50 things I as a white male are given upon birth

musicismylife78

Listed these in the oprah thread but it deserves it own thread. As a white male, I am given priveledges that are so daily and common I never think of them at all. here they are: 50 things I as a white male are given AUTOMATICALLY!!

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.

14. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.

15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.

16. I can be pretty sure that my children's teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others' attitudes toward their race.

17. I can talk with my mouth full and not have people put this down to my color.

18. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race.

19. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.

20. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.

21. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.

22. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.

23. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.

24. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the "person in charge", I will be facing a person of my race.

25. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.

26. I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children's magazines featuring people of my race.

27. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance or feared.

28. I can be pretty sure that an argument with a colleague of another race is more likely to jeopardize her/his chances for advancement than to jeopardize mine.

29. I can be pretty sure that if I argue for the promotion of a person of another race, or a program centering on race, this is not likely to cost me heavily within my present setting, even if my colleagues disagree with me.

30. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn't a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have.

31. I can choose to ignore developments in minority writing and minority activist programs, or disparage them, or learn from them, but in any case, I can find ways to be more or less protected from negative consequences of any of these choices.

32. My culture gives me little fear about ignoring the perspectives and powers of people of other races.

33. I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing or body odor will be taken as a reflection on my race.

34. I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.

35. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.

36. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it had racial overtones.

37. I can be pretty sure of finding people who would be willing to talk with me and advise me about my next steps, professionally.

38. I can think over many options, social, political, imaginative or professional, without asking whether a person of my race would be accepted or allowed to do what I want to do.

39. I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race.

40. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen.

41. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.

42. I can arrange my activities so that I will never have to experience feelings of rejection owing to my race.

43. If I have low credibility as a leader I can be sure that my race is not the problem.

44. I can easily find academic courses and institutions which give attention only to people of my race.

45. I can expect figurative language and imagery in all of the arts to testify to experiences of my race.

46. I can chose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more or less match my skin.

47. I can travel alone or with my spouse without expecting embarrassment or hostility in those who deal with us.

48. I have no difficulty finding neighborhoods where people approve of our household.

49. My children are given texts and classes which implicitly support our kind of family unit and do not turn them against my choice of domestic partnership.

50. I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.

Ahnimus

Cheguevara6 wrote:

Listed these in the oprah thread but it deserves it own thread. As a white male, I am given priveledges that are so daily and common I never think of them at all. here they are: 50 things I as a white male are given AUTOMATICALLY!!

I would argue first off that no one gives anything to anyone at birth like you are describing. It's a matter of circumstances.

1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

Why would you want to?

2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.

Trained? by whom? I was never trained to mistrust anyone except men offering me candy and a ride home.

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.

Nonsense, I can't afford to live where I want to, I live in the slums with other white people and black people.

4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.

Umm, yea, I went outside one day and was confronted by my neighbours, they asked if I was affiliated with someone, when I said no, they spared me an ass-kicking.

5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

Umm, when I go to A&P the black employees don't follow me an harass me, no, and I doubt they follow or harass black customers either. Mind you when I was a teenager I was followed and harassed all the time, agism it's called.

6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.

I don't consider having bill gates face on the newspaper to be representing me in any way.

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.

A bigoted, racist, oppressive, hateful society, yes, that's exactly what I learned in school.

8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.

I can't. You should move.

9. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.

Probably because it's common prejudice

10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.

Huh? I don't get it. As a teenager there were 4 of us white kids and one black kid named Michael and he pretty much lead the group.

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.

You can be casual about listening to anyone's voice, they are your ears man.

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.

Well, I don't know about my race, but certainly nerdcore isn't found in very many record stores, my sub-culture isn't being properly represented. I get my hair cut by a Korean woman.

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.

I think it has more to do with your dress and personal grooming than skin colour, but hey, you live in a fucked up backwards-ass hillbilly culture.

14. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.

I'm not sure what that means. No one ever protected me from people that 'don't like me'.

15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.

I don't think anyone has to, I think that would imply an insecurity that would cause a personality disorder where one thinks they are constantly facing racism.

16. I can be pretty sure that my children's teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others' attitudes toward their race.

Again, that shouldn't be anyone's concern

17. I can talk with my mouth full and not have people put this down to my color.

Nah, but it's still fucking rude no matter what color you are.

18. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race.

Everything is attributable to something and just because someone makes a correlation doesn't mean it's meant in a derogatory way. Hell, I've learned that the truth isn't always pleasent. But I'm not saying their correlations are right either.

19. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.

Really? You know I tried that, but they didn't respond.

20. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.

In-fact you wouldn't dare be called that because it would be racist.

21. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.

I was asked to speak for youth when I was 19

22. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.

Uh.. Canadians and Brits are still gonna pick on you for spelling "color".

I'll get to the rest later, I still think you are attributing race to something that you shouldn't.

Ahnimus

Pehaps your thread should read "As a white man being born in America 60 years ago..."

KidCarnivore

Ahnimus summed it up pretty well. I've read that before. I'm unconvinced and unimpressed. It reminds me of the old Eddie Murphy sketch where he goes through a day as a white guy.

KidCarnivore

Oh yeah, and "50 things I are given"? Apparently, proper grammar is not one of these magical gifts.

NMyTree

Sorry Cheq, but that's the biggest bunch of bullshit I have ever read.

As Ahnimus said, you're 60 years late.

seanw1010

Ahnimus wrote:

Pehaps your thread should read "As a white man being born in America 60 years ago..."

exactly

musicismylife78

so you dont honestly believe that any of these are right?

I as a white male have never been asked to speak for my race. But I do know that if blacks speak in groups of whites, the whites often ask "whats the black perspective".

Whites are never judged on one person. Anna Nicole smith isnt indicative of the entire white race. But if a black male rapes a white female, then all blacks are thugs and such.

As a white male I was born with privelidge, Its a given. Obviously you are too ashamed to admit it.

All of these are true and you are lying if you say you think about them all the time. Things as simple as the band aid thing. These are simple things we take for granted.

Its funny people dont want to talk about race. its like our national secret. it takes movies like Borat to expose us to our racism, sexism and homophobia.

Any white male who refuses to admit they benefit greatly from white priviledge is either stupid or about as intelligent as a rock.

As a white male, please tell me, how many times people have called you the n-word.

musicismylife78

heres a simple one.

My mother and father didnt threaten to beat me or strangle me. When I went to school I got a signed form that said the teacher couldnt use corporal punishment. So did all the other kids.

Yet as a black person thats out of the question.

Ever wonder why Chris Rock or other black comedians talk about how their mothers said "Chris come here or i will whup your big

---

behind" or "I will slap you silly" "I will beat you"

That type of talk is unacceptable in white circles.

Why would blacks say these things to their kids. Certainly blacks are just as responsible and caring as whites. Well heres the reason:

They treat their kids like that because thats what would happen if a black male said something to a cop or said something to a roudy group of violent whites.

Essentially they are getting them ready for a world where your skin color determines if you get shot on site by police for having a wallet, or whatever

My sister got her drivers liscence but didnt have to practice what she would do, as the police officer gets out of his car, what she would do if the officer shot her on site for being white. She didnt have to put her hands on the steering wheel in sight of the officer. Yet as a black male, this is a reality.


The amount of white arrogance on this board is astounding. So you dont think as a white male I have more power, priviledge, and so on, just because I am white?

So my skin color didnt have anything to do with being accepted to college?

Or my skin color doesnt determine of course the fact I have NEVER been followed in a store and accused of shoplifting

Or my skin color of course has nothing to do with if I make a mistake its not the white race that failed, its my mistake, but if ludicrous or JayZ or people at the superdome make mistakes its the black race.

How was Paul Robeson repayed for his services to our country?


All you whites need to get over yourselves

KidCarnivore

Cheguevara6 wrote:

All you whites need to get over yourselves

O.k. I are trying to.

musicismylife78

white priveledge exists whether people on this board are too stupid to ignore it, or not.

Please, all you male whites, tell us how many times you have been stopped by the police in your car over the last 3 months. Sure you were pulled over and ticketed for going 75 in a 45 or you didnt have your tail lights on. But how many times have you been stopped for doing absolutely nothing wrong? Please tell us, honestly.

It would be interesting to speak to maybe 100 african american males, and see what their response to this same question would be.

My father works at a hospital. One of the orderlies is a black female. She says she is stopped by police several times monthly. For doing nothing, other than being black

Ahnimus

Cheguevara6 wrote:

As a white male, please tell me, how many times people have called you the n-word.

I lost count, not to mention honkey, cracker, whitey, wigger, jigger, buttfuck, fuck-up, dipshit, asshole, numbnuts, dork, fucker, and so on.

Ahnimus

Cheguevara6 wrote:

heres a simple one.

It still sounds like your talking about some backwards ass hillbilly ville in buttfuck America. Because it sure as hell isn't like that here.

musicismylife78

the fact you all are so ignorant of white priveldge shows how innundated and brainwashed you all are.

I got good grades, worked hard, am a very good student, but I got into college in a town that prides itself on being hippie west, or hippie central in Oregon. Yet there are hardly any blacks here. Dave Chappelle did a gig here and remarked, "oh I see the 4 blacks from Eugene are here". Eugene is notoriously racist and whites are abound.

Yet I cant help but wonder, in a nearly all white, portland is after all the whitest city in the u.s., how would a black student fare in trying to go to college in portland or in Oregon in general?

Did my color benefit me in any way?

Of course it did.

I would love to be a fly on the wall when ahnimus or whoever says to some black man "oh, i think white priveldge is a lie, it doesnt exist, i as a white male dont get any priveledges that you as a black male dont get".

What would be the response?

Ahnimus

Cheguevara6 wrote:

white priveledge exists whether people on this board are too stupid to ignore it, or not.

Please, all you male whites, tell us how many times you have been stopped by the police in your car over the last 3 months. Sure you were pulled over and ticketed for going 75 in a 45 or you didnt have your tail lights on. But how many times have you been stopped for doing absolutely nothing wrong? Please tell us, honestly.

It would be interesting to speak to maybe 100 african american males, and see what their response to this same question would be.

My father works at a hospital. One of the orderlies is a black female. She says she is stopped by police several times monthly. For doing nothing, other than being black

When I owned my 1991 Grey Z24 Cavalier I was stopped all the time. I was a suspect in a bank robbery I didn't commit, because apparently a 6' caucasian in a black trenchcoat looks just like a 5' asian in a blue bomber jacket.

Purple Hawk

dude, get over your guilt

musicismylife78

ahnimus, please videotape and youtube for us, you going up to a black male or black female and you saying "I as a white male dont get any preferential treatment in society".

Please youtube it for us.

I assume the black male and female will be very receptive and accepting and agree with you. I mean, you and the black male and female are equal right.

I mean, oh course, if I was to walk up to a black male and black female and say , "you two are equal to me, and there is no such thing as white priveldge" I am sure they would smile and say "I agree with you". Then they would buy me a drink and we would be fast friends.

Yes thats how it would be

musicismylife78

get over your racism. Racism is the ultimate evil. I cant think of anything worse. People who think they are better than others because they were born without tainted black skin. Second to that is whites who act like they are god's gift to the world and that racism is dead.

You ever visit the south? Tell them racism is dead.

Stop posting racist crap

musicismylife78

so you dont enjoy any of the priviledges of a white male? I enjoy all of them.

I dont get it, you cant admit you as a white male, have one of the privlidges?

I love how often people act like Pearl jam fans are these enlightened radical folk.

Yet y'all cant even admit white priveledge exists.

WOW!

WMA indeed. You think that guy that ed say get arrested would say ed enjoyed white privelege?

KidCarnivore

Cheguevara6 wrote:

so you dont enjoy any of the priviledges of a white male? I enjoy all of them.

I dont get it, you cant admit you as a white male, have one of the privlidges?

I love how often people act like Pearl jam fans are these enlightened radical folk.

Yet y'all cant even admit white priveledge exists.

WOW!

WMA indeed. You think that guy that ed say get arrested would say ed enjoyed white privelege?

Uh, there's a huge difference between believing that there are some advantages to being born white and believing that I've been given everything on a silver platter. Get over yourself.

somebodyelsessky2020

I was born white and a freak chemical accident occurred while swimming in a public pool which turned me a pale yellow greenish color and have been this way since and i could do anything on that list just as good or better if i chose to do so.