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)

I think the problem is that people these days treat the word “privilege” as a moral judgement. People don’t want to think of themselves as having privileges because they see that as meaning they are bad people.

People would be more honest with themselves if that was taken out of the equation.

White privilege exists, it's very obvious. Even in London, where a high proportion of people are black/ME, if you look at managers they're disproportionally white. Police are more likely to arrest people who are not white, and treat them differently. That's just fact, and It's just something that we, as white people, have to be aware of and guard against where we can.

It doesn't mean that all other forms of privilege don't exist, we just have to be aware of them as well and try to make society fairer for everyone.

I don't agree that it's just about class, or wealth. Those differences also exist, but they're separate. A black person in a mercedes is more likely to be stopped than a white person in a mercedes. I read once about two sisters, one who had darker skin and one who looked white, who were consistently treated differently - how does that square with differences in class, or income?

YANBU OP

Why is a wealthy black woman still less privileged than a wealthy white woman?

I genuinely don’t understand.

I get you OP....but I'm black.

I think those who talk about the hard life and poverty don't understand it. Which is probably as a result of their education and upbringing.

Of course WP exists, it's the reason I can walk into a public building and not get stopped and asked what I'm doing there... my husband who is Arabic on the other hand...

Oh god, how depressing to read a lot of the responses here.
What about male privilege?
Women are privileged not to work down sewers.
Wealthy Black people are better off than poor Whites.
It's mean to exclude White people from discussions about race.
We should be focusing on the class struggle, comrades! (Exactly what was said to feminists in the 70s)
And best of all: You'll do better in life if you work on your use of English.
Words fail me.

Why is a wealthy black woman still less privileged than a wealthy white woman?

I really don’t think it’s a quantifiable thing, everyone is different, but being white affords you particular privileges in British society, being wealthy other (different) privileges. A wealthy black person has the latter but can’t get the former, a poor white person has the former but may not be able to get the latter.

@ADarkandStormyKnight I knew the author in a past life, take it with a pinch of salt.

Of course white privilege exists, and the people who tend to deny it are almost exclusively small-minded racists.

I think it's a failing of identity politics that it only pays lip service to class, and to economic advantage/disadvantage (which aren't quite the same thing). It's a pretty big failing as it's probably the main determinant of life chances. Someone born in a Lagos slum isn't poor because they're black, it's because they were born in a Lagos slum.

But as people upthread have said, that's whataboutery. If people want to rail against that, they should start another thread (and I'll gladly join in).

It's the divisive bullshit it's intended to be

I understand that much about it

Trying to convince people on the breadline they are benefiting through some frequently all too intangible privilege is fucking perverted sorry

I agree. I think people do this a lot with a lot of issues. Ignore the stats / issues as a whole and instead can only relate to their own experiences.

There was a thread the other day by a black lady about touching her (black) friend's hair. Most people have heard this happens a lot to black people and agreed it was racist. But some white people with unusual hair said it happened to them / their friend as well so can't be racist. Ignoring the fact it happens a lot more to people of other races.

It's like people who argue that breastfeeding isn't best because their formula fed kid il has never missed a day off school. It may or may no be best but you can't win any argument relating to the population as a whole based just on your own experience

Yanbu, I am white and it really annoys me when people reject the notion of white privilege because they don’t get free stuff etc 🙄 it’s just ignorance as they don’t know what it means or care to educate themselves

Why is a wealthy black woman still less privileged than a wealthy white woman?

Just to give you an example, I used to work with a black solicitor who was frequently assumed to be one of the support staff. I was in meetings where she was the most senior person in the room but clients would assume that she was there to take notes, and would talk over her etc. That's going to get to you after a while.

t’s all about how rich you are more than skin colour

Is it? Because I’m pretty sure a black guy driving an expensive car is far more likely to experience police harassment and potentially violence than a white guy in a nice car.

Money brings privilege, absolutely, but it doesn’t eradicate the negative effects faced by non-white people / women.

As for female privilege - give me a break. A patriarchal system has myriad negative effects on women, but occasionally this results in negative effects on men too (eg because women are almost universally expected to take the lead with childcare and parenting, they are more likely to be made the residential parent than men, but the root of that isn’t something that benefits women).

Plus, how many snobby up their own arse white women are there on here who look down their noses on less educated women? being sarcastic about their punctuation & grammar? The women they are looking down on could be black for all they know but they don’t care.
Education privilege all over the place on here.

lillylollylandy by refusing to address the issue of white privilege by insisting other forms of privilege should be discussed here instead - even though the OP was about white privilege - you are proving the OP’s original assertion as I previously pointed out. See post by DukeOfSussex if you really still don’t get the point that the OP was trying to make, as their analogy explains it perfectly.

Identity politics are relevant in terms of highlighting that certain groups are less likely to attain privilege (e.g. money), but arguing the toss over whether rich black people are in fact less privileged than middle-class white people gets us nowhere. Money brings privilege- end of. We should analyse why the wealth disproportionately goes to white males, but we should remember that we are talking primarily about wealth rather than whiteness and maleness.

Boopsy I think that is the point OP is trying to make!

As a white middle aged woman from a working class background I too try to treat everyone on their own merits, regardless of skin colour. But that doesn't remove any of the inherent privileges society accords me merely because of my skin colour.

I don't get second glances in the street; prospective employers don't think twice about how their customers would 'react' to me; I don't hear race comments muttered as I pass by; I don't see others promoted ahead of me; I don't see people made suspicious by any acquisition I make, the assumptions they make.

Basically, whilst I do get ALL of the patriarchal barriers thrown at me on a daily basis I don't have my every action additionally judged because of the colour of my skin.

As a white woman I can understand that, even if I can only approximate how it actually feels

@Vicky1990 I assume you are being sarcastic.

YANBU OP - people fail to realise their own privilege because they've never had to deal with the consequences of being BAME/woman/disabled.

Oh Vicky.
It doesn't mean all white people are priveledged!
Just like not all men are priveledged.
It just means, that in the UK, white is "neutral". It's like the factory setting.
No extra qualifier. Nothing to prove. No preconceptions in the job interview based on your race. People will wait to see what kind of person they are. They won't be "pleasantly surprised " when you turn out to be actually quite nice/well educated/articulate/speaking good English.
Priveledge means you start with a clean slate. White male priveledge doesn't mean you will automatically have an easier life. It means your race and your sex will not be an EXTRA impediment before you have even begun.

Yes? Anything? I'm going back to bed.

I'm a very privileged white person & I completely agree with you OP.

But wasn't really aware it was an issue until I read surferjet's posts. Good grief!

@surferjet being one of the richest women in the world didn't stop Oprah from being denied the chance to buy a handbag from Louis Vuitton. Being the state attorney of Florida didn't help Aramis Ayayla when she was driving while black and was pulled over by police.

@surferjet - absofuckinlutely on the education privilege, the way people fixate on education, spelling and grammar as a means to avoid dealing with the actual points made