Reading through the "White Privileged Test" written by a lunatic professor 30 years ago, I was amazed at how the words just oozed of "wokeness". It wasn't an expression of realizing the potential of betterment for oneself, but a profession of victim-hood experienced by "people of color" and the vast moral superiority one will obtain by recognizing these so-called "privileges". Not being able to bind BandAids that match your skin tone? Come on. Madam CJ Walker,the first self-made female millionaire in the US was a black woman who made her money selling cosmetic products aimed at African Americans. And now it's white privilege that BandAids don't come in dark skin tones? Last time I checked, the colors didn't match my skin tones either... maybe they match a little better but they don't exactly blend in, and I certainly don't feel like a freak wearing one. Of course, I'm not trying to be a victim either. I wonder who those bright pink or Disney BandAids are aimed at.... certainly haven't seen those skin tones yet. It invents a problem where there isn't one.
The people at the newly created parasite country of CHAZ have demanded black doctors for black patients... as if that makes a difference in quality medical care. I'm sure there would be a lot of medical professionals who would be highly offended if you told them they wouldn't or couldn't care for someone who had different skin. Frankly, if you need to see a doctor who has the same skin color to feel like you are being taken care of.... you probably need a different kind of doctor... the one that sits you on a couch instead of an exam table. I don't care if my doctor is a purple tentacled alien from the planet Zorax.... as long as he/she/it/zer keeps me well. There is no legitimate medical reason why skin color matters in medical care unless you are actually racist. Hmmm.... that doesn't sound right.... oh that's right... it's only racist if a white person says it.
The people at the newly created parasite country of CHAZ have demanded black doctors for black patients... as if that makes a difference in quality medical care. I'm sure there would be a lot of medical professionals who would be highly offended if you told them they wouldn't or couldn't care for someone who had different skin. Frankly, if you need to see a doctor who has the same skin color to feel like you are being taken care of.... you probably need a different kind of doctor... the one that sits you on a couch instead of an exam table. I don't care if my doctor is a purple tentacled alien from the planet Zorax.... as long as he/she/it/zer keeps me well. There is no legitimate medical reason why skin color matters in medical care unless you are actually racist. Hmmm.... that doesn't sound right.... oh that's right... it's only racist if a white person says it.
Fundamentally, there are qualities that give everyone a bit of an edge or disadvantage in some way or another. Not all of them can be attributed as racist. Hair Color, Height, Eyesight are all qualities that are discriminatory in some facet of life but since it can't be blamed on a race it can't really be racist. There are the jokes about redheads or gingers having no souls... etc. Improper and probably in poor taste outside of good friends... but not racist. Is the NBA racist for having so many African Americans? It's not skin color but physical height that makes you NBA worthy. Should we demand the heights of basketball players represent a perfect cross section of height distribution? Eyesight is a factor in anyone who wishes to be a military pilot and for obvious reasons. That isn't racist either. But I would probably be barred from military flight school because I don't have quite perfect vision and I certainly couldn't compete for a spot in the NBA because of my height. It is because these groups can't be singled out into a single category of victim-hood that we are not hearing about the poor short people who can't play basketball. Personally, I have an edge in certain physical disciplines because I am male.. but a college entrance exam? I would have to score better to be equally matched with an identical person who happens to be female. But is that sexism? Not if you ask the left and even when you acknowledge that more women than men achieve bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. males are also more likely to do poorer when compared to their female counterparts and are far more likely to drop out of college than female students. If I were to flip the male and female part of those last statements, the resounding cry would be that higher education is sexist, run by misogynistic pigs and would probably start a riot. But since it's males who are more likely to fall short in higher education, it's not sexism.
Now, we see another shift in the propaganda of white privilege. First, white privilege meant you had it better because your skin was white and that went along just fine. Just fine until a bunch of white people said "Hold up. I'm white and I've had a pretty shitty life". Now, it doesn't mean you have a bad life, it just means you would be worse off if you were black. Says who? A bunch of virtue signalling white people. It is impossible to make predictions based on what would have happened if "something". It's like saying Obama wouldn't have won office if 9/11 hadn't happened. Really? Maybe... but then again... maybe not. And the best part? You'll never know so you can't rebuff them with reality because you are no longer in reality but a fantasy realm of "what ifs?". What situation would my life had been if the only difference had been my skin color? Would I have been murdered by the cops? Maybe I'd be homeless. Maybe I'd be exactly the same except making 50% less because... you know.... racism... or white privilege. No one could say in exactly what way I've benefited from my whiteness.... but your damn well sure I have.... and it's not fair.
I believe this is the counter to the idea that people arrive in their momentary position in life largely by the decisions they make. Now, it's about where you could have been had you been white or what you got because you were white and has very little to do with finishing high school, not getting knocked up or knocking someone up, not choosing to engage in criminal activity, working hard, spending money wisely, etc. Bear in mind, they can never tell you exactly what you have gotten because of your privilege, but you certainly did. Compare it to being accused of a crime: they can't tell you what you did or how bad it was but they are 100% certain that you did something. It's again, an effort to avoid the responsibility of making good choices. It's a bonus that you get to make white people feel bad about their skin color too because that further divides us into groups and allows group identity politics to take further hold.
A Note on Bias:
There is an argument that this comes from bias that had been learned or is hardwired into our brains. I believe this is true but not in the same way. Bias simply means a tendency to one thing over another when presented with both options equally. This is not a fault on our part but an essential mechanism for survival. People have a hardwired tendency to things that we are comfortable with and know. This makes sense... at our core, we are still animals with primitive portions of reasoning (don't get me started on that.... it's incredibly fascinating). We have very strong portions of our brains that are responsible for keeping us alive... you know... don't walk off the cliff... don't pet the saber-tooth tiger... etc. These are rooted in the decision making process which relies on bias to make fast decisions. We have an innate wariness of high places... why? Did we at some point fall off a cliff and decide that's not a good idea? Not likely. It's a situation we are not familiar with... and that can mean danger. Why do certain (harmless) things strike fear into small children? Because they operate on a more primitive level and haven't yet overcome some of those primitive reactions. Our brains naturally tend to like situations where we are familiar. This can include people who look like us, people who talk like us, people who behave like us, places that look like where we have lived for long periods of time, etc. Personally, when I last spend time in Korea.... the thing that bugged me the most wasn't the cultural differences or the fact that I stood out like a sore thumb being a white guy.... it was the language.... I didn't like not being able to communicate freely. Don't know why but all the rest of the stuff didn't bother me much except that. Kind of weird.
These biases allow us to make decisions. They artificially put a thumb on a scale where there may not be an easy way to distinguish one choice versus another. If we didn't have a way to make preferential decisions at an unconscious level, we would get caught at a decision that we couldn't make because our brain couldn't make a determination one way or another. This idea that conscious thought drives our day to day lives is an absolute farce... we make thousands, if not thousands of decisions each day unconsciously using that primitive framework. Every action involves a decision and if you had to weigh each decision you would never do anything. Think about what must be decided in order to eat breakfast... you must decide which hand to use... that's easy you say.... but is it really? Why do you actually tend to use one hand versus another? Why not use your non dominant hand? Could you dominant hand be doing something more important? And why do you have a dominant hand anyway? Ins't that biased one way for no good reason? Why don't you diversify and learn to use your other hand you bloody neanderthal! Do you start with your tofu eggs or your toast? Why? Are you really going to make that decision on a whim? But even before that.... what chair at the table are you going to use? One might be creaky... another might have a better view... another might put your back to the rising sun.... etc. Biases enable you to do these things.
It is a denial of nature and our creation to say these biases are bad at their core... sure, some might not be great.... like your bias towards putting an extra dose of salt on your triple double bacon heat attack burger. But there are plenty that are harmless in their creation and do not have motive behind them. Doesn't mean you can't try to learn to disregard those biases.... as you probably should with things like people who look different. But the fact that they exist, doesn't make you racist, or have privilege. Unfortunately, it means you are, in fact, human. And that's probably the best thing we have going for us right now.
End Note
So many people are claiming this white privileged exists but can't ever produce any solid evidence of it that cannot be explained better by other facts or observations. It's a mythical fantasy that allows people to sit in their comfortable suburban home and self-flagellate over something they have no control over in order to somehow atone for whatever evils we have been told are being done to people of color. It is a an example of saying you are woke but actually doing nothing.... because nothing can objectively be done. White privilege must be acknowledged on an individual level but must be fixed at a policy or systemic level. So show me the policy that creates privilege. Show me the institution that is biased towards whites. Show me something... anything that can be changed. It's always these intangibles and hypotheticals or apologizing for something you didn't do. Should you apologize to everyone else when you get an extra scoop of free topping on your ice cream sundae because the server thinks you're cute? Should I apologize for the fact that because I am a regular at the place I get my coffee that one of the employees give me a discount? It comes down to apologizing for everything that might be seen as better than anyone else. This goes beyond race or skin color. Can there be such a thing as black privilege? What about Asian privilege? Should I apologize for being born in the most free county on the planet and in the history of the world? What about the fact that I woke up today? All this apologizing does nothing... fixes nothing... creates nothing better. Sooner or later people are going to realize that and demand substance. What does that look like?
This could very easily be swung the other way as an excuse to discriminate against white people. White people are actually advocating for racists ideology and practice because they have been convinced that they are guilty of the offense of being white. It easily goes from "You are white and have advantages you need to acknowledge" to "You have things you don't deserve because you are white" to "We are going to take things from you because you got them illegitimately." That is a slippery slope because what things do you have that you don't deserve? Who decides? Is it your money? Maybe your car? Your house? Your life?
We can never build someone up by tearing others down and that's what is happening even if that's tearing down yourself. let's build people up by acknowledging their perseverance in challenges, in success from determination because despite whatever may be working against us, we can rise above and achieve.
A Note on Bias:
There is an argument that this comes from bias that had been learned or is hardwired into our brains. I believe this is true but not in the same way. Bias simply means a tendency to one thing over another when presented with both options equally. This is not a fault on our part but an essential mechanism for survival. People have a hardwired tendency to things that we are comfortable with and know. This makes sense... at our core, we are still animals with primitive portions of reasoning (don't get me started on that.... it's incredibly fascinating). We have very strong portions of our brains that are responsible for keeping us alive... you know... don't walk off the cliff... don't pet the saber-tooth tiger... etc. These are rooted in the decision making process which relies on bias to make fast decisions. We have an innate wariness of high places... why? Did we at some point fall off a cliff and decide that's not a good idea? Not likely. It's a situation we are not familiar with... and that can mean danger. Why do certain (harmless) things strike fear into small children? Because they operate on a more primitive level and haven't yet overcome some of those primitive reactions. Our brains naturally tend to like situations where we are familiar. This can include people who look like us, people who talk like us, people who behave like us, places that look like where we have lived for long periods of time, etc. Personally, when I last spend time in Korea.... the thing that bugged me the most wasn't the cultural differences or the fact that I stood out like a sore thumb being a white guy.... it was the language.... I didn't like not being able to communicate freely. Don't know why but all the rest of the stuff didn't bother me much except that. Kind of weird.
These biases allow us to make decisions. They artificially put a thumb on a scale where there may not be an easy way to distinguish one choice versus another. If we didn't have a way to make preferential decisions at an unconscious level, we would get caught at a decision that we couldn't make because our brain couldn't make a determination one way or another. This idea that conscious thought drives our day to day lives is an absolute farce... we make thousands, if not thousands of decisions each day unconsciously using that primitive framework. Every action involves a decision and if you had to weigh each decision you would never do anything. Think about what must be decided in order to eat breakfast... you must decide which hand to use... that's easy you say.... but is it really? Why do you actually tend to use one hand versus another? Why not use your non dominant hand? Could you dominant hand be doing something more important? And why do you have a dominant hand anyway? Ins't that biased one way for no good reason? Why don't you diversify and learn to use your other hand you bloody neanderthal! Do you start with your tofu eggs or your toast? Why? Are you really going to make that decision on a whim? But even before that.... what chair at the table are you going to use? One might be creaky... another might have a better view... another might put your back to the rising sun.... etc. Biases enable you to do these things.
It is a denial of nature and our creation to say these biases are bad at their core... sure, some might not be great.... like your bias towards putting an extra dose of salt on your triple double bacon heat attack burger. But there are plenty that are harmless in their creation and do not have motive behind them. Doesn't mean you can't try to learn to disregard those biases.... as you probably should with things like people who look different. But the fact that they exist, doesn't make you racist, or have privilege. Unfortunately, it means you are, in fact, human. And that's probably the best thing we have going for us right now.
End Note
So many people are claiming this white privileged exists but can't ever produce any solid evidence of it that cannot be explained better by other facts or observations. It's a mythical fantasy that allows people to sit in their comfortable suburban home and self-flagellate over something they have no control over in order to somehow atone for whatever evils we have been told are being done to people of color. It is a an example of saying you are woke but actually doing nothing.... because nothing can objectively be done. White privilege must be acknowledged on an individual level but must be fixed at a policy or systemic level. So show me the policy that creates privilege. Show me the institution that is biased towards whites. Show me something... anything that can be changed. It's always these intangibles and hypotheticals or apologizing for something you didn't do. Should you apologize to everyone else when you get an extra scoop of free topping on your ice cream sundae because the server thinks you're cute? Should I apologize for the fact that because I am a regular at the place I get my coffee that one of the employees give me a discount? It comes down to apologizing for everything that might be seen as better than anyone else. This goes beyond race or skin color. Can there be such a thing as black privilege? What about Asian privilege? Should I apologize for being born in the most free county on the planet and in the history of the world? What about the fact that I woke up today? All this apologizing does nothing... fixes nothing... creates nothing better. Sooner or later people are going to realize that and demand substance. What does that look like?
This could very easily be swung the other way as an excuse to discriminate against white people. White people are actually advocating for racists ideology and practice because they have been convinced that they are guilty of the offense of being white. It easily goes from "You are white and have advantages you need to acknowledge" to "You have things you don't deserve because you are white" to "We are going to take things from you because you got them illegitimately." That is a slippery slope because what things do you have that you don't deserve? Who decides? Is it your money? Maybe your car? Your house? Your life?
We can never build someone up by tearing others down and that's what is happening even if that's tearing down yourself. let's build people up by acknowledging their perseverance in challenges, in success from determination because despite whatever may be working against us, we can rise above and achieve.
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