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Showing Original Post only (View all)A very quick comment on the diffusion of white, male privilege... [View all]
Last edited Thu Nov 7, 2013, 07:22 PM - Edit history (1)
And how being a "good guy" is largely irrelevant.
There seems to be an attempt by some to say that the problem with society is always the "inherently bad" guys who aren't liberal, progressive white males.
This is not the issue. Privilege is diffuse, almost invisible if you aren't looking for it. It's designed to be that way so that any challenge against it can be dismissed as hysteria. What is at issue is not that there is a mass of bad white guys going around doing evil deeds; although such people do exist.
No, what is really at issue is the tiny increments of privilege expended by every person of the privileged classes every waking second of the day. Little things that you don't necessarily notice aggregate together with others to create a massive social, legal and political influence.
Not being consistently viewed as a sexual object is something men benefit from every single day of their lives. Not being profiled as a criminal because of their skin color is a benefit white persons possess every day they are alive.
What is at issue is not that just that this privilege exists but that those who benefit from it the most are unwilling to admit that such benefit exists. Most privilege is not conscious, be it gifting or receiving. So when we talk about the privileged white male, that is not an attack on you personally as an independent human being. It is an attempt to point out that at the very point where one is unaware of his or her privilege is precisely the point at which privilege is MOST effective.
Power is most efficient when it conceals both its mechanisms as well as its consequences. When a person of a truly privileged class denies these benefits, power is multiplied and the issue is made worse.
I could write dozens more pages on the subject but I don't have time right now. But I felt this needed to be said in light of recent posts.