White Privilege

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I split this topic from the immigration topic.  It's otherwise intact. : ) -Nphyx

The concept of "white privilege" is bullshit.  It's wealthy privilege and wealthy children of all races benefit from it, whereas poor people of all races do not.  The fact that most of the wealthy people in this country are white has more to do with issues of the past than the present.  I was born white and male, nobody gave me a fricking silver spoon, nobody handed me a college education, nobody gave me special privileges or opportunities, nobody ever hooked me up with an easy job.  That's because I was born into a family that could barely make ends meet, moved around a lot and had no connections with people of the kind of status that gets you those kinds privileges. 

On top of that I don't get access to any of the special groups dedicated to narrowing the gap for minorities; there's no Fund For the Development of Poor White Boys that gives out college grants to people like me just because of my race, there's no Whitey Reservation Casinos that pay out 500 bucks a month (my friend has some Cherokee blood, lucky bastard, he gets more than that and free college tuition too), there's no Men's Rights Movement out there to make sure I'm getting payed competitive wages by my employers, there's no Nataional Association Against Anti-Whiteyism that makes sure someone else who got my job didn't get it just because he wasn't white.

I don't have anything against those groups necessarily, I just seriously think the perception of racism is skewed.  What we have in this country is a class situation, a situation of financial and social privileges.  The upper class is just as difficult for a white person who wasn't born into it to break into as any other person.

Update: Topic Clarification
I split this from another topic to discuss a very narrow and specific topic that became a tangent.  Here's some clarification about what this thread is about:

The topic of the debate is whether or not white people receive significant privileges based primarily on their race.

The topic is not whether immigration is bad; there's a topic for that.  The topic is not whether racism is bad; agreeing on that is pretty much a requisite for discussion in this forum.  The topic is not whether racism exists against minorities; there is a basic agreement in this debate that it does exist.  The topic is not whether minorities should receive special benefits, whether the purpose is to to help make up for historical racial abuse or otherwise; I agree that these benefits are good for society, and there is another topic to debate Affirmative Action and similar subjects here in the Symposium.  This topic is not about whether white people should receive special privileges since other people get them based on their race or heritage.

 

[rmxp_dev]

Your statement that "White privilege" is non-existent indicates that you are in yourself, blinded to the reality Minorities face in this country and YOU are the one who has a "skewed" perception of Racism and its' role in America.

You think America is divided only according to Economic classes? You think that just being white itself has no inherent advantage? You can be a poor White, but still enjoy things a successful Black can't enjoy.

Anyway, I'm not going to waste time arguing the existence of "White Privilege". If you want to believe that America is only divided between the haves and haves not, that's your "privilege". But that is the reason why this country ( made up of mostly Whites ) has all these problems. They truly do not see that WHITES have the greatest competitive advantage. Being born white in this country, is hell of a lot more advantageous than being born Black. If you can't understand that, then you are blinded.

White guys like Nphyx believe that WHITES now are unfairly targeted. That being a White male now, is the "New Black". Can I trade your "White status"? I'll find a million dollars and switch races with you. Deal? No, not because I'm ashamed of being Asian. But because I see how competitively advantageous it is to be a White male. I'm being facetious right now. You can then complain about how hard it is to be an Asian male. But you'll have a million bucks. Deal? LOL

My advice to such White guys is: grow up, and stop being a baby. Even if America was 100% white, guys like you would STILL complain about something. Did you even read what I wrote above?  I will never understand that kind of a mentality. White males groaning and complaining about facing "bias". Give me a break...

 

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@rmxp_dev:  honestly, we should do another thread on this if we really want to debate.  (Edit: done!  Good to be a mod)  But I'd love to see one example anywhere in my entire fucking life where I got something because I was white.  Or got anything I wouldn't have got if I hadn't been white.  There is NOTHING.  NOTHING.

I got teased, fucked with, shat on, spat on, abused by my peers and my teachers because I was poor, wore raggy clothes, was too smart, was too weird.  I got pulled over by the cops 3 times a month, and any time it was dark, for having long hair and driving a shitty car.  I got passed over for job after job after job for the same reason.

Does it hurt as much to have someone hate you because you're wearing clothes that were handed down from your uncle who wore them a decade ago, or because you like to read books instead of throwing around a football, or because there are more important things in life to you than getting your dick wet, or any other stupid ass reason instead of the stupid ass reason that your skin is different, or because you like boys instead of girls?  I don't know, I never will.  But I can imagine it's not much different.  I can imagine the anger, bitterness and resentment that it took me years to begin to overcome is similar.  Was it my fault my tastes were different, or I couldn't afford things that would make me not look like a "dirtbag"?  Maybe to a greater extent than it's someone's fault for being asian or gay or something, but my personality, family, and heritage is something I'm proud of and I wouldn't change it any more than you'd change your race.

I am willing to admit that among privileged people, white people enjoy more privileges simply because privileged people can be racist and they can withhold sharing privileges with others for the same reason.  But for the rest of us that don't have any privilege to obtain or withhold in the first place, it's total, 100% bullshit.  I don't mind organizations that try to help out minorities, they're great and I support them (in times where I'm doing well, with money, not just with my mouth).  They give people opportunities that they would not otherwise have, and help that they otherwise would not get.  The same opportunities and help that were not available to me, even if for different reasons.  They're not there.  There is no conspiracy where white people pretend to be poor to make other people feel better.


Oh yeah, also, I don't think we face bias, exactly.  The presumption of the white person as the default that everyone else should be brought up to match is not so much a bias as a standard of comparison from which other biases are formed; we do not suffer for this "default-bias" when we don't fit nice little "privileged white guy" box we're supposed to, we just fail to get any of the benefits of positive bias in the same way we are lucky to not get any of the bullshit from negative bias. 

I am not complaining about groups who give minorities privileges at all; I'll repeat myself and say again: that's great.  I just think it'd be nice for someone to recognize that they are privileges, and some of us aren't so lucky as to be a rich white guy or a poor non-white guy who gets special shit just for it.  Some of us are just poor and have to live with it, or have to struggle to overcome it without anyone's help.

 

[rmxp_dev]

(copied over from the Immigration thread)

I didn't say being White was the sole criteria in one's success in life. Race is only one part of the equation. But White privilege exists.

What you've just written has NOTHING to do with White privilege.

Why have you had such a tough time? I have no idea. Maybe it's your circumstances in which you had no control over such as family. But maybe it's also you. Maybe you are just a mediocre person. I don't know. But you STILL have white privilege, even though you fail to see that.

If I were to review your life in detail, I'm sure I could point out instances where White privilege helped you.

Maybe, as a White kid, you were teased for being a dork. Other white kids teased you mercilessly. Girls laughed in your face. But maybe, if you were a Black kid, instead of being teased, you'd be dead today. Maybe the White kids in the neighborhood didn't like to see a Black family move in. And intimidated you, and your family. And one day, on your way home from school, a group of white kids pummeled you to the ground, smashing your skull in until you died.

Compare being Teased with being dead.

Can you see how although your experiences were shitty, maybe, being white was infinitely better than if you were black?

You complain about being teased. Have you ever been called a "gook" before? How about "chink"? How about kids coming up to you, and punching you just for having an epicanthic fold?

Everything you've stated has nothing to do with White privilege. You've made ZERO arguments that support your belief that White privilege doesn't exist.

Just because you were teased, does not mean White privilege does not exist.

 

[___]

I didn't say being White was the sole criteria in one's success in life. Race is only one part of the equation. But White privilege exists.

What you've just written has NOTHING to do with White privilege.

Why have you had such a tough time? I have no idea. Maybe it's your circumstances in which you had no control over such as family. But maybe it's also you. Maybe you are just a mediocre person. I don't know. But you STILL have white privilege, even though you fail to see that.

Maybe I am a mediocre person, I can't really prove that one way or other on an internet forum, but what I can tell you is this:  when I wanted to go to college, I could not get scholarships that I did not earn with my grades (my fault).  I did not get money from any family member (not my fault).  I got some government Pell grants that could have covered a small part of my expenses (awesome).  I did not get other government grants because I did not check any of the little race boxes (not my fault).  I did not get any special interest group grants given to many minority children with great talents (and I had and have some great talents), because I was white (not my fault).  I did not get accepted to any colleges for having less-than-perfect grades over people that had those grades in order to fulfill requirements for special government aid (not my fault, but I wouldn't necessarily change that, I just didn't get it).

If I were to review your life in detail, I'm sure I could point out instances where White privilege helped you.

I'm sure you believe that, and I wholly disagree, and neither of us can prove it one way or other.  I can tell you that I didn't get so much as a free ice cream cone that the black kid next to me didn't get. *shrug*

Maybe, as a White kid, you were teased for being a dork. Other white kids teased you mercilessly. Girls laughed in your face. But maybe, if you were a Black kid, instead of being teased, you'd be dead today. Maybe the White kids in the neighborhood didn't like to see a Black family move in. And intimidated you, and your family. And one day, on your way home from school, a group of white kids pummeled you to the ground, smashing your skull in until you died.

Getting fucked with by other kids is a fact of life.  All kids will find a reason to hate and abuse other kids who don't fit into their group.  People I know got beat up for being white in a latino neighborhood because it's the only one they could afford to live in.  Maybe that's backlash, it's still racist and it's still wrong.  I was fortunate enough to not have that happen to me, and fortunate enough to not get in too many fights for any reason, but there were no minority kids around me getting beat up either (I just came from a tame area where the poor people got along with eachother).

Compare being Teased with being dead.

I'm sorry but you can't really say a poor white boy, changed skin color to black, would be more likely to be killed in an otherwise identical lifestyle.

Can you see how although your experiences were shitty, maybe, being white was infinitely better than if you were black?
You complain about being teased. Have you ever been called a "gook" before? How about "chink"? How about kids coming up to you, and punching you just for having an epicanthic fold?

I've had people come up to me and punch me for reasons even more stupid (wearing the wrong sports team's jacket, like i had a choice, it was a hand-me down and it kept me warm).  No I've never been called a racist name, but I've been called lots of other names for things about me I can't change.  The difference exists in your mind, maybe, not in mine, sorry.
-Specific edit: not more stupid, that was wrong, but definitely as stupid.

Everything you've stated has nothing to do with White privilege. You've made ZERO arguments that support your belief that White privilege doesn't exist. Just because you were teased, does not mean White privilege does not exist.

Well I revise my statement, it does exist, but it doesn't exist in all strata of society or in all places.  And I still assert that I, and a whole hell of a lot of other white people, don't benefit from it, so it's not really "white privilege" at all.  Maybe "rich white privilege" vs. "rich-anyone-else privilege".

-whew it's tough keeping up forum tag with you, man

 

[Despain]

Um... yes there is White Privilege. And guess what? It doesn't mean SHIT in today's world. In modern America, Black Privilege is everything. White people don't get into college or get jobs on the sole basis that they're white, whereas countless black people get everything handed to them simply because they're black- companies and universities all over the nation have to fill all sort of MINORITY QUOTAS which frankly is total bullshit. If there was a black person and a white person with the same exact qualifications, most companies TODAY would actually choose the black person, simply because they have to fill these minority quotas and be politically correct, etc. Maybe fifty years ago it was the other way around, but today black people have so many advantages over whites.

Not to mention that they're allowed to have a whole televsion channel devoted to black people, black student unions, sports leagues devoted entirely to black people, etc, and if a similar group for whites were to show up, it would be shut down so fast for being racist.

 

[___]

@the minority quota thing:  It's not exactly like that on its face.  You get tax breaks for having some government decided ratio of minorities in your business and you get extra funding as a school for the same reason, but there's no law that says you *have* to do it, they just make it make financial sense.  Which I think is fine, and I continue to vote for.  What I don't think is fine is someone telling me that some intangible "specialness" about being white gives me a better chance of getting a job anyway, that's retarded IMO in most places, and I would not want a job with anywhere where that wasn't retarded to even think.

 

[Despain]

@the minority quota thing:  It's not exactly like that on its face.  You get tax breaks for having some government decided ratio of minorities in your business and you get extra funding as a school for the same reason, but there's no law that says you *have* to do it, they just make it make financial sense.

Yeah, I know what it is, but I didn't think it was necessary to go into the details. Plus with the tax breaks and funding and stuff, in the competitive business world it almost is like a real quota to keep up with the competition that are all doing the same thing.

Frankly, I've never really had anything handed to me for being white, and it's actually the opposite. I've lost serious hours in my job recently to an underqualified black girl who they recently hired (and hey, she's black and a female- that's a two-for-one deal!).

 

[___]

Nah I agree, in practice it is almost the same, but when you put it that way to me it sounds like it was really mandated by law, which a lot of people still seem to think.

 

[rmxp_dev]

White privilege is SYNONOMOUS to being the MAJORITY in a Democratic country.

If America was equally proportioned in numbers among the White, and Black, and Asian race, then I agree with you. There would be no such thing as White privilege for all races would have equal representation, and therefore, the playing field would be truly equal.

America is a democracy. And a Democratic country delegates POWER according to democratic elections. Through the Democratic process, WHITES create Laws, and WHITES also establish Social, and Political norms SIMPLY because they are the Majority of the voters.

America is a predominantly WHITE country, and therefore, WHITE people through the democratic institutions, create White Privilege in a thousand ways, some obvious, most subtle, creating a massive advantage for Whites. Therefore, being White itself is INHERENTLY a privilege because you are part of the Greater Majority. Minorities in a democratic country, are less privileged.

Because minorities in a democratic country have historically been less privileged, certain policiies like Affirmative action were created as a way to attempt to even the score. If there was no imbalance between the Majority and Minority, such policies would not be needed.

This imbalance can be seen in statistic after statistic. Quality of life, Education, Income, Health, etc all across the board, Whites will enjoy a higher advantage than minorities. And there are some things that cannot be measureed in a statistic.


This White privilege is all created because America is a democratic country, and in America, Whites are the Great Majority. White hold all the cards: Political, Social, Economic. There's no contest.

You only look within your personal life, and because you have problems that you think are unusual, you do not see White privilege. But if you look at America as a whole, and understand how America truly is a democracy, you'd understand that being in the Majority party alone gives you greater advantages than being in the Minority. AND THAT is White privilege.

 

[loam]

Um... yes there is White Privilege. And guess what? It doesn't mean SHIT in today's world. In modern America, Black Privilege is everything. White people don't get into college or get jobs on the sole basis that they're white, whereas countless black people get everything handed to them simply because they're black-

Yeah like jobs, scholarships, longer prison sentences, lynchings... :crazy:

Not to mention that they're allowed to have a whole televsion channel devoted to black people, black student unions, sports leagues devoted entirely to black people, etc, and if a similar group for whites were to show up, it would be shut down so fast for being racist.

Every other channel is devoted to whites. These are just funny. Especially the sports one, considering what you see when you turn on a game of basketball. You can take the blame for the sports one on yourselves. :tongue:

White privilege is SYNONOMOUS to being the MAJORITY in a Democratic country.

If America was equally proportioned in numbers among the White, and Black, and Asian race, then I agree with you. There would be no such thing as White privilege for all races would have equal representation, and therefore, the playing field would be truly equal.

There are a lot of times when a "minority" is actually a majority of the population. Think of south africa during apartheid. Or another good one: the majority (52%?) of the population is female, but women are still a minority group. The term has evolved beyond numerical meaning, in its political meaning anyway. Wikipedia has more info.

An equally proportioned america might change a lot of things but I fail to see how it would guarantee equality. I guess I just disagree with how much importance you are putting on democracy in propagating privilege. But I dunno. What else do you think contributes?

 

[rmxp_dev]

Um... yes there is White Privilege. And guess what? It doesn't mean SHIT in today's world. In modern America, Black Privilege is everything. White people don't get into college or get jobs on the sole basis that they're white, whereas countless black people get everything handed to them simply because they're black- companies and universities all over the nation have to fill all sort of MINORITY QUOTAS which frankly is total bullshit. If there was a black person and a white person with the same exact qualifications, most companies TODAY would actually choose the black person, simply because they have to fill these minority quotas and be politically correct, etc. Maybe fifty years ago it was the other way around, but today black people have so many advantages over whites.

Not to mention that they're allowed to have a whole televsion channel devoted to black people, black student unions, sports leagues devoted entirely to black people, etc, and if a similar group for whites were to show up, it would be shut down so fast for being racist.

The reason Blacks have TV channels and Black Magazines devoted exclusively to Blacks is because, 99% of the TV Channels are devoted to Whites so they are essentially, White TV Channels. The same argument can be made for everything else: Books, Clubs, teams, etc. This country is basically White owned, White operated, for White people.

And your statement that being White means SHIT today is laughable.

While I don't agree with the theory behind Affirmative Action, I do understand WHY it is required. The reason why it is required is, Blacks have been neglected for so many years, deprived of a quality education to develop the job skills to get hired in a decent job. Until the day arrives ( it wont ever ) when everyone can be treated equally regardless of race, Affirmative Action is needed to help minorities have a fair chance at living a good life.

Are you really arguing that we should do away with Affirmative Action so that we can go back to the 1920s? when Blacks were treated like animals? Are you really arguing against the 1960s civil right movement?

Because when you say that in modern America, Black Privilege is everything, you are saying all the progress Blacks have made in the last 40 years is unfair. It's not unfair. It's a way to even the score, just a little. And even then, Blacks and minorities still lag behind Whites in every measurable and unmeasurable category.

Whites still are the richest, most prosperous, most competitively advantaged race in America by far. There's no comparison.

 

[___]

@rmxp_dev:

That's actually a really fair argument.  Being part of a de-facto majority means that through democratic process even laws that aren't outwardly racist may tend to benefit you more than other people because of certain qualifying factors that are more common in a minority group than in a majority group.

However I don't think that it's as clear-cut or broadly scoped as you would like to believe.  In health care, for instance, the major qualifier for health care is income.  If you can't afford it, it really doesn't matter if it selects against certain health issues common to one race than to another more strongly; on the flip-side, minority groups do get special privileges in qualifying for government benefits in many areas (even if they are sometimes unduly discriminated against by social workers  in terms of how deeply they examine their case).

Financially, yes, income per capita amongst white people is higher.  That doesn't mean *my* income is higher than the average minority (actually it's dirt right now but that's a different issue and it's okay with me), or that my father's was.  Yeah there are probably some assholes out there who, all other things being equal, would give a white guy a better rate on a loan.  That doesn't mean I met any of those guys, maybe I did (but not really, the only two loans I ever took out my loan officer was latino and presumably not positively biased toward me for being white).

In education, if a person is raised in an affluent, all-white area they do get better education.  So do minorities who also get raised on those areas and go to the same school; these schools are better because they have more tax money to work with.  Living in shitty little holes in the middle of nowhere where nobody makes much money, education is shit.  It's even harder when you throw in racial issues of course, and sure I'll accept that in a shitty school the education a minority receives is even shittier than the one that the white kid receives in many cases.

Politically, politicians are so afraid of looking racist I personally observe that they go to extra lengths to show that they are paying special attention to any minority group big enough to have a lobby.  The fact that minority groups can elect fewer representatives, and thus have less people paying attention to their real interests and not just paying lip service to the fact that they "have lots of (black|mexican|whatever) friends" or whatever sucks.  However in the political sphere everyone has a minority opinion that they can't get represented.  To declare that my political interests are identical to or even similar to the majority of voters on any given issue just because I'm white and the majority is white is a grossly prejudiced view in and of itself.  My interests don't agree with the majority on many issues, and it pisses me off.

Quality of life is really undefinable on any objective basis so it's hard to have any kind of argument about it.  My idea of a quality life has nothing to do with any kind of popular view and is in many cases diametrically opposed to what society expects a person to think is "quality".  I'm sure your life would be measurably better if neither of us ever thought to have a discussion like this; so would mine, my a notably smaller margin.  Lots of other things that would make your life better might make mine a little suck.

 

[rmxp_dev]

There are a lot of times when a "minority" is actually a majority of the population. Think of south africa during apartheid. Or another good one: the majority (52%?) of the population is female, but women are still a minority group. The term has evolved beyond numerical meaning, in its political meaning anyway. Wikipedia has more info.

An equally proportioned america might change a lot of things but I fail to see how it would guarantee equality. I guess I just disagree with how much importance you are putting on democracy in propagating privilege. But I dunno. What else do you think contributes?

If America were more equally proportioned, you can bet that White privilege would not exist, and things would be more fair. Then people would be judged according to ability, and not race.

Regarding SA, Whites are only 10% of the population yet they wielded all the power during the Apartheid years. WHy? Because Blacks did not have reprsentation. Without representation, its' as good as if they didn't exist.

I've spoken to a White friend of mine who is from SA. Today, she tells me, Blacks have Black Privilege. It's very hard for Whites to get a job. The best jobs will be given to Blacks first. Etc. Does that sound familiar? This is because now, Blacks are represented, and can elect leaders who will be Black. You can bet that equal Democratic representation among races would create true equality.

 

[___]

In that case we don't really need equal populations, we just need representation proportional to the needs and desires of the population.  In a country where there are only two political parties of any note and they agree on the majority of all issues (fuck the little guy then give him a reach-around so he'll shut up about it, basically) there is no real representation for anyone at all.  This is because of a broken electoral system.  It's the best they could come up with at the time, and better than any other at the time, but the United States is seriously behind the game in providing balanced representation to different interest groups now, and that's regardless of whether those groups are divided on racial, ideological, religious or other lines.

 

[Anonymous]

Maybe the White kids in the neighbourhood didn't like to see a Black family move in. And intimidated you, and your family. And one day, on your way home from school, a group of white kids pummelled you to the ground, smashing your skull in until you died.

Compare being Teased with being dead.

Comparing everyday inconveniences to hate crimes is not only not appropriate to the topic but is also in incredibly poor taste. I'm not denying that this happens and it is awful that it does but that's not a result of whites being privileged, it's a result of individual people being truly despicable human beings.

Not too long ago, that argument would have unfortunately been totally valid because the killers would go without punishment. In most places, thankfully, that's not the case anymore and hate crimes rarely go unpunished. White privilege in that case would be the killers getting off scot-free. Like I said, that example is just the unfortunate actions of horrible, horrible people.

What's more, racism isn't just toward people with different skin colours. I have a friend who is from Germany and has liven in England a few years. She speaks with a German accent and has people screaming 'NAZI' at her everyday and no-one seems to bat an eyelid. She has had someone attack her for speaking with a German accent, again, no-one cared. In a very mixed community.

Compare that reaction to the reaction people would give, in the same community, if she were black and people were calling her 'nigger' and attacking her for being black.

Hell, I've had death threats and people throwing eggs tomatoes at me because I have red hair.

Racism exists, I'm not denying that, though I honestly wish I truthfully could. It exists toward blacks and Asians and people of different religions. But hey - it also exists towards whites and whites have less 'help' to deal with it.

Also, ticking 'minority boxes' does get you benefits. I've been told by tutors that I have a much higher chance of getting onto a course I'm applying for because I'm a girl. I'm not going to get onto it JUST by having tits, obviously, but I can almost guarantee if I go into interview with the exact same portfolio and say the exact same things (well obviously not the exact same portfolio - there'd be accusations of cheating going on then) as a male applicant, I'd be the one chosen.

Edit: aflksl you people post too much I'm a little off topic now :x

 

[Despain]

Are you really arguing that we should do away with Affirmative Action so that we can go back to the 1920s?

Wait-what? When did I once say that I wanted to do away with it? All I said was stop bitching.

Black people do have lots of privileges over white people, and they should really show some respect for those advantages instead of bitching and complaining that they still want more. Legally, black people have every right that white people have, and then some. If anybody has a right to complain about inequality, it's us, but out of respect for something that happened a a hundred and fifty years ago--something that doesn't even have to do with any of us today-- we keep quiet about it.

 

[rmxp_dev]

In that case we don't really need equal populations, we just need representation proportional to the needs and desires of the population.  In a country where there are only two political parties of any note and they agree on the majority of all issues (fuck the little guy then give him a reach-around so he'll shut up about it, basically) there is no real representation for anyone at all.  This is because of a broken electoral system.  It's the best they could come up with at the time, and better than any other at the time, but the United States is seriously behind the game in providing balanced representation to different interest groups now, and that's regardless of whether those groups are divided on racial, ideological, religious or other lines.

I've only given you ONE example of how White Privilege is created ie through the Democratic process in which Whites are the majority. There are many other ways in which it is also created.

What about Financial System? Capitalism? Most of the consumers and therefore, sellers are Whites. How would that affect Financial Equality among races?

What about Popular culture like movies? Social norms like popular opinion? How would a White majority help to create White Privilege in those areas?

The answer is, whether in Economic, or Social, or Religion, In every way, the Majority set the "laws". This is what you define as White Privilege. White Majority. Wielding all the powers, political, economic, social.

When you take all this into account, you begin to understand the immense Privilege White people enjoy. You can't see it in your personal life, but maybe that's because you're White. And not a Minority.

 

[Dissonance]

White privilege exists, just as middle and upper class privilege exists.  You got ragged on, Nphyx, because you were poor.  It's not ALL ABOUT RACE and it's not ALL ABOUT MONEY, either.  Keep in mind western society is built on perpetuating the idea that the normal is good, with the accepted normal being the following:

White
Middle to upper class
Heterosexual
Christian
Married and with children
Does not want these norms to be changed
etc

There's a lot of categories there, and those who fall under some of them can access some of that privilege.  Nphyx, you access white privilege, but you do not access middle to upper class privilege, which is why you were razzed on.  For me, the only privilege I can access is 'Middle to upper class' and even then, only if I associate myself with my parents.  (And maybe white, if nobody looks too closely.)

 

[Anonymous]

rmxp_dev, I suggest you stop saying YOUR WRONG without backing up your points.

You've given us examples of how white privilege could be created. However, the fact that something could exist proves nothing. It's not objective. Hell, it's not even subjective, it's completely theoretical.

May I suggest you give us examples of the effects of the white privilege that you claim exists. You know, the end results, the bits that can be measured.