- cross-posted to:
- lemmyshitpost@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- lemmyshitpost@lemmy.world
Lol, no. This is what happens when you don’t talk to real leftists and spend all your time circlejerking each other.
Calling someone privileged because they are white is because whiteness bestows privileges. You’re like, “No, it doesn’t!”
White people own 86% of wealth and make up 60% of the population
White High School Drop-Outs Are As Likely To Land Jobs As Black College Students
And there’s plenty more. There is a very strong correlation between a white skin color and being anywhere other than the bottom of the social strata in the United States. Whiteness as privilege is just a shortened quip that captures that idea. You’re essentially attacking a strawman.
Now, I will admit that #NotAllWhitePeople are as privileged as the white label might suggest. I’ve lived in Dayton, OH, hollowed out by automakers outsourcing their operations to Mexico, and they are clearly very poor. That East Palestine train débâcle is a case in point. And it flies in the face of the fact that middle-aged white men, generally considered to be the wealthiest, kill themselves at a higher rate that any other demographic.
Lulz
Saying “white people are privileged” isn’t a judgement though, it is a perceived description of reality. And because of “racism” (the idea that humanity can be separated into different “races” based on characteristics such as skin color), if society places you in the “white people” category, you will be treated differently than if you are placed into the “non-white category”.
To name a specific and concrete example, if you happen to get classified as “white”, you will not be racially profiled and searched by police simply because of your racial classification. In this specific case, white people have the privilege of not having to deal with that issue.
Where the idea of white privilege falls short is that it implies that “white people” are always more privileged and/or better off than “black people” in every way, which is obviously not true. In reality, your perceived class identity is much more important when it comes to how you are probably going to be treated by society.
The issue is that oftentimes, race is used to judge someone’s class status. A black person is more likely to be classified as “poor”. However, when you are “white”, but you look like a homeless person, you will probably be treated in a similar way.