Is white privilege real? To what extent?

[FatAndFaithless]

When I first heard of white privilege, I was resistant to the idea. I didn't feel I was privileged in any way, I certainly had black friends who had more advantages than I did starting out. At one point in my childhood, my mother, step-father, and four brothers and sisters were all crammed into a 30-foot trailer with no electricity or running water. I missed opportunities because my family moved so often or needed me to work. I wasn't privileged.

But I realize now that being privileged and having privilege are not the same thing. I went from a dirt-poor background to a middle class job in management. I can see how that could have been more difficult if I were black or Hispanic. I've gotten out of traffic tickets that I suspect I would not have if I were black. I don't need a special channel on the TV so I can see people with my shade of skin actually being actors. I don't get followed by security in a store unless I'm looking particularly scruffy. I'm not afraid of being killed by panicky cops. People aren't surprised by my vocabulary. And so on.

Everyone has privileges, even if they aren't privileged. Even racial minorities have some subtle privileges, but in America, being white is a real leg up compared to being black, Hispanic, or Native American.

It's even harder to identify when you consider all the issues and events that have gone completely unnoticed by you, because they just don't happen to you (I'm including myself in that statement).