Study: White People React To Evidence Of White Privilege By Claiming Greater Personal Hardships
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In my opinion, this is politics, not science. No empirical evidence was actually presented to support the assertion that there is a universal and static racial advantage that all white people have in all social circumstances and all individual interactions all of the time (is this a strawman on my part?). There's no evidence presented for this because it doesn't exist. The entire concept of 'society' that some liberals have is completely detached from real live individuals and the world as it actually is. The entire 'argument' in this article is based on ad hominems and stereotypes. Instead of objectively dismantling claims to the contrary with evidence and reasoning you focus on their character and just dismiss them as being fragile and in denial which is beyond ironic when you consider how some people respond to legitimate non-personalized criticisms of feminism, BLM, the idea of there not being a universal/static white privilege etc.
I'm not trying to be disrespectful but I genuinely don't understand how people can buy into this ? .
The evidence is in countless other studies that prove there are biases and prejudices that affect nonwhites in negative ways.
There have been a number of studies proving that White people can not empathize with Black folks. Not only are they unlikely to sympathize with them but they also assume Black Americans have a higher pain threshold, which manifests even at the neural level. Studies here and here
In Toronto there was research done on racial prejudices and employment which found that White, Canadian sounding applicants were much more likely to get the job than nonwhite Foreign sounding applicants. In the study it was found that nonwhite people were discriminated against in person, and those who did not sound White were also discriminated against when the interview/application was over the phone.
The White advantage in the job market is deeper than just that though. Not only are White people preferred on the basis of their accent and appearance, but they are also favored over nonwhite applicants even when they have a criminal record. Job seekers who have names that do not conform the the White Anglo stereotype also face discrimination, with low income correlating quite strongly with foreign sounding names. More evidence of that here
These prejudices are so ingrained in people that it has been shown in various studies that people associate different character traits with specific races. Most notably, people are quick to associate anger, criminality, and violence to African Americans. Not only this, but even when faux interviews are set up to expose students to racism and observe their reactions, they were found to not be bothered by overt racism, nor do anything in response to it.
Even in spite of all of that proof that Black Americans face hardships White people do not there is a study here which found that White people actually think racism affects them more than Black folks.
You can deny the evidence all you want but anyone with a bit of social science knowledge understands that this is not made up ? . The evidence keeps piling up, and it is all pointing to the same conclusion. Hell, racism is so prevalent in our species that even infants show a preference for those who belong to the same racial group as them, and even get a kick out of seeing those different than them get punished. Studies here and here -
-I agree that prejudice negatively affects people of color. We're not debating whether or not racism (against people of color) exists.
-I was aware of those studies. Not one showed white people as being 'incapable' of sympathizing with black people. You're not even just 'generalizing' here, you're stereotyping individuals who have sacrificed their lives to end discrimination against black people. These studies shouldn't be surprising, humans in general tend to have pro-in group biases, including black people.
-Again, I'm not arguing that there is no white privilege. I'm arguing that white people aren't systematically privileged. White people don't benefit from being white in all social circumstances, sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Black people are privileged in some circumstances. Individual interactions vary, they don't follow the strict protocol that some liberals seem to think that they do. White people don't have legal rights that we don't and it's not set in stone how interracial interactions have to go.
-I'll skip 4, 5 and 6 because time is an issue and you probably get my argument, even if you disagree.
-This isn't evidence for white people being systematically privileged. You're cherry picking to support your position. I have never denied that white people are ever advantaged or that people of color endure no racism but even if minority groups are more disadvantaged by racism by virtue of being in the minority, racism does go both ways. The fact that you link studies claiming that even infants show a bias toward mothers of their racial group (I haven't checked the links, I'm assuming that infants don't realize they belong to X group) shows this isn't a question of our society being built on white racism, it's a human nature issue. If it's not whites vs. people of color it will be Hutus vs. Tutsis or this Native American group against that Native American group, blacks vs. (non-black) Latinos in California etc.
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-I agree that prejudice negatively affects people of color. We're not debating whether or not racism (against people of color) exists.
-I was aware of those studies. Not one showed white people as being 'incapable' of sympathizing with black people. You're not even just 'generalizing' here, you're stereotyping individuals who have sacrificed their lives to end discrimination against black people. These studies shouldn't be surprising, humans in general tend to have pro-in group biases, including black people.
-Again, I'm not arguing that there is no white privilege. I'm arguing that white people aren't systematically privileged. White people don't benefit from being white in all social circumstances, sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Black people are privileged in some circumstances. Individual interactions vary, they don't follow the strict protocol that some liberals seem to think that they do. White people don't have legal rights that we don't and it's not set in stone how interracial interactions have to go.
-I'll skip 4, 5 and 6 because time is an issue and you probably get my argument, even if you disagree.
-This isn't evidence for white people being systematically privileged. You're cherry picking to support your position. I have never denied that white people are ever advantaged or that people of color endure no racism but even if minority groups are more disadvantaged by racism by virtue of being in the minority, racism does go both ways. The fact that you link studies claiming that even infants show a bias toward mothers of their racial group (I haven't checked the links, I'm assuming that infants don't realize they belong to X group) shows this isn't a question of our society being built on white racism, it's a human nature issue. If it's not whites vs. people of color it will be Hutus vs. Tutsis or this Native American group against that Native American group, blacks vs. (non-black) Latinos in California etc.
It is a systematic privilege when it is built on a history of racial favoritism and nepotism. The structure facilitates White preference, by way of putting White people in positions of power, enabling Whites to inherit this power and perpetuate such systems, and various ideologies and innate behaviors working against minority groups in their efforts to achieve greater representation in positions of power.
Bringing up other forms of discrimination or other kinds of biases does not invalidate the one we are discussing. -
-I agree that prejudice negatively affects people of color. We're not debating whether or not racism (against people of color) exists.
-I was aware of those studies. Not one showed white people as being 'incapable' of sympathizing with black people. You're not even just 'generalizing' here, you're stereotyping individuals who have sacrificed their lives to end discrimination against black people. These studies shouldn't be surprising, humans in general tend to have pro-in group biases, including black people.
-Again, I'm not arguing that there is no white privilege. I'm arguing that white people aren't systematically privileged. White people don't benefit from being white in all social circumstances, sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Black people are privileged in some circumstances. Individual interactions vary, they don't follow the strict protocol that some liberals seem to think that they do. White people don't have legal rights that we don't and it's not set in stone how interracial interactions have to go.
-I'll skip 4, 5 and 6 because time is an issue and you probably get my argument, even if you disagree.
-This isn't evidence for white people being systematically privileged. You're cherry picking to support your position. I have never denied that white people are ever advantaged or that people of color endure no racism but even if minority groups are more disadvantaged by racism by virtue of being in the minority, racism does go both ways. The fact that you link studies claiming that even infants show a bias toward mothers of their racial group (I haven't checked the links, I'm assuming that infants don't realize they belong to X group) shows this isn't a question of our society being built on white racism, it's a human nature issue. If it's not whites vs. people of color it will be Hutus vs. Tutsis or this Native American group against that Native American group, blacks vs. (non-black) Latinos in California etc.
It is a systematic privilege when it is built on a history of racial favoritism and nepotism. The structure facilitates White preference, by way of putting White people in positions of power, enabling Whites to inherit this power and perpetuate such systems, and various ideologies and innate behaviors working against minority groups in their efforts to achieve greater representation in positions of power.
Bringing up other forms of discrimination or other kinds of biases does not invalidate the one we are discussing.
In my understanding, 'systematic' privilege would mean their having legal benefits that people of color do not. Individual white people in positions of power can use their influence to discriminate against people of color to an extent that every day civilians cannot (most white people don't have this kind of power and some people of color do) but that's contrary to the official policies of Western governments, there is no organized effort to methodically privilege white people and disadvantage people of color. During slavery the actual law was racist, it wasn't just select individuals breaking the rules of their society.
I don't think my bringing up examples of in-group vs. out group discrimination carried out by people of color is unrelated to this because my point was that there's nothing peculiar about white racism against people of color, I don't think it's the case that predominately white countries are built on an ethnic nepotism that is completely lacking in predominately non-white countries. Western countries might, generally speaking, be the most tolerant of ethnic diversity and pro-multiculturalism. White North Americans, overall, might be the least racially and ethnically conscious people in the world.
I'm definitely not denying that racism against people of color in Western countries is real and not that out of the ordinary. -
Call this an Ad-Hominem all you want, but when you try to debate that having sex with children isn't wrong, I will not listen to you no longer cause I don't think you have the mental faculties or proper neurons on the different parts of the brain that detect that this will cause the children to psychological be erratic.
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Ajackson17 wrote: »Call this an Ad-Hominem all you want, but when you try to debate that having sex with children isn't wrong, I will not listen to you no longer cause I don't think you have the mental faculties or proper neurons on the different parts of the brain that detect that this will cause the children to psychological be erratic.
I have never argued that an adult having sexual contact with a child is never wrong, only that I don't consider it to be inherently wrong. I have always argued that child-adult sex should be systematically discouraged out of risk aversion (the not unlikely possibility that it will hurt the child). -
-I agree that prejudice negatively affects people of color. We're not debating whether or not racism (against people of color) exists.
-I was aware of those studies. Not one showed white people as being 'incapable' of sympathizing with black people. You're not even just 'generalizing' here, you're stereotyping individuals who have sacrificed their lives to end discrimination against black people. These studies shouldn't be surprising, humans in general tend to have pro-in group biases, including black people.
-Again, I'm not arguing that there is no white privilege. I'm arguing that white people aren't systematically privileged. White people don't benefit from being white in all social circumstances, sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Black people are privileged in some circumstances. Individual interactions vary, they don't follow the strict protocol that some liberals seem to think that they do. White people don't have legal rights that we don't and it's not set in stone how interracial interactions have to go.
-I'll skip 4, 5 and 6 because time is an issue and you probably get my argument, even if you disagree.
-This isn't evidence for white people being systematically privileged. You're cherry picking to support your position. I have never denied that white people are ever advantaged or that people of color endure no racism but even if minority groups are more disadvantaged by racism by virtue of being in the minority, racism does go both ways. The fact that you link studies claiming that even infants show a bias toward mothers of their racial group (I haven't checked the links, I'm assuming that infants don't realize they belong to X group) shows this isn't a question of our society being built on white racism, it's a human nature issue. If it's not whites vs. people of color it will be Hutus vs. Tutsis or this Native American group against that Native American group, blacks vs. (non-black) Latinos in California etc.
It is a systematic privilege when it is built on a history of racial favoritism and nepotism. The structure facilitates White preference, by way of putting White people in positions of power, enabling Whites to inherit this power and perpetuate such systems, and various ideologies and innate behaviors working against minority groups in their efforts to achieve greater representation in positions of power.
Bringing up other forms of discrimination or other kinds of biases does not invalidate the one we are discussing.
In my understanding, 'systematic' privilege would mean their having legal benefits that people of color do not. Individual white people in positions of power can use their influence to discriminate against people of color to an extent that every day civilians cannot (most white people don't have this kind of power and some people of color do) but that's contrary to the official policies of Western governments, there is no organized effort to methodically privilege white people and disadvantage people of color. During slavery the actual law was racist, it wasn't just select individuals breaking the rules of their society.
I don't think my bringing up examples of in-group vs. out group discrimination carried out by people of color is unrelated to this because my point was that there's nothing peculiar about white racism against people of color, I don't think it's the case that predominately white countries are built on an ethnic nepotism that is completely lacking in predominately non-white countries. Western countries might, generally speaking, be the most tolerant of ethnic diversity and pro-multiculturalism. White North Americans, overall, might be the least racially and ethnically conscious people in the world.
I'm definitely not denying that racism against people of color in Western countries is real and not that out of the ordinary.
Formal structures are not the only systems that exist. When there are numerous informal factors working in cohesion to produce inequalities there is still a system of oppression at work, and regardless of the more ambiguous intentions driving it there are similar results being produced.
Just because it is not as explicit or overt and no longer formalized does not mean it does not exist. Systems do not need to be formally part of the institutions of our society for them to exist and operate in ways that work against disadvantaged groups.
