inherent to being white, period. How do you refuse/ignore not benefiting from such a
position? That is not possible.

I insist on being followed by store security and treated with suspicion when I shop.

I only send out resumes changing my first name to Dontarious and alma mater to Grambling.

I deliberately get pulled over by police for no noticeable infraction.

I negotiate 25% less than a hiring company wants to pay me as a white guy.

In case the sarcasm isn't bleeding obvious, in which case look up sarchasm, it's not like any of us have much choice in the matter. That's what institutional societal racism means.

But yes those other forms of racism are just as important.

Bryant

b) unsure what specific work preference form of advantage concerns you. The question is generic as written.

more "in tune with the corporate culture" (i.e. more white) than a black or Hispanic person.

Bryant

Saving.them.for.special.vacaction.

I can think of one situation when I did it intentionally. I was among a group of mass arrestees in a protest, and several folks (all with various shades of brown skin, naturally) had pretty severe injuries but weren't being treated, or were being singled out for "special" harassment in processing. You bet that several of us privileged white folk banded together to make a stink about it, since we were less at risk to do so. It was nauseating to see how differently people were treated, and nauseating that intentionally using privilege was about the only way to deal with the situation. You're never so conscious of that privilege and racism, as when you're stuck among a bunch of racist cops, and you watch who they're abusing, and how.

A lot of it is being more visible when you want to be visible, and less visible when you don't want to be visible. I have no way to change my level of visibility.

I have no way to make police officers pull me over when I speed past them, but I assure you they don't pull me over. Oh wait, I was finally pulled over once in the past few months when I forgot to turn on my lights at night, but the officer didn't even check my license and just told me to turn on my lights and have a nice night.

Also, I have learned to say, "He/she was here first" when I'm at a shop and being helped when someone else is in line. I was naive and assumed the other person must have already been helped and must be waiting for something if they were obviously there before me, but I learned otherwise when a young woman of color got angry at a Starbucks when she was passed by and I was helped. She was in front of me in line and there's no way to not notice who is in front of the line, so it didn't even occur to me that she hadn't been helped yet. I assumed her drink was being made and she was waiting for it to be finished. Now I don't make that assumption and I am very careful to make a point of saying something even if it seems obvious that somone would be able to tell the other person is in front of me. I'm thankful that the young woman said something so I was able to wake up to that. It has suprised me how often I say, "He/she was here first" and that person was indeed passed over if he/she is a person of color. It just happened a couple of days ago at a bakery, by someone who was wearing a t-shirt with a liberal message on it, so not even a Republican, as I would have assumed. He couldn't seem to help noticing me more than the older African American man in front of me, and was embarrassed that he'd passed him by. I hope that helped him to wake up to this so he'll watch for it in the future, just as I learned to watch for it.

benefiting from it.

We're less likely to be murdered because society values our lives more than those of black folks, especially those of young black men. Criminals figure they can get away with killing black people moreso than they can get away with killing white people.

I drive, bike, and walk all over the place knowing full well that as an old white guy I'm basically invisible to the police, although the cop starting his patrol waves at me on my bike as we pass each other early in the morning.

I've on occasion argued with the police without fear that they would just shoot me on the spot, fully conscious that if I were not a white guy, this would be a very bad idea.

I walk down the street in my mostly white neighborhood in my mostly white city without being viewed with suspicion or fear.

By having a Nordic surname and the favorable stereotypes attached to it rather than an Eastern or Southern European name.

I luved the inherent humor of that voting option.

How could I avoid it? One does not plan such, but the Privilege follows you thru life. White neighborhood, white suburb, white schools, college, Asian & White coworkers. And don't see people of color around the Marina. You don't set out to do such. But at the end of the day you look around and realize it's mostly white around you.

I mean, what do you want them to do, not live a life or anything? I ask this as someone whose not white; I don't see how someone whose white should go out of their way to "denounce" their privileges as if that's going to benefit anybody else. How about we all just work together so everyone, regardless of color or ethnic origin, has equal privileges to live without fear.

It's not that anybody should be treated worse. Everybody else should be treated better.

Not the whitest guy, being of american Indian and African american descent, but living in an African nation that is mostly dominated by ethnic Indians followed by those of African descent has been a nice way to shed any vestiges of lingering white privilege.

Last time I got a speeding ticket my skin color did not get me out of it, but who knows, maybe the cop was a racist and would have treated me worse if I had been black. There was a time in Ikea a couple of years ago when the clerk was helping me instead of a black person who was there ahead of me, and of course I insisted she help the black person first.

So I guess my answer would be: "I acknowledge the existence of racism but do not attempt to take advantage of it, and I try to stop it when I encounter it". Almost every white person on a progressive board like DU would not view being served ahead of a black person as "a benefit of being white"; they would view it as an unpleasant reminder of the existence of racists.

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]Is consciously benefiting from white privilege in some way.

I would have to be in denial to say I haven't benefited from that. My education, the nice home I was raised in, the good neighborhood that I grew up in, all of it in some way is related to white privilege.

I cannot simply throw away my degree, but I can admit to how I have benefited and work to fix the injustice.[/font]

and the single "Regular" lane that was open had 4 people with really full carts, so I was standing sort of behind both of them, trying to decide. Then I noticed the assistant manager walking over to open another lane, and as he did so he said "Can I help someone over here?" and *boom* I was first in line before he'd finished talking. A few from the Express Lane got in line behind me. Was it because I was white and he was white? Can anyone say for sure? Maybe it's because I was the only one paying attention to him before he even opened his mouth. I didn't complain, though. I thanked him for noticing how long the other lines had become and opening another til for everybody.

and opens a new checkout line when he sees that white people are waiting too long.

Or he could just be well trained in customer service and opens a new line whenever the existing lines get too long, regardless of the race of the folks in line.

Who knows? You could certainly convey your suspicions to his superiors, so they could watch out for racist patterns in his decisions to open new checkout lines.

I'm sure I take advantage of it, but not consciously, because most of it is passive anyways.

I don't have to worry about the police pulling me over in my car without cause, most of the time, least of all for driving while black.

I'm more likely to be hired on a job I want, less likely to get assaulted by police, less likely to be followed for shoplifting in a store, etc. etc.

Is this privilege something I shouldn't have? Yes, of course, but unless I want to go around in convincing blackface, which is offensive on its own, the only thing I can do as an individual is try not to foster negative stereotypes of others and treat them as I am already treated.

I suppose any benefits of being white are diminished by the many forms of discrimination that exist because I'm a woman.

Many years ago when "paralegal" became a recognized job and men became paralegals, I remember thinking, good, now salaries will go up.

Since in the beginning paralegals were female legal secretaries with advanced training, there was little salary difference between Paralegal and Secretary. But yes, once men got into it, there was recognition that it was a profession and salaries rose above the salaries of secretaries. Eventually, community colleges offered 2-year paralegal degrees and as a consequence, not all paralegals had secretarial background which elevated it from "women's work". I taught at a local University's Paralegal Studies Program for about 5 years (winter quarter). About 1/3 of the classes were men. As long as I worked in law firms, I always had the feeling (but no way to confirm) that the male paralegals made more than the women (who couldn't shake the onus of having been "mere" secretaries, at least in the eyes of management). It was only when I started working in the business sector that it was different. I made more, and made it faster, than I ever did at the law firm.

who don't have white privilege.

Thanks to JustAnotherGen for this:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024379495

i guess i take advantage of that when i feel like speeding.

I do the same for being male and cis gendered. I would do the same for being straight, but many people think I'm gay, so that doesn't always work out as well for me.

--after the sun comes out. You have it regardless of whether or not you want it.

Back as nursing student in clinicals I witnessed a rep for a feeding pump ask the girls if any of them knew who the charge nurse was. I walked up wearing the same fucking student uniform and yet he took one look and said "oh you must be in charge".

I have started losing count how many times I walk into a room with female doctors or higher nurses, male doctors who are not white, other minority nurses... and every single time the patients talk to me first. Every time.

One incident with a female Filipina doctor asking an AA patient questions and he ignored her and directed all answers and follow up questions to me.

Have had little old ladies singing my praises pretty much just because I am male. Go into a room with a group of females to help someone and at the end have the patient thanking me for being such a great help even if I was just standing there observing.

I have only once ever been pulled over by a cop just for him to talk to me. I was driving a minivan with kids and he was concerned I was showing signs of driving fatigued. Drove one time from NY to the upper peninsulas of Mich with a minority friend. Got pulled over three time just to get harassed about "why we were there".



I simply can not understand people who deny white/male privilege.

She is Filipina, and people often think she is the doctor. Especially when she wears her short, white lab coat. Her demeanor is also such that people will pay attention to her. She is only 5 feet tall, but can command a presence.

There is a white guy lab tech, but no one ever mistakes him for doctor. He is really chunky and a little sloppy in appearance, so I think people just dismiss him altogether. lol

they're built in as soon as were born.

Last edited Sat Jul 11, 2015, 11:17 AM - Edit history (1)

up that way. That is precisely what "white privilege" means. All we can do is acknowledge this reality and do our best to change it.

Western society is set up from centuries of many factors, one of which is colonization and assimilation of many ethnic groups and ethnic whites from places like Ireland, etc. You can't change something that old with just acknowledgement and endless discussions.

Instead, how about everyone (white, black, etc) act to disband racial injustice and practices that cause minorites and whites to be split, address cultural issues that cause racial tension between each race, and then create new policies so that everyone regardless of their skin color can benefit from privileges reserved for just white people. I know it's easier said than done but it beats this endless loop of white people feeling like they walk on eggshells for being white and the constant splitting hairs on who has what type of "privilege" (whether it's straight privilege, male privilege, etc).