Political Correctness

[arabella]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/tragicdeath/20110215113932.jpg

White privilege, huh? We may be treated differently sometimes, but we're also shunned a LOT because people fear a lack of "diversity".

Do you understand what White Privilege is about? Have you read McIntosh's paper? It is so much deeper than college enrollment.
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[Washburne]

I think the topic is really interesting but sadly I don't have the energy, at the moment, to even read most things written so far. So I'll keep it very short.

If someone asks me my thoughts on an issue i'll give them MY thoughts. I'm not going to be a speaking mirror for someone and just agree with whatever they say (or say what they want to hear).

"You" will be meant in the general sense.

If you're asked your opinion about something it's up to your if you'll lie not to hurt them (or keeping your mouth shut) or tell them what you think. If you know that what you think will hurt the one asking. However. There's something to be said about how you phrase your opinion. In my mind at least. To me it's all about respect.

 

[prophecygrrl]

On the subject of white privilege and college enrollment/other things:

Tim Wise's commentary on it. I don't know how well known Tim Wise is outside of the U.S., but he's one of the leading anti-racism scholars and activists in America.
http://www.timwise.org/2008/09/explaining-white-privilege-or-your-defense-mechanism-is-showing/

That's the point: privilege is the flipside of discrimination. If people of color face discrimination, in housing, employment and elsewhere, then the rest of us are receiving a de facto subsidy, a privilege, an advantage in those realms of daily life. There can be no down without an up, in other words.

None of this means that white folks don't face challenges. Of course we do, and some of them (based on class, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, or other factors) are systemic and institutionalized. But on balance, we can take for granted that we will receive a leg-up on those persons of color with whom we share a nation.

And no, affirmative action doesn't change any of this.

Despite white fears to the contrary, even with affirmative action in place (which, contrary to popular belief does not allow quotas or formal set-asides except in those rare cases where blatant discrimination has been proven) whites hold about ninety percent of all the management level jobs in this country, receive about ninety-four percent of government contract dollars, and hold ninety percent of tenured faculty positions on college campuses. And in spite of affirmative action programs, whites are more likely than members of any other racial group to be admitted to their college of first choice.* And according to a study released last year, for every student of color who received even the slightest consideration from an affirmative action program in college, there are two whites who failed to meet normal qualification requirements at the same school, but who got in anyway because of parental influence, alumni status or because other favors were done.

Furthermore, although white students often think that so-called minority scholarships are a substantial drain on financial aid resources that would otherwise be available to them, nothing could be further from the truth. According to a national study by the General Accounting Office, less than four percent of scholarship money in the U.S. is represented by awards that consider race as a factor at all, while only 0.25 percent (that's one quarter of one percent for the math challenged) of all undergrad scholarship dollars come from awards that are restricted to persons of color alone. What's more, the idea that large numbers of students of color receive the benefits of race-based scholarships is lunacy of the highest order. In truth, only 3.5 percent of college students of color receive any scholarship even partly based on race, suggesting that such programs remain a pathetically small piece of the financial aid picture in this country, irrespective of what a gaggle of reactionary white folks might believe.**
In other words, despite the notion that somehow we have attained an equal opportunity, or color-blind society, the fact is, we are far from an equitable nation. People of color continue to face obstacles based solely on color, and whites continue to reap benefits from the same. None of this makes whites bad people, and none of it means we should feel guilty or beat ourselves up. But it does mean we need to figure out how we're going to be accountable for our unearned advantages. One way is by fighting for a society in which those privileges will no longer exist, and in which we will be able to stand on our own two feet, without the artificial crutch of racial advantage to prop us up. We need to commit to fighting for racial equity and challenging injustice at every turn, not only because it harms others, but because it diminishes us as well (even as it pays dividends), and because it squanders the promise of fairness and equity to which we claim to adhere as Americans.

It's about responsibility, not guilt.

---------- Post added at 02:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:44 PM ----------

lol, and I say this as an Asian American gal who doesn't benefit from most affirmative action programs or white privilege, actually. Sadface. 😛 I also just finished applying colleges around last month. I've been made pretty well aware of how affirmative action can affect people's application status, as well as my own, and I still see it as something important.

For the record, I don't even think affirmative action is unfair, as some people argue. (And like I said, I mostly don't benefit from it either lol, so I'm not just saying this. 😛) But it's a way of dealing with the institutional racism in this society, recognizing that this country was founded on privileging whiteness and that this STILL affects us today when it comes to economics, social equality, political and cultural representation, etc. All of this still matters when it comes to the types of opportunity we all given. We should question why we have certain opportunities over others, because nothing just happens that way. Privilege exists. Whether it's white privilege, class privilege, able-bodied privilege, male privilege...it exists, and it needs to be addressed. A claim that black people (or any POC, really) are more "favored" than white people in college admittances doesn't change the reality of systematic oppression.

 

[randiann]

I wish I would have seen that you were applying to college a month earlier, cause it's too late now to apply, but to anyone who qualifies, the gates scholarship is a godsend to a minority student! It is one of those few scholarships that does take race into factor, but is also heavily dependant on grades. I encourage anyone who qualities to apply!! Deadline each year is jan 15
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[Skanky Vamp]

You can talk about the inequality of race but I still think sex trumps that.. of course if you are a 'minority' who happens to also be female you are really up poos creak without a paddle. But women still dont get a fair shake and it has been going on longer.

 

[randiann]

But here is the deal (which I tried pointing out in a different thread), it doesn't matter what trumps what. It's not a contest. It's all discrimination, and it's all wrong. We need to realize that we as a human population subject others who are different than us to all sorts of injustice, be it unintentional or on purpose. It's unrealistic to expect or even think that true equality for all s across the board is attainable. It's a utopian concept that will never be truly realized despite the best efforts of us all. But that shouldn't prevent us from trying our best to attain it. Try is all we can do. Try to be contentious of others and try to treat everyone equally. You aren't going to be perfect. You ar going to fail. You are going to make snap judgments and say and think things you shouldn't. it's part of being human. But that shouldn't stop us from trying.
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[prophecygrrl]

But here is the deal (which I tried pointing out in a different thread), it doesn't matter what trumps what. It's not a contest. It's all discrimination, and it's all wrong. We need to realize that we as a human population subject others who are different than us to all sorts of injustice, be it unintentional or on purpose. It's unrealistic to expect or even think that true equality for all s across the board is attainable. It's a utopian concept that will never be truly realized despite the best efforts of us all. But that shouldn't prevent us from trying our best to attain it. Try is all we can do. Try to be contentious of others and try to treat everyone equally. You aren't going to be perfect. You ar going to fail. You are going to make snap judgments and say and think things you shouldn't. it's part of being human. But that shouldn't stop us from trying.
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Very true! Trying to play Oppression Olympics isn't very productive, lol. 😛 I always find it uncomfortable trying to quantify oppression.

But I think one of the most important things about trying to treat everyone equally is just to learn about how exactly discrimination manifests. Or at least to be *willing* to learn about it. We can't discern what equality means, much less how to practice it, if we can't (or refuse to! 🙁) recognize discrimination where it is. Whether it's unintentional or on purpose, but also whether it's overt or systematic.