General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Is the term "White Privilege" a racially divisive term [View all]Lizzie Poppet
(10,164 posts)"I don't think it is counterproductive to discuss white privilege to redress problems at all, and I don't know why you think it is.
I don't know why either, considering that I said nothing of the sort. I consider such discussions to be extremely valuable.
What I said was that using a term that is extremely likely to be misconstrued (because the intended meaning is much less intuitive than a far more confrontational and aggressive interpretation) is counterproductive. Those are seldom "discussions." They're two people talking past each other, on the verge of an argument. That's what's counterproductive.
Another poster in the thread suggested the term "white favoritism." In an academic sense, that term is probably less descriptive and accurate. It is, however, a lot less likely to be interpreted as an insult or as combative. It's more likely to have the listener actually consider the matter.