Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I hate to get into it, but here goes [View all]ismnotwasm
(42,061 posts)109. *sigh*
White privilege 101: Heres the basic lesson Paul Ryan, Tal Fortgang and Donald Sterling need
And yet, Katie McDonough correctly argued, his denial of racism and his own privileged position represents a new majority view among whites, who think theyre more discriminated against than blacks, despite all manner of evidence to the contrary (more on that below). And this is where the danger and the challenge to progressives lies as well as the challenge to the Democratic Party. Ifas recent research suggests whites grow increasingly conservative as perceived minority voting power grows, then the Rising American electorate argument itself is in danger. It could be every bit as much a fantasy, in its own, much more sophisticated way, as the Tea Party fantasy that the GOP can just double down on where it is, and get by on better messaging and a sprinkling of more diverse spokes/front people.
There is a way to fight back against this very real, and so far unrecognized, threat. And that is for white people especially white men to step up and push back (lovingly or forcefully, as the situation dictates) against this sort of polarizing rhetoric and the thinking and feeling thats connected to it. Its not just a matter of paternalistically helping out women and minorities when theyre attacked. The fortunes of white working-class men have plummeted since the early 70s not because women and minorities have stolen their cheese, but because theyre snookered into thinking like that, making themselves easy marks for far more sophisticated actors to take advantage of. And whats long been true for working-class white men will increasingly become true of white men with college degrees as well. One of Thomas Pikettys central points is that any sort of labor, however skilled it may be, is going to lose out to inherited capital in the long run, if the basic structures of todays capitalist economy arent changed.
So how do white men fight back, not just for the sake of others, or society as a whole, but for themselves, as well? There are lots of ways they can do this, but here Id like to focus on just one: by gaining a much a more solid, objective understanding of what minorities (especially blacks) and women already largely understand as a basic fact of life how racial and gender privilege work, with white male ignorance as a key component. Its only by unifying against an already unified economic elite that Americans of all races and ethnicities can keep hope alive for a more prosperous future.
Before going any further, I just want to quote from McDonoughs article, where she references a sampling of the information already out there:
There is a way to fight back against this very real, and so far unrecognized, threat. And that is for white people especially white men to step up and push back (lovingly or forcefully, as the situation dictates) against this sort of polarizing rhetoric and the thinking and feeling thats connected to it. Its not just a matter of paternalistically helping out women and minorities when theyre attacked. The fortunes of white working-class men have plummeted since the early 70s not because women and minorities have stolen their cheese, but because theyre snookered into thinking like that, making themselves easy marks for far more sophisticated actors to take advantage of. And whats long been true for working-class white men will increasingly become true of white men with college degrees as well. One of Thomas Pikettys central points is that any sort of labor, however skilled it may be, is going to lose out to inherited capital in the long run, if the basic structures of todays capitalist economy arent changed.
So how do white men fight back, not just for the sake of others, or society as a whole, but for themselves, as well? There are lots of ways they can do this, but here Id like to focus on just one: by gaining a much a more solid, objective understanding of what minorities (especially blacks) and women already largely understand as a basic fact of life how racial and gender privilege work, with white male ignorance as a key component. Its only by unifying against an already unified economic elite that Americans of all races and ethnicities can keep hope alive for a more prosperous future.
Before going any further, I just want to quote from McDonoughs article, where she references a sampling of the information already out there:
http://www.salon.com/2014/05/09/white_privilege_101_heres_the_basic_lesson_paul_ryan_tal_fortgang_and_donald_sterling/
Edit history
Please sign in to view edit histories.
220 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
RecommendedHighlight replies with 5 or more recommendations
I see this, the feminist group and the men's group, all as divide and conqure
angstlessk
May 2014
#1
Yes, yes. People different from you talking about their experiences really just boils down to
Squinch
May 2014
#104
I think we need to stay away from broad brush generalizations of everybody. White privilege? Give
applegrove
May 2014
#137
It doesn't mean "do whatever you can not to make the majority uncomfortable." n/t
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#200
The phrase "white privilege" couldn't be better designed to put poor whites on the defensive
Fumesucker
May 2014
#6
No, the stupid strawman erected about poor white people is what's designed to do that.
NuclearDem
May 2014
#8
Yes, talk of privilege is undermined with the Randian "you deserve what you got" mentality
Chathamization
May 2014
#23
I agree with you. There is a lot in life we can't control, starting with the parents we're born to.
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#210
Agree with everything you wrote, especially "those that end up at the bottom" not being at fault
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#215
and every indication says that if you are a White male...in any situation
VanillaRhapsody
May 2014
#71
So are you saying that those who are poor and not White male are even more at fault?
VanillaRhapsody
May 2014
#74
The drug war is somewhere the government could make a *huge* difference in white privilege
Fumesucker
May 2014
#123
If you are poor and White male...it is still easier than being poor and Black and or poor and Female
VanillaRhapsody
May 2014
#64
I am not arguing....nor am I making light of a serious issues people are facing in this country...
VanillaRhapsody
May 2014
#164
I know from visiting my son's college and being on his campus for some two weeks,
truedelphi
May 2014
#115
Selective admissions in general are anathema to equality and public money shouldn't go to
Chathamization
May 2014
#173
So by your theory....since we have a Black President....Racism is over right?
VanillaRhapsody
May 2014
#160
BRAVO Raindog!!! As a poor white person who's been through a lot... it's NOTHING compared to what
DesertDiamond
May 2014
#13
We can admit that there is both a poverty problem and a race-based inequality problem
bhikkhu
May 2014
#150
As a matter of principle, I'll just take a moment to note that perhaps, JUST PERHAPS...
Shandris
May 2014
#29
Well said, and I can't (and wouldn't want to) argue with the overall sentiment one bit.
Shandris
May 2014
#35
You cannot "set aside" economics in probably any political discussion, definitely not in the US.
TheKentuckian
May 2014
#178
With you. High five. Unity need not be conflated with uniformity of outlook and purity of soul.
ancianita
May 2014
#41
When people of color discuss our experiences here on DU regarding race, PLEASE
Liberal_Stalwart71
May 2014
#42
"supports the idea that white people do not want to understand the experience of others"
Number23
May 2014
#51
Why? If those views are expressed here and continue to be expressed here with no PPRing or hiding
seaglass
May 2014
#59
You know the poster doesn't want to be lumped in with racists and hell neither do I.
boston bean
May 2014
#66
You are presuming to tell people that a particular topic of discussion is off limits.
totodeinhere
May 2014
#73
AMEN and AMEN!! If we objectify human nature like the OP has done then MAYBE people will stop
uponit7771
May 2014
#102
"African Americans cannot talk about offenses against them without some white taking it personally"
yurbud
May 2014
#132
the phrase, even if "true" is a big boon to the Tea Party and the GOP
The Green Manalishi
May 2014
#133
Of course there is white privilege, but it is a pretty useless and misused concept.
Vattel
May 2014
#143
I had to think about that last sentence for a minute to decide whether I agree or disagree
yurbud
May 2014
#182
Thanks so much for this post. Hopefully it'll make at least a few folks stop and think.
nomorenomore08
May 2014
#202
Plus the anniversary of the decision in Brown v Board of Education of Topeka was this week.
Major Hogwash
May 2014
#203