what you are talking about is perpetuated--by a limited priviledge few
The privilege I'm speaking of is in no way confined to what I'm guessing you're referring to as (economically) privileged white people. Every white person in America has a social leg-up compared to any other person of non-white heritage you can claim, at least when in the company of other whites. And considering white people are the ones whom are still firmly in positions of power and most often promoted to them due to those racial prejudices, and that will not change until that white privilege is deconstructed.
I totally disagree that the "pockets" are an indication of change in the direction of widespread minority-on-white prejudice. They're an indication of people being righteously and completely validly angry that there are other people in the country getting special treatment by nothing other than the luck of the draw of getting the right skin color, no matter if they've been a bane or a boon to that society or country. They have every right to be pissed off which is probably where most of this prejudice is coming from, though their racist conduct is no more pardonable than any white person's you can name. However, it's important to realize it may be coming from a different place.
And the problem that I see is that it seems it gets laid solidly at white peoples fight to 'fix it', when it's everyone's problem. And again, I get that yeah, whites are most recent and most widespread (at least in recent history), but again, where's the meeting from the other side?
That's something of an ethical SNAFU, to be honest. We as a people lay our prejudices, racism, fears, and all other brands of fuckery you can name on the backs of people for years just because of the color of their skin, then expect them to help us clean up the mess we made when it's done nothing but negatively affect them and their quality of life? I can completely agree it's everyone's problem, but white people -- even if we don't consciously consider ourselves racist -- take part every day in a racist system that directly benefits us. We by nature of the history of absolutely despicable race relations, largely because of white people, in our country have the obligation to at least take the lion's share in helping clean up the mess. And the first step in that, as I said, is recognizing the privilege exists even if we have been socialized to not "see" it in our day to day lives.
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carisma_sensei
no subject
Date: 2007-03-24 04:46 am (UTC)The privilege I'm speaking of is in no way confined to what I'm guessing you're referring to as (economically) privileged white people. Every white person in America has a social leg-up compared to any other person of non-white heritage you can claim, at least when in the company of other whites. And considering white people are the ones whom are still firmly in positions of power and most often promoted to them due to those racial prejudices, and that will not change until that white privilege is deconstructed.
I totally disagree that the "pockets" are an indication of change in the direction of widespread minority-on-white prejudice. They're an indication of people being righteously and completely validly angry that there are other people in the country getting special treatment by nothing other than the luck of the draw of getting the right skin color, no matter if they've been a bane or a boon to that society or country. They have every right to be pissed off which is probably where most of this prejudice is coming from, though their racist conduct is no more pardonable than any white person's you can name. However, it's important to realize it may be coming from a different place.
And the problem that I see is that it seems it gets laid solidly at white peoples fight to 'fix it', when it's everyone's problem. And again, I get that yeah, whites are most recent and most widespread (at least in recent history), but again, where's the meeting from the other side?
That's something of an ethical SNAFU, to be honest. We as a people lay our prejudices, racism, fears, and all other brands of fuckery you can name on the backs of people for years just because of the color of their skin, then expect them to help us clean up the mess we made when it's done nothing but negatively affect them and their quality of life? I can completely agree it's everyone's problem, but white people -- even if we don't consciously consider ourselves racist -- take part every day in a racist system that directly benefits us. We by nature of the history of absolutely despicable race relations, largely because of white people, in our country have the obligation to at least take the lion's share in helping clean up the mess. And the first step in that, as I said, is recognizing the privilege exists even if we have been socialized to not "see" it in our day to day lives.