Quote:
Originally Posted by LChoy
At my organization, we're currently doing a very good equity and diversity course run out of University of Dalhousie. We had a chapter on White privilege and some of the key points is that the recognition and acknowledgement of white privilege shouldn't have a component of blame to it. It's the recognition and acknowledgement that all people have similar challenges in life, but on top of those challenges, non-white people have additional barriers and issues that exist solely due to them being non-white. Someone posted earlier that it's like a video game difficulty lever. You shouldn't have to apologize for being born white and or having had any of the benefits in life because of it, but to acknowledge a white male is the default difficulty level, and as you start adding other equity dimensions (gender, sex, attraction, ethnicity, neurodivergence,...etc), the more difficult life becomes.
So yes the system doesn't work for everyone and there are white people who are struggling in society. However being white doesn't significantly add additional challenges as it does for non-white individuals, and that's what makes it a privlege.
Hope that makes sense
LChoy
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Makes a lot of sense in a lot of ways, yes, but the point is still being missed here. White privilege is a term that cannot be applied to all white people equally. Some work at a disadvantage as well. To inject a humor-based example into this, watch this short video.
Not all white people are created equal and get to start on third base. There are a lot of people who don't even get to the plate and face similar impedances that minorities can feel/experience. Try coming from the sticks of West Virginia and all the baggage that comes with. You're not getting much privilege being white when you look and sound like a #### kicker that is married to their sibling. You're getting much of society looking down their nose at you too. White privilege exists, but it doesn't exist for everyone who is white. You have to dress, act, and speak certain ways to have the full benefit.
White privilege is also a weapon used to beat white people over the head with. When I was in higher education I routinely ended up on a lot of grievance committees and disciplinary panels. Students would register grievances against professors, many times for ridiculous claims. The thing that would be routinely trotted out was "white privilege" and how the instructor was using their whiteness to hold back a student - usually a student who was not doing the work in the class or the work was substandard. Of all the complaints only one was upheld and resulted in discipline and training for the instructor. All others held no merit and were attempts to social engineer a path to a passing grade in the class. The term has become as much a weapon as it has a truism. This is the part about the term I'm trying to expose here.
One last point on your post, in the current context it isn't much fun being a white male in a position of authority or power. With force DEI programs and the me too movement, every word that comes out of your mouth has to be measured and free of anything that could possibly offend. With forced affirmative action the hiring process is crazy difficult for the public sector. We now have to submit detailed explanations why candidate A is superior to candidate B prior to extending an offer, especially if you are choosing a white male candidate. I support both affirmative action and DEI, but the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction IMO. These processes must be explored and allowed to develop organically or they can do as much damage to the organization as they provide benefit.