To be slightly fed up of white people doing this

[TacoLover]

Every time there is a thread discussing racism, there will be a mention of white privilege. Cue a flurry of hurt posters writing essays about how stupid the idea of white privilege is and how it doesn't exist, because their lives are so hard and they grew up on a few pieces of bread and a Red Bull

This really gets on my tits because after seeing this shit time and time again, THIS ISN'T WHAT WHITE PRIVILEGE MEANS. It doesn't mean your life isn't hard, it doesn't mean you don't face barriers in your life. What it does mean is the barriers in your life will never or hardly ever be a result of the colour of your skin. It doesn't mean you live in a mansion because you're white.

Just needed to get that out,sorry. I'm sure my only replies will be white people telling me how racist I am for only targeting them(Even though this is something that only white people do)

adarkandstormy I came on to recommend that book!

It’s an uncomfortable read at times, but I have fought the urge to counter the agreements it makes (even to myself). Thought provoking stuff.

@lillylollylandy
The point is about benefiting from privilege. Not that a white person cannot understand privilege.
But also the whataboutery that results when the point is raised, well white privilege all very well but what about me, I don't benefit from it. This is exhausting and basically a way of shutting the argument down.

It can't be easy for you.
One lesson for today - it is "fed up with" not "fed up of". It is just a preposition issue and worth people of all kinds knowing for when it matters such as job applications, speaking in interviews etc.

What about female privilege?.
We don't have to work down sewers, mend the roads, dig trenches, work on building sites.
Lots more of the shit jobs men have to do to make our lives easier, and the jobs we don't want to do, that's what I call a privilege.

Hear hear. People can be very uneducated beyond tabloid bullshit.

YANBU

All the "what about" just reinforces the point.

YANBU.

BUT I think that this focus on privilege (male/white/cis/straight/able etc) takes the attention away from the real problem, which is class and access to resources. It leads to a load of snippy in-fighting about who has it worst and who is the most disadvantaged. It makes me sound like a Marxist but honestly, the excessive focus on different identities and their privileges means that people miss the real issue and just go round in circles.

If you have wealth, you have privilege, even if you are black, gay, trans, or disabled. I pass white straight males daily, who are living on the street. Yes, okay, you could argue that their race is not a barrier to them, but how helpful is that really? Where does it actually get you?

It's identity politics like this that makes some people argue that Caitlyn Jenner is more oppressed than a 'cis' victim of domestic violence. Which, when you think about it, is utterly bizarre.

I am not trying to minimise the effects of privilege.

I am trying to say that more people understand the negative effects of privilege than you might immediately think.

I don't have an issue with the concept of white privilege, it's pretty obvious imo.
I do think that the suggestion that white people cant contribute to discussion of race issues because of it is unhelpful - to everyone involved.

What about male privilege?

What about it? On a male dominated forum I'm sure the OP would meet lots of men denying their male privilege but this is Mumsnet which is mostly female and a microcosm of the UK which is mostly white. Your point seems to be entirely that it doesn't matter because men do it with regards to male privilege? Personally men ignoring their male privlage fucks me right off which is why I would never whataboutery a woman of colour about white privilege.

Vicky which decade are you living in?

YANBU Taco. I’m white. I’ve learnt a hell of a lot by reading threads on here. And listening. I’m disabled. I think ironically that helps me to understand the different ways people are discriminated against.

Vicky
Are you trying to be goady ffs. Or just being a bit dumb. Some women do all of these jobs. They are traditionally male roles because men have the muscular skeletal structure to perform these tasks better. Nothing to do with female privilege.

Would yiu start a thread about any other ethnic groups, it's ok because it's white! Not saying there isent White priviledge, as there is, tge is also Male priviledge and able bodied priviledge too.

While there is a real need to highlight social injustice and inequality wherever it occurs, I feel that the language of identity politics encourages a race to the top (or perhaps the bottom): my suffering is worse than your suffering. Personal suffering cannot be quantified and measured. The language identifies a 'group perpretrator' (such as 'whites', 'males', 'neurotypicals', etc.) and thus is deliberately shaming. People tend to react badly to being shamed - especially when, on an individual level, they may have little or no power to change their own circumstances, let alone radically alter deep and long-standing culutural atitudes and socio-economic strcutures.

You can target whomever you want.. but it does make you sound a tad aggressive and so loses you much of your audience!

And, to be absolutely honest, it is nigh in impossible for any individual to recognise any part of their accident of birth as a privilege. Yes, all individuals can try to understand the differences of opportunity, experience etc, but what many posters seem to want is that one set of people have empathy for another when they simply don't share a set of experiences, making empathy impossible and inviting sympathy - which always comes across as patronising, obviously!

Maybe you don't empathise with white people and their lived experiences for precisely the same reason they can't empathise with yours!

Maybe a different approach is required, on all 'sides'!

It’s all about how rich you are more than skin colour.

A wealthy black woman lives a far more privileged life than a poor white woman.

Saw this on a thread yesterday and found it really helpful to use this metaphor: whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-the-lowest-difficulty-setting-there-is/

We don't have to work down sewers, mend the roads, dig trenches, work on building sites.Lots more of the shit jobs men have to do to make our lives easier, and the jobs we don't want to do, that's what I call a privilege.

You'll find that the most dangerous forms of employment are taken by women around the world actually. In this country sex work is one of the most dangerous "jobs" you can have. Additionally women do work in all other above jobs but find it difficult to gain employment in those industries due to sex discrimination. Are you saying women are lucky that men won't hire them for jobs they are legally allowed to do and have trained for? [confusing]

Still waging your war against Radio 4 because they have a womans hour Vicky?

A wealthy black woman lives a far more privileged life than a poor white woman.

Maybe she does. She certainly won't live a far more privileged life than a wealthy white woman will she? That's what this means.

A white woman with no legs, arms or eyeballs may be less privileged than a healthy black woman. But a black woman with no legs, arms and eyeballs is still worse off than her white counterpart, that's what privilege means.

@boopsy

Don’t know about white privilage but there seems to be about a thread a day on here slagging off white peoples attitudes. Getting rather tiresome tbh.

You do realise how stupid this makes you sound, don't you?

Engage brain and consider just why these threads might be being stated.

Also she can be rich as she likes but when she gets pulled over by the police she still has more risk of violence. More likely to suffer a racially motivated attack. More likely to have some idiot assume she's the cleaner at work when she runs the place

YANBU

@DunesOfSand now that is pertinent. What an excellent video. Thank you for posting.

I came in annoyed at the title but yes, you are correct.