“White Privilege”

by minimus 131 Replies latest jw friends

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  millie210

  At a time when everyone is feeling pretty frazzled for a lot of reasons, I appreciate your meditative post KiddingMe.

  I always respect it when people strive to post their thoughts with some balance. I know that has been harder for me lately because certain aspects of all of this (the pandemic and the riots etc) make me highly irritated and when I am highly irritated I get more black and white in my thinking (no pun here) and I fail to consider the shades of gray that are a part of every reality. It's as though in my mind I think if I get blunter in my approach, my views will be clearer.

  Even as I type that I am laughing at myself for falling for my own nonsense because as we all know, it is human nature to agree with those who agree with us. Really changing a persons mind, however, requires facts (or it should) that are shared in a way where the facts all build on one another to present a clear picture.

  I am gathering from your post that you are trying to do that. So that is specifically what I appreciated about your post.

  On another note, one thing I am thinking in terms of keeping with the theme of this thread on "White Privilege" is the use of the word 'white" in combination with the word "privilege".

  Privilege is very similar to power, No matter who has the power at any point - corruption follows eventually. That is why we have all heard the familiar saying "power corrupts".

  I wonder if putting the word "white" in front of it is a bad idea if real dialogue and change are the goals.

  If just the word "privilege" was under scrutiny then a lot of people who do not have privilege would be all ears. A great many of these people would be white.

  But by prefacing privilege with "white" ears slam shut. People feel attacked.

  Sometimes I wonder if black people think that achieving the majority of power in the hands of black people would better the lives of all black people.

  Because it won't. Just like "white privilege" hasn't helped the majority of white people.

  I'm not sure where I am going with this idea except that these are my thoughts this morning as I drink coffee and ready myself to head out the door where I hope I can stay tactful and not be offensive to anyone.
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  MeanMrMustard

  @TD:

  Yeah, that's what I mean. I would love for Harris to literally make a list of things that put Trump in that "existential threat" category, and then review them on stream with someone else as reasonable from the other side. It might be one of those Larry Elder/Dave Rubin moments.
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  MeanMrMustard

  @millie:

  I hear what you are saying, but I think you will still run into the same difficulty - mainly, you have to eventually define what you mean by 'privilege'. You begin by saying that 'privilege' is like 'power'. But that is still unclear.
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  Simon

  I love all the white people on here speaking on how black people raise their kids. The height of ignorance and arrogance.

  Yet black people can tell white people what we think and feel and how privileged everyone is? So likewise, the height of ignorance and arrogance.
  
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  Simon

  I wonder if putting the word "white" in front of it is a bad idea if real dialogue and change are the goals.

  Exactly. Progress isn't the goal, and making it about race isn't a good solution. How can you solve a thing if people won't allow any discussion?

  Coffee with ScottAdams this morning went over this. Imagine someone wants to buy a house, and they need $50k deposit so someone says "well, can't you borrow it off your parents or something?" That sort of thing is held up as "white privilege". But the reality is the vast majority of white kids can't borrow $50k off their parents either. The "white" part is nothing at all to do with it, it's wealth that is the differentiator as to whether someone is "privileged" or not. How does it help the poor white kid just because there are other people who are rich and also white? I know I never got my cheque.

  Wealthy people are more privileged and black people are less likely to be wealthy. Now that's something we can discuss and maybe all agree on. Now we have a real goal and can formulate tactics to address it or explain the reason that may be the case without inciting bad feeling and resentment. It fits the facts - is Oprah not privileged? Why not? Isn't she still black? What about Obama? Same right? Is some poor hick from the everglades living in a rotting caravan privileged? Why not, isn't he white?

  But as I said, the goal isn't to make progress. The goal is racial divide and unrest which is why the wrong message is promoted.

  Always look at what people are saying, whether it's really aimed to solve or identify an issue or whether it's just emotive rhetoric to rile up people's emotions.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS4bdyJh_Js
  
  
  
  
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  Sad-u-see

  Simon- Yet black people can tell white people what we think and feel and how privileged everyone is? So likewise, the height of ignorance and arrogance.

  Who created the white privilege narrative and constantly blasts it in the media and indoctrinates kids in universities? That would be white people. Who made the affirmative action laws? White people. Who ended slavery? White people. Who integrated schools? White people. Who decided to let black people play baseball? White people. Who passed the Civil Rights Act to end Jim Crow? White people. Black people have never been able to force white people to do anything. The White media goes and finds a couple of black people who support the narrative they're pushing and like magic you think they speak for all black people. I can tell that the people on here making the most ridiculous statements are not close friends with any Black Americans and get all their "knowledge" of black people from the media. Black people have as many diverse opinions on America and politics as anyone else.
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  Simon

  You seem to think it's OK to group all white people together.

  In case you haven't noticed, white people don't agree on everything.
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  Sad-u-see

  Where did I say it was OK to group white people together? Now you're just making stuff up.
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  Simon

  You were grouping white people together, so it seemed like you think that's OK. Strange for you to argue against your own posts but, well, you do you.
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  Anna Marina

  How about getting those who constructed Machu Pichu to make reparations? Wasn't that built using slavery? But if you look on Quora it wasn't slavery. According to academics slavery is a relatively new concept. Machu Pichu was built using forced labour with a blood bond. Does that mean human sacrifice? Does that mean they condoned murder? Wonder how the slavery of the Israelites in Egypt would get redefined? If the pyramids were built using slave labour, what would the ramifications of that be?
  

  That’s a tricky question since slavery is a concept introduced into the Americas with the arrival of the Europeans. Inca’s empire had a social structure a lot different than European empires.

  For this instance, Mita was the Quechuan name for reffering to forced labor, it required a blood bond between the Inca elite and the Ayllu, a community who paid for militar protection, redistribution of food, new technology, among others with Mita and some of their goods.

  So, it makes sense that Machu Picchu was build through forced labor, but it wasn’t slavery as we conceive it right now.

  Source: Peruvian History class I coursed years ago. Also, I’m Peruvian.

  https://www.quora.com/Did-slaves-build-machu-pichu