The Student Room Group

Why do some white people have a hard time understanding white privilege?

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Original post by The_Internet
Yknow as a mod I can see what you deleted right?(In my section any way) I can tell you something. I am definitely not a UKIP supporter. I voted Liberal democrat. Also how many Asian people voted UKIP?

I know you can. I still stand by what I said about black rappers not all rapping about b*tches and hoes etc. this is not some concept exclusive to Eminem. Plenty of talented black rappers who rap about their life story and an eclectic mix of topics, I just don't have the energy to go off tangent anymore (Or respond to this thread) so I removed the post.

My UKIP comment wasn't in relation to you specifically. Havent seen you post anything crazy hence why I didnt mention UKIP in my initial post to you lol. I just wanted to pick up on your point about Em. The edit message was a general message in relation to the dismissive and bigoted people I have seen comment throughout the thread.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by trustmeimlying1
Maybe your points are true but I'm as fed up as you as hearing about this. I was brought up to treat people of other races the same but all this debate on race has made me see everyone differently. Please go back to the primary school days where race was merely a colour.I understand you are subjected to this(presumably you're not white) but jaysus give us a solution not point out problems please.


If people were willing to understand that racism still exists in 2015, maybe the solution would have already been found.
But you know, since a lot of people seem to be narrow minded and incapable of empathy, what can you do?
I think one of the main failures in the marketing of this theory is that it failed to mention that privileges intersect. For example, a wealthy black straight man has privileges that a poor white transgender male does not. This doesn't negate their white privilege - trans people of colour tend to be well worse off than their white counterparts, however we have to realise that the way we talk about racial privilege fails to acknowledge to nuances. Also it's pretty US-centric - it needs to be adapted for use in the UK, where class often presents a greater barrier than race (speaking as a working class black woman attending private school).
Original post by TurtleberrySoup
I think one of the main failures in the marketing of this theory is that it failed to mention that privileges intersect. For example, a wealthy black straight man has privileges that a poor white transgender male does not. This doesn't negate their white privilege - trans people of colour tend to be well worse off than their white counterparts, however we have to realise that the way we talk about racial privilege fails to acknowledge to nuances. Also it's pretty US-centric - it needs to be adapted for use in the UK, where class often presents a greater barrier than race (speaking as a working class black woman attending private school).


dat all-encompassing under-represented intersectional feminism :u:
Original post by jedanselemyia
If people were willing to understand that racism still exists in 2015, maybe the solution would have already been found.
But you know, since a lot of people seem to be narrow minded and incapable of empathy, what can you do?

Racism will never be eradicated because white supremacy will continue to exist until the end of time.
Reply 225
Try being a straight, white male in the UK.

White privilege? I'd be lucky to get pissed on if I were on fire.
This thread is a waste of time. Forget about asking white people to end white privilege. Ain't going to happen.

Instead, focus on building your own privilege.
Original post by bolly_mad
This thread is a waste of time. Forget about asking white people to end white privilege. Ain't going to happen.

Instead, focus on building your own privilege.


Basically the perfect response to the "white privilege" argument. Instead of trying to stop it, work around it.

White privilege may exist, but so does the "immigrant mentality" that was drilled into me by my parents,"we came to this country to establish a life, and you'll have to work twice as hard as us to survive, and even harder still to get on a par with white people, and that's through no fault of their own. You have the opportunities now to work as hard as you physically can, so that your kids don't have to struggle like we did, so ignore the fact that white people may have to work less, and just work harder. That means if you have to clean toilets, clean toilets, there is no job that's beneath you, because you will do what you have to, just like we did."

This seems a little antiquated, but the message is still relevant, the reason that you see so many immigrants in manual labour jobs, or cleaners or low skilled work is that they will do whatever they can do to survive, because they're given the opportunity to get a better life than their parents.

To anyone that's ethnic and reading this, don't complain about white privilege, just accept it as a fact, and work a damn sight harder than anyone around you, and it will pay off. You may not have the best chances, but hard work trumps circumstance every single time.
Original post by queen-bee
Racism will never be eradicated because white supremacy will continue to exist until the end of time.


That seems to be the case :frown:


Original post by BigDaave
Basically the perfect response to the "white privilege" argument. Instead of trying to stop it, work around it. White privilege may exist, but so does the "immigrant mentality" that was drilled into me by my parents,"we came to this country to establish a life, and you'll have to work twice as hard as us to survive, and even harder still to get on a par with white people, and that's through no fault of their own. You have the opportunities now to work as hard as you physically can, so that your kids don't have to struggle like we did, so ignore the fact that white people may have to work less, and just work harder. That means if you have to clean toilets, clean toilets, there is no job that's beneath you, because you will do what you have to, just like we did."This seems a little antiquated, but the message is still relevant, the reason that you see so many immigrants in manual labour jobs, or cleaners or low skilled work is that they will do whatever they can do to survive, because they're given the opportunity to get a better life than their parents. To anyone that's ethnic and reading this, don't complain about white privilege, just accept it as a fact, and work a damn sight harder than anyone around you, and it will pay off. You may not have the best chances, but hard work trumps circumstance every single time.


Sad but true?
Original post by jedanselemyia
That seems to be the case :frown:




Sad but true?


I don't see it as sad... I see it as a motivation to work hard? How am I going to succeed if I don't work hard, by crying that "white people have better opportunities, the system is against me, I'll never be successful!"? That doesn't make sense to me...
Original post by BigDaave
I don't see it as sad... I see it as a motivation to work hard? How am I going to succeed if I don't work hard, by crying that "white people have better opportunities, the system is against me, I'll never be successful!"? That doesn't make sense to me...


I don't do that :s-smilie:
I've worked hard and am still working hard, before and after I knew around white privilege. Somehow, a lot of people think that talking about this issue makes you a whiny, lazy and entitled person. It's just that it seems to be a glass ceiling that hinders the efforts of people and that's sad.
Original post by jedanselemyia
I don't do that :s-smilie:
I've worked hard and am still working hard, before and after I knew around white privilege. Somehow, a lot of people think that talking about this issue makes you a whiny, lazy and entitled person. It's just that it seems to be a glass ceiling that hinders the efforts of people and that's sad.


It wasn't an attack on you, it was a statement about people's assumptions of white privilege, I just don't see why it's an issue? It's a part of life, and people need to get used it it, work past it.
Original post by BigDaave
It wasn't an attack on you, it was a statement about people's assumptions of white privilege, I just don't see why it's an issue? It's a part of life, and people need to get used it it, work past it.


If that's your philosophy, good for you! :smile:
Reply 233
Original post by jedanselemyia
Ebro from Hot97 raised this point, which I agree with.
I know how it hindered his breakthrough in the industry :\


Not trying to have a dig, was just saying it was taking away from the good points you in fact had :P
Original post by SP0TIFY
Not trying to have a dig, was just saying it was taking away from the good points you in fact had :P


It's ok, I know you're not trying to :smile:
I realise I probably shouldn't have said that, or at least phrased it the way I did :redface:
Reply 235
Original post by TheWoke
LOL @ turned up.

Anyway let me entertain your definition for a second. So America is not a "white country" then? Righty-o.


Neither is the UK with that definition.
Original post by jedanselemyia
I've said SOME not ALL, obviously
Almost everything time I mention this issue on this forum, it seems that some user (most likely white) is going to "attack" me on how dumb, outdated and racist this concept is.
Racism is a pyramidal construct that goes from microagressions to full blown genocides:

Now, I agree that generally, we find ourselves in the lower strates of the pyramid (but that depends on the country: look at the USA) but that doesn't mean that racism or the concept of white privilege is completely outdated and stupid. That's just trying to ignore reality lol
I've based myself on the essay by Peggy McIntosh (she's white by the way) entitled "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack". She gives a list of all the privileges that white people enjoy in American society, but I'm sure that a lot of people would recognise themselves in these:
1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
2. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.
3. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
4. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
5. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
6. When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
7. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.
8. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.
9. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser’s shop and find someone who can cut my hair.
10. Whether I checks, credit cards, or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
11. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.
12. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.
13. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.
14. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
15. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
16. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world’s majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
17. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.
18. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to “the person in charge,” I will be facing a person of my race.
19. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race.
20. I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children’s magazine featuring people of my race.
21. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance, or feared.
22. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of race.
23. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen.
24. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
25. If my day, week, or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it has racial overtones.
26. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more or less match my skin.


I added a new one: When traveling to a country, I don't think my race will be a disadvantage


I'm genuinely trying to understand some people just can't get this. And please, no rude comments.




Out of date.
Original post by JustMandy
Out of date.


What do you mean?
people instinctually favour, and trust, whites more

it's no different than being attractive or intelligent as a privilege
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by jedanselemyia
What do you mean?


He means nice copy and paste, specifically from a source that was dated to 1989.. Where in the original source you find the writer is actually still doing high school level maths papers, i.e. still a young student.


All that list does is reassure me we've made great progress since 1989.

As for the people speaking of the 18th century witch hunts, if you dig into it a little you find that the motives weren't in fact specifically anti woman, in the UK & US the majority were women however in western Europe it was predominantly men and for eastern it was 50/50. Also, the official name they used to catalogue witch deaths were "death by faggot and fire".
(edited 8 years ago)

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