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Is being born white a privilege? [W:357]

Is being born white a privilege?

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X Factor

X Factor

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A conversation about white prvilege got me thinking about what it means. If it is, indeed, a privilege to be born white in the US, what does that say or mean for people who aren't white? What would be the appropriate characterization of their births? Attaching poll.
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

X Factor said:
A conversation about white prvilege got me thinking about what it means. If it is, indeed, a privilege to be born white in the US, what does that say or mean for people who aren't white? What would be the appropriate characterization of their births? Attaching poll.
Click to expand...

Yes being born white carries certain privileges.

So does being born straight, or being born without a disability, or even just being born American.

I mean, just as a westerner, how can you look at kids born in places like Haiti or Burkina Faso and not think you're privileged?
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

I voted no because I neither see it as being privileged or cursed, it just is. Pretty much feel the same regardless of race, actually.
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

It depends if the family you are born into is part of a successful culture the respects child rearing, education, marriage, following laws, etc.

Very dark East Indians fit in to society well and are successful because they come from a successful culture. Many equally dark blacks seem to struggle.

Fun fact: ~ 47% of black society is middle class and doing just fine. The rest are above and below that.
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

NO ONE ... ANYONE, gets to choose who they are born to ...

The act of Privilege is given to one, through the action/inaction of others.

But nice try ... I'll give you a V :violin
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

chuckiechan said:
It depends if the family you are born into is part of a successful culture the respects child rearing, education, marriage, following laws, etc.

Very dark East Indians fit in to society well and are successful because they come from a successful culture. Many equally dark blacks seem to struggle.

Fun fact: ~ 47% of black society is middle class and doing just fine. The rest are above and below that.
Click to expand...

Every-time I go to my Brother In-Laws house and watch 1 through 4 years old play, of all colors, you can clearly see Race hasn't infecting them ... yet.
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

X Factor said:
A conversation about white prvilege got me thinking about what it means. If it is, indeed, a privilege to be born white in the US, what does that say or mean for people who aren't white? What would be the appropriate characterization of their births? Attaching poll.
Click to expand...

Being born a majority in virtually any country is an advantage. It doesn't mean you have to start cutting reparations checks, just that it is a statistical advantage and no amount of pretending it isn't will change that.
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

Cigar said:
Every-time I go to my Brother In-Laws house and watch 1 through 4 years old play, of all colors, you can clearly see Race hasn't infecting them ... yet.
Click to expand...

Maybe your brother in law has normal, decent parenting skills.
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

As I said elsewhere:

Harshaw said:
There is an advantage to being born in certain circumstances. No one is going to claim otherwise.

But the word "privilege" has entirely different connotations, connotations which do impart a certain sense of negativity and obligation. Which, of course, is why the word is used rather than "advantage."
Click to expand...
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

X Factor said:
A conversation about white prvilege got me thinking about what it means. If it is, indeed, a privilege to be born white in the US, what does that say or mean for people who aren't white? What would be the appropriate characterization of their births? Attaching poll.
Click to expand...

If we're talking about privilege in terms of advantage, then that is probably true in some cases. It was especially true back in the 50's and 60's, and even more so back in the 1800's. I'd say being white has way less advantages than it did 100-200 years ago. But not every white person is "privileged". Lots of white people are dirt poor and have nothing going for them. So I guess it really depends on the situation.

This could also apply to other things. Straight people have an advantage over gay people in certain ways. So do Americans compared to people living in undeveloped countries. Etc, etc, etc; the list could go on and on. But I don't like using the term "privilege" for the most part. I like using the word 'advantage" more often.
 
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Re: Is being born white a privilege?

chuckiechan said:
Maybe your brother in law has normal, decent parenting skills.
Click to expand...

He certainly don't think he or his kids are privileged.

He ... like I do, believe respect is earned ... not anointed.
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

TheGoverness said:
If we're talking about privilege in terms of advantage, then that is probably true in some cases. It was especially true back in the 50's and 60's, and even more so back in the 1800's. I'd say being white has way less advantages than it did 100-200 years ago. But not every white person is "privileged". Lots of white people are dirt poor and have nothing going for them. So I guess it really depends on the situation.
Click to expand...

I have never walked a day in a White Person's shoes ... so I wouldn't know.

What I know is what I see, hear and experience.
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

Cigar said:
He certainly don't think he or his kids are privileged.

He ... like I do, believe respect is earned ... not anointed.
Click to expand...

Dude, you're screwed, then. :D
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

Nilly said:
Yes being born white carries certain privileges.

So does being born straight, or being born without a disability, or even just being born American.

I mean, just as a westerner, how can you look at kids born in places like Haiti or Burkina Faso and not think you're privileged?
Click to expand...

Here's the thing, though, so called "white privilege" is only ever brought up as if it's this innocuous thing when you're trying to convince people to accept it, otherwise it's usually in the context of something you should feel bad about.
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

There are too many shades of grey among whites to give a yes or no generalization...there are those who are privileged Americans and much more colorful...I vote other
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

X Factor said:
A conversation about white prvilege got me thinking about what it means. If it is, indeed, a privilege to be born white in the US, what does that say or mean for people who aren't white? What would be the appropriate characterization of their births? Attaching poll.
Click to expand...

I voted No, being born white doesn't confer privilege. Now being born wealthy, that's a different discussion.
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

X Factor said:
A conversation about white prvilege got me thinking about what it means. If it is, indeed, a privilege to be born white in the US, what does that say or mean for people who aren't white? What would be the appropriate characterization of their births? Attaching poll.
Click to expand...

It's not so much about white privilege any more, as it is about economic privilege. The whole white thing is because more white people are economically well off. But plenty are marginalized for being poor at birth. There is just less opportunity to go around for everyone to "pull yourself up by your bootstraps"
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

If you think being born white is a privilege, there's a trailer park I want you to visit....
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

X Factor said:
A conversation about white prvilege got me thinking about what it means. If it is, indeed, a privilege to be born white in the US, what does that say or mean for people who aren't white? What would be the appropriate characterization of their births? Attaching poll.
Click to expand...

The best anology I've ever heard is playing an RPG game where your stats are randomly generated.

Some people get Easy Mode: a combination of life factors that are going to tilt the odds of fortune in your favor. White, male, able-bodied, straight, born into a well-off family.

Some people get Hard Mode: a combination of life factors that are going to tilt the odds of fortune against you. POC, female, disabled, queer, poor.

There's more, of course.

The point is, the game is still theoretically winnable or losable either way. There's still dragons in both versions and they can still kill you. There's still gold and you can still get it. But people playing Hard Mode have to work more, roll the dice more frequently to get a good number, etc, in order to win. There's a lot more ways to die, and a lot more ways to fall short of the stats you need for success.

Most people are some sort of combination of these factors, with both Easy and Hard variables. Few people get pure Easy Mode, or pure Hard Mode. But being born white is definitely a big tick in the Easy Mode category.

Essentially, being born white means you're probably in a better school district, you're less likely to be stopped by the police, and less likely to go to jail if you're stopped and they find something. You're less likely to experience hate crime, more likely to have better access to state resources, more likely to be successful in college (due to the better K-12 school district you went to). All of those things are big advantages in life.

It means you got lucky, in that respect. It also means that the people playing racial Hard Mode are experiencing stuff you don't, and therefore stuff you can't see. And that's why it's important to be a good listener and to be open to doing the research on the evidence when talking about racial issues. As a white person, they are invisible to you.
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

X Factor said:
1.)A conversation about white prvilege got me thinking about what it means.
2.) If it is, indeed, a privilege to be born white in the US
3.) what does that say or mean for people who aren't white?
4.) What would be the appropriate characterization of their births? Attaching poll.
Click to expand...

1.) thats good because alot of people have no clue what it means and every single argument i have seen against it ha nothing to do with it. SO people thinking are good.
2.) it is
3.) nothing really. they MAY have harder time, they also may not. Law of averages vs white thought they will come up short.
4.) no characterization is needed. I also dont think a characterization is needed for white birth the privileged associated with it just is what it is. Characterization of it is too broad and gets away from what white privilege is. Theres plenty of white people born into terrible circumstance and plenty born into great circumstances. Some make their own greatness so ruin it.

If you are born white on avg it COULD be an easier life but its not guaranteed of course. Thats where so many people get confused and why they simply dont understand what it is. They argue against everything and everything that has nothing to do with white privileged. Stupid stuff from, look there are poor white people or look there are rich black people. None of that means anything to white privileged.
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

Harshaw said:
As I said elsewhere:
But the word "privilege" has entirely different connotations, connotations which do impart a certain sense of negativity and obligation. Which, of course, is why the word is used rather than "advantage."
Click to expand...
But that is the point, there is (or ideally should be) an obligation by the majority to not discriminate against minorities.

YMMV.
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

X Factor said:
Here's the thing, though, so called "white privilege" is only ever brought up as if it's this innocuous thing when you're trying to convince people to accept it, otherwise it's usually in the context of something you should feel bad about.
Click to expand...

Somewhat disagree, in that that's an incomplete list. I think another reason white privilege gets brought up is to try to give credibility to the complaints of the marginalized. It's easy to pooh pooh the pain of a stubbed toe, if you've never experienced one yourself...that kind of thing. And, from the research I've done on it, the majority of non-fringe views is that privilege itself isn't something to feel bad about, but rather one should probably not feel great about encouraging and attempting to maintain that disparity - which is most often done by claiming it doesn't exist. I think a lot of people who are pissed off about the concept of "privilege", or the complaints about it, don't really understand the issue, and have taken the less useful, more hateful fringe opinions, and used those as an excuse to summarily dismiss it.
 
Re: Is being born white a privilege?

X Factor said:
Here's the thing, though, so called "white privilege" is only ever brought up as if it's this innocuous thing when you're trying to convince people to accept it, otherwise it's usually in the context of something you should feel bad about.
Click to expand...

Lol. The only people who feel bad about white privilege are the ones with incredibly fragile egos.

I have a college degree and a great job. These were very proud moments in my life that took a lot of hard work on my part. The fact that there are people less lucky than me in Bangladesh doesn't detract from those achievements. But at the same time it's incredibly naive of me to not recognize that if someone in Bangladesh doesn't have my house and degree, a large part of that is probably due to the opportunity and privilege I had over them.

If you're personally insulted or hurt or feel guilted by the suggestion that white privilege exists, I'd suggest growing a thicker skin.
 
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Re: Is being born white a privilege?

Nilly said:
Yes being born white carries certain privileges.

So does being born straight, or being born without a disability, or even just being born American.

I mean, just as a westerner, how can you look at kids born in places like Haiti or Burkina Faso and not think you're privileged?
Click to expand...

By the same token, how can you look at a baby born into extreme poverty in, say, St Louis, already addicted to narcotics, and claim they are privledged​ simply for being born in the US?
 
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