over the 'unjust' shooting of Brown because they believed it was caused by racism and discrimination. And yet they perpetuate the very stereotype that causes racist police officers to target black people by looting. They are hurting themseleves because of their delusions of constant victim hood, everything is the fault of the white man, no responsibilty is taken for their own actions. All this because they believe so entirely that white people are priveliged.Not victimhood, it's frustration - How would you react if a member of your community was killed without reason? And why does that single situation prove anything at all? It's not about being the victim, it's because you are saying blacks need to be extra careful just because they are black - They don't, they need to be as careful as whites, latinos or asians, they should be treated equally, you are saying that because you're white (probably) and you've never experienced being constantly discriminated directly or indirectly because of your skin colour. Accepting discrimination is not the issue - Protests and demonstrations/riots like those are perpetuated by people everywhere around the world, why is a riot by blacks suddenly so important after, let's say, so many Greeks got into riots to protest against the government (they're mostly white)?
This is not, I repeat, about being a victim, this is about fighting against stereotypes and proving they are not an adequate mean of judging an entire group. Conforming to the problem is the best solution to not solve it.
(December 27, 2014 at 8:37 pm)Cthulhu Dreaming Wrote:(December 27, 2014 at 8:32 pm)Blackout Wrote: however situations like that do not change the fact that white people objectively possess higher social and political power, as well as economical, as it can be demonstrated by how many occupy politic, CEO's, media companies and other great enterprises offices
Is that really objective fact? What "higher social and political power" do I possess? I don't even have *representation* for my social and political views from the elected officials that represent me.
Read some of the privileges I mentioned in being white to understand advantages you, I and many others will get. I'll start by saying I'm happy cops aren't always staring at me when I'm just walking randomly trough the street

How many politicians in your state are white? How frequently are people of colour arrested compared to white people and get harsher sentences for the same crime?
This is not a rant against whites, I'm white myself and I'm fine with being white as I've already said, I don't want whites to be discriminated against, I just want them to understand that life can be much easier.
The white privileges I wrote apply to me directly or indirectly, and I've benefited from them all
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you