So, what do you guys think on this term, do you guys think it’s a good one or not? Are there better alternatives? Feel free to discuss everything about the term here.
Also, @ShanniiWrites made a blog post which is very informative about this, so if you are interested and wanna learn more about the subject I would advise you to go check it out. Here you go: https://shanniiwrites.com/2019/11/17/white-privilege-is-a-stupid-term-and-heres-why/
But this isn’t the place to discuss the blog post, it’s a place to discuss the term itself and anything related to it.
I think it’s a fine term and a pretty accurate one at that. White privilege refers to the advantages white people have in our society that POC are not afforded. It doesn’t mean that all white people have great lives or face no hardships, simply that they have privileges that POC don’t have. I think that is where a lot of misconceptions about white privilege comes from because I’ve talked with a lot of people who as soon as white privilege is mentioned, they’ll talk about how they’re poor, or their dad is unemployed or just general hardships that they’ve been through. However, the term white privilege is not meant to dismiss difficult things that white people go through in their lives, it is meant to bring light to the issues POC face in our racist society.
For example, with the rise of COVID-19 cases, hate crimes against people with an Asian background have risen too, primarily because COVID emerged in China. People who haven’t been back to China in years still face discrimination. I remember in the beginnings of COVID-19, I talked about wanting to go to a Chinese restaurant (because yum) and my friend rebuked that idea talking 'bout “Do you wanna get corona?” Obviously, no, I do not want to get COVID, but it is racist to assume that just because a restaurant is Chinese, you will get COVID from eating there. Or just because a person is Asian, they will have COVID. My point? If the virus first emerged in a European country, do you really think hate crimes against whites would increase? Maybe, but it wouldn’t be like what many Asians are facing or what Black people faced during that whole Ebola thing (my God that was not fun).
Just to throw my opinion in. I hate the term, I think it is bullshizzle. It is insulting to assume that anyone has privilege because if their skin colour. I’m not saying that it isn’t true that in some places it can be a factor, because that would be stupid, and untrue. But also in some cases, and places in the world, being white isn’t a privilege, in fact it can be something that gets hate, and prejudice. So as far as I’m concerned it’s a stupid term made up to stir hatred and trouble and resentment between people of different races. I think the world has enough of that already, without people tarring others with labels of privilege.
And as for this ^^ yes… I do think the hate crimes would go up if it was in Europe. This isn’t a race thing, the stupid and cruel hate crimes against Chinese people. It a just plain ignorance. Moronic people who are scared or stupid enough to search for whatever reason they can find to explain this pandemic, and blame someone, anyone, for the deaths that it’s caused. It’s not a case of privilege. And many Europeans, even white ones, are often targets of hate crimes just because they are from different countries. No matter of skin colour. I have had several Polish friends that I grew up with. They were white men, and they were often hated against because of their nationality… so I don’t think that they would have white privilege they are just as badly treated as others by those narrow minded enough to believe that they have superiority.
Okay, but, it’s true. People do have privilege because of their skin colour. Just like people have privilege depending on their sexual orientation or because of their gender. There have been cases of Black people getting fired from their job because their natural hair was “unprofessional” or “untidy”. In fact, it is still legal in some states in America to ban natural hair styles from the workplace. Also, that boy, DeAndre Arnold wasn’t allowed to walk at his graduation unless he cut his dreads, and he’s been growing them for years! It’s part of his culture. Jonathan Sutherland received a letter from an alumnus saying his dreadlocks were “awful” and “certainly not attractive”. The letter said that Sutherland needs “to remember [he] represents all Penn Staters both current and those alumni from years past” and obviously his “disgusting” dreadlocks are not representative of this. Black hair has been deemed as not clean-cut in a world where white people hair (sorry I don’t have any other word to call white people hair—mostly referring to the texture) is the norm. The term is not made up to stir hatred and trouble between people of different races, just like the Black Lives Matter movement isn’t meant to say that the lives of Black people are superior. As well, white privilege (as well as just privilege in general) can also be seen in the media where certain types of people are represented. Also, in history class, generally, minorities don’t get to learn as much about their history as we do about the white history. I learned recently there was a textbook all about black history in Canada in my school, but it’s not in the curriculum. They rarely teach anything about Black history in Canada besides slavery. And in my school, we have an Indigenous History course, but it’s elective. These are all examples of white privilege, and I’m not meaning to stir up trouble or whatever, just trying to prove the term’s existence.
If it isn’t a race thing… then what is it? You cannot tell me that Italian restaurants were as badly hit as Chinese restaurants when COVID was first beginning. Obviously now all restaurants are not doing well, but I’m talking about before the lockdown and quarantine when COVID was very much associated with China.
You can still have white privilege whilst still being a target of hate crimes just like you can still be privileged because you’re straight whilst still being estranged from your family. And yeah, a lot of people are hated against for being immigrants, white or black or whatever, but it doesn’t change the fact that white people have privilege. In the States, especially in border cities to Mexico, there is discrimination facing Latino people, even though they might not be undocumented. A lot of people have issues with Latinos speaking Spanish in public, and I’m not saying this doesn’t happen to white immigrants. I don’t mean to diminish their struggles, not at all, there are always going to be people against immigrants of all kinds. But still, hate crimes against Latinos have risen steadily since 2016 (i wonder why), and this is without them even speaking Spanish, sometimes it’s just looking at the brown colour of their skin.
I usually believe that white privilege is a stupid term because it describes things that are rights rather than privileges…
But I’m ngl: there’s one thing that annoys me. Those “find your past” ancestry adverts on tv. Yeah it’s a massive white privilege to be able to track your own family using newspapers and documents. Lol my family were colonised and reduced to less than human, legally speaking. It’s pretty difficult for me to do that
i think its a very valid term bcos, although with blatant racism being just bad for poc and not affecting white people, in internalized racism, you just view white ppl as better. which can essentially become pretty privilege bcos admit it we all wanted to be white when we were younger. just like we wanted to be pretty bcos advantagesss.
crazy how like rn as im writing, im trying not to offend white people. genuinely so annoying yall r so sensitive go complain about the word moist elsewhere
if any of you are going to attack me for saying that, you are a problem. if u cant take a joke you care too much. if youre asian and you boil when sum1 goes “ching chong” stfu, if youre hispanic and it rlly hurts u when you hear a border joke, cry me a river so theres more options to sneak in
*knee slap *
anyway, im hispanic so i can speak for my ppl when we say its fine. like it kinda hurts cos like then u think abt the orange pedophile’s concentration camps, so ig thats more srs and reserved for hispanics, but u can call us beaners its kinda funny haha
i say that talking politics when its not necessary is so problematic, complaining isnt gonna fix anything so i’ll shut up, watch and learn.
