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bijouxbroussard · F
Because in the Western world it is, in spite of some being oblivious to the fact. It's not about money, either. This post by scholar Peggy McIntosh breaks it down:
1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.
3. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.
4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
7. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.
9. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.
10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.
11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person's voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race.
12. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can cut my hair.
13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.
3. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.
4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
7. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.
9. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.
10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.
11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person's voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race.
12. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can cut my hair.
13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
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bijouxbroussard · F
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bijouxbroussard · F
@SW-User You saw where I specified
And yet even internationally, white friends have reported that they're treated with more respect than locals in many places.
in the Western world
?And yet even internationally, white friends have reported that they're treated with more respect than locals in many places.
if I had money I could demand respect
You assume you could. Your money cannot force the police not to profile you or a neighbor not to call them because they look at you and think you're breaking into your own home. These are probably subtleties you'd have to experience. They're unbelievable when they're happening to you.
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bijouxbroussard · F
@SW-User Yes, it does. Most of the time you don't hear about it, because the police come, you show them your id, and they go. But it doesn't happen to everyone.
Of course there are good and bad in each race. But there's a sense here that only whites are allowed to be individuals. If Latinos, blacks, etc. commit crimes, we're all dangerous and part of a criminal "community". The past few mass shootings have been overrepresented by young white men, yet no one would ever suggest to law enforcement that they should profile that demographic.
Money helps, and I would not deny that for a second. But it doesn't prevent discrimination. A good friend was advised by a bank after trying to withdraw some money from the sale of her house (which she'd deposited a month earlier) "we need more identification because you don't fit our profile of someone who would have access to this amount".
She successfully sued them because they were foolish enough to actually tell her that, and now has even more money than "fits" her "profile".
Of course there are good and bad in each race. But there's a sense here that only whites are allowed to be individuals. If Latinos, blacks, etc. commit crimes, we're all dangerous and part of a criminal "community". The past few mass shootings have been overrepresented by young white men, yet no one would ever suggest to law enforcement that they should profile that demographic.
Money helps, and I would not deny that for a second. But it doesn't prevent discrimination. A good friend was advised by a bank after trying to withdraw some money from the sale of her house (which she'd deposited a month earlier) "we need more identification because you don't fit our profile of someone who would have access to this amount".
She successfully sued them because they were foolish enough to actually tell her that, and now has even more money than "fits" her "profile".
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bijouxbroussard · F
@SW-User It is recorded and more people of color are poor, and there is more crime where people are poor. Does that mean that if you're a person of color you should be assumed to be a criminal until you've proven otherwise ? Some people think it does. But some whites will tell you that everyone's treated the same. They have no way of knowing that, and very few people of color say that.
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Gwangi · 46-50, M
@ChairmanofthePool huh?