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In reply to the discussion: As a gay man, I think this privilege debate is kind of ridiculous. [View all]Behind the Aegis
(54,087 posts)101. You and I share many identities, so I hope I communicate this correctly.
However just because I look white (ask a million racists, apparently being Jewish means I'm not really "White" . I apparently have gotten some kind of huge social advantage over other minorities?
Well, we do. In the area of ethnicity, we do have an unspoken privilege. It is true that privilege is sometimes negated by our sexual orientation or our religion, more often than not, being white will allow us to move around in ways that other ethnic minorities cannot. I have noticed in the recent discussions other factors aren't included. So, if we look at it as us just being white, yes, we have advantages others do not.
Even outside of what we generally think of as discriminated against classes of people, white people can be born poor, they can be born with horrible diseases, they can be born with drunken abusive fathers. My father is a heterosexual man, but he grew up in the slums of Baltimore with an overworked mother and an absentee father.
Again, class also plays a real role in privilege. But just as our "white privilege" can be negated by our sexuality or religion, class can do the same, but not always. The recent debacle in Switzerland with Oprah trying to buy a handbag shows, that despite her wealth, her ethnicity played a role. Sure, for the most part, Oprah can buy and sell things sans issues, unlike those without money, but a poor black person and a poor white person, the white person will almost always have the advantage, and in some cases, the white person can even have privilege over a black person with money.
The rest of your comments demonstrate a level of frustration. I can understand it as well. There are some who try to make others feel as bad as they have/do; they will never be able to communicate in a way that is productive to addressing issues of racism or sexism. They only want to grind others into the ground. That said, there are those (the aforementioned included) who don't really understand the complexities of privilege. Like it or not, the color of our skin and our genitalia does give us privilege, maybe not always, but more often than not.
Honestly, I thought this was going to be something else all together. I have been a little peeved that OUR issues and lack of privileges are not just overlooked, they are ignored. Heterosexual privilege exists. Christian (in this country, at least) privilege exists, and they are just as problematic as privileges based on race and sex.
There are times we all need to be introspective. Sometimes, we have to admit we have it easier than others. It doesn't mean we are bad or should be ashamed, just aware.
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Yes, but in this particular context, the relevant question is how others perceive you . . .
markpkessinger
May 2014
#144
I get your point, but I kind of think you're not getting the concept of privilege.
marmar
May 2014
#6
Of course it's greater than race. Race privilege is one form, class privilege is another.
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#103
I bet you whites have a higher % of getting out of poverty than blacks.
Drunken Irishman
May 2014
#127
"if you don't have hands-on experience with something, you need to sit down and shut up and listen
kwassa
May 2014
#125
Except that they aren't true -at all-, and had they been followed historically, most...
Shandris
May 2014
#131
Do you think straight people have some cultural advantages as a result of being straight
Squinch
May 2014
#13
I don't believe there is anything about the gay experience a straight person couldn't understand.
Kurska
May 2014
#14
I do, many I know had never considered that partners can be shut out by the family if their loved
bettyellen
May 2014
#18
Whose goal? If I am looking at your life and saying, "Oh, you're saying I don't understand
Squinch
May 2014
#28
Are you aware this is about societal issues that effect millions of Americans, and not you?
bettyellen
May 2014
#15
what you do not recognize is that people do not judge others on their merits, but by race and sex
bettyellen
May 2014
#53
Is it personal because you really didn't know that this color blind Utopia does not exist?
bettyellen
May 2014
#60
well either you had been living a grand illusion or kept your head in the sand willfully.....
bettyellen
May 2014
#63
Why is it so hard to figure out that class, race, gender and sexuality are not the same?
BainsBane
May 2014
#27
Okay. If a button existed to make you a BLACK Jewish gay man, would you press it?
Scootaloo
May 2014
#32
I agree that much of the time, the "Damn you, you are so privileged!" threads tend to be a waste
quinnox
May 2014
#35
I agree. People frequently jump to the wrong conclusions, and I'm sure I've been guilty of that.
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#124
"I deserve to be judged as human being, not as the sum total of the negative or social advantages
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#42
I just wish some people wouldn't fight so hard against (what seem to me) basic progressive ideas.
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#58
Monty Python- Four Yorkshireman. "You try to tell the young people today that & they won't believe
KittyWampus
May 2014
#50
Fantastic post. You put it so succintly, yet there are still those who will willfully misunderstand.
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#59
Can't really say that the bourgeoisplaining that invariably pops up helps much either
Chathamization
May 2014
#71
Class is an important factor too. Probably just as important as race, in its own way.
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#75
"It doesn't mean that well-off people who are black can just say 'I'm black' and weasel out of this
Chathamization
May 2014
#82
I was describing an actual phenomenon on DU. If you don't perceive it, then okay.
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#83
Yes, we all have advantages and disadvantages, and we all have blind spots.
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#91
No one is completely off the hook. But again, I encourage you to switch around the privileges in
Chathamization
May 2014
#108
I think you've somewhat misinterpreted what I said, but I will try to be more mindful.
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#123
i think white people who live in all white areas find white privilege hard to understand, and wealth
dionysus
May 2014
#74
Too bad you find the debate around the oppression of blacks by whites ridiculous.
bravenak
May 2014
#77
"Very self-centered" is right. I think that's a huge part of the problem right there.
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#90
You're white. You're bad. Male? Fuck you. Accept the privelige you've been given.
cherokeeprogressive
May 2014
#81
But does the larger society perceive you as a "white" man? That makes a difference, like it or not.
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#85
If you're perceived as white, then that impacts how other people treat you. It's just reality.
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#92
You and I share many identities, so I hope I communicate this correctly.
Behind the Aegis
May 2014
#101
As another gay man, I don't think you get the concept of "privilege" in a social justice context
markpkessinger
May 2014
#145
Excellent post (yours and his). I find the phrase "class-stratified survival behaviors" particularly
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#151