White Skin Privilege
 

let's weigh in on this

does anyone think it doesn't really exist?

if it does, how does it manifest itself in our society?

is it necessarily good or bad?

is there a way to eliminate it from our society?

this is meant to be an honest intellectual discussion; no personal attacks- keep it clean but keep it honest

When you put things in black and white, gray doesn't exist.

-Rudey
--That is all.

I think you have to be pretty stupid to say it doesn't exist in America.

But like Rudey said, I think it's a more complicated issue than some people make it out to be. You know, with the people who "look white" but aren't and vice versa -- which is why I assume the topic of this thread is "white skin privilege" rather than "white privilege." ;) And then among people of color, what do the variations in skin color signify -- is somebody who is clearly black but of lighter skin color going to have more privilege than someone who is darker? And I think that Asian-Americans and the whole "model minority" myth bring up another twist.

Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black
 

I haven't had the chance to read Gregory H. Williams book, Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black, but I believe that it addresses this question in a unique way.

The current President of CCNY, Dr. Williams, grew up thinking that he was white. When he was 10 or so, his father came back into his life, as his father. His father is black. They moved to Indiana, to be near his dad's family. He then lived life on the other side of the racial divide of that time.

The book sounds fascinating, and I'll probably read it before the year is out.


ETA QuickTime interview with Dr. Williams is here

Re: Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black
 

That does sound like an interesting book.:cool:

Sure it exists. So does reverse discrimination. So does age discrimination. And a lot of other stuff that are wrong in a perfect world.

Except to run it's course, I have no idea what to do about it.

Define reverse discrimination??????

Losing a position (or whatever) to an equally or less qualified applicant entirely because she/he is a minority.

I have had it happen, but as I said to a friend at the time, "That's life. It's not like it hasn't happened the other way many, many times."

Unfortunally reverse discrimantion does happen, poeple do not want some one screaming saying they did not get the job becuase they are _______. That is bad PR. So it is easier to high a lest qualified minority and fire them then hire an qualified person....

Don't get me wrong, just becuase they are a minority does not make them less qualified or becuase they are white makes them qualified.

My dad is native american, and that was on all my school records that I am Native American (thanks mom) I would get into they best programs when i knew there were more qualified person for the club/school/sport and then they would see me (I am very pale with green eyes, but I do have the thick hair and very high cheek bones of Native Americans) they would be shocked and then look at my Indian father and my Irish mother. I always wondered if I go in to the school I wanted to go to (private) if it was becuase of me or was was marked on the registar. They would look at applications and then narrow down and have interviews. I remeber the people waiting to be interviewed were mostly minorities, very full white people. That made me lost alot of self-esteem when I was younger.

Chris

How many people in charge of hiring REALLY have the time to hire and then fire a minority, just to avoid litigation? They could be opening themselves up to litigation for wrongful termination.


In today's job market, some people just need to realize that it's really competitive, and there are probably lots of reasons you didn't get the job, not just b/c you're white and they're looking for minorities :rolleyes: I'm willing to best that most people never find out why they weren't hired for a job.

Numerous newsmagazine shows [20/20, etc] have done experiments that show that minorities are still discriminated against in the US, along w/ fat people and short people, and gays.


What if someone is hired instead of you b/c they're a GDI and you're Greek, and the person doing the hiring is threatened by Greeks? Have you experienced "anti-Greek discrimination?".


When I hear "reverse discrimination", I hear the whines of spoiled white kids who for the first time in their lives didn't get what they wanted. Get over it. :) In life you don't always get what you want, and your skin is not always the reason. Maybe they didn't like the way you spoke, or carried yourself. Or, perhaps the other candidates had better credentials. Or, perhaps, the person who got the job was just like you - what then???????

huh?
 

What does that mean?

I always heard the cry of "reverse discrimination" at the mouths of mediocre white males; never from anyone who was very succesful in their fields, and in turned blamed it on affirmative action. It used to be that if you were just an white male of average intelligence/social standing/income, that you were set for life. Due to the women's and civil rights movements, that's not so true anymore. It just so happens that white males today have to prove themselves just as much as women and persons of color did in the past and still have to.

To answer the original question, I think there is white privilege AS WELL AS white skin privilege (in some ways, I have benefitted from that myself). There is a whole exercise, "Unpacking the knapsack of white privilege," that addresses the issue. I had to do it plenty of times during undergrad, I'm sure some people here have heard of it.

Um wow...I agree with you that most places that hire minorities don't hire them with the intention of firing them later. I also agree that there are people who just can't admit that there was someone more qualified....BUT THOSE PEOPLE ARE BOTH MINORITIES AND NON MINORITIES.
You say that "your skin is not always the reason...." How can you realize that other options exist but say that to you, all reverse descrimination 'complainers' are spoiled??? Money has nothing to do with it.....if you really did suck, you can suck regardless if you have money or not. That's just called bitching.
Sorry I just get pissed when people are quick to paint all white people as spoiled and always getting their way. Discrimination definitely exists, and to a much lesser extent, so does reverse discrimination.

Re: huh?
 

It means that the terms black and white are artificial. Hispanics are the largest minority group. There are lots of other groups and cultures and none gets accounted for when you decide to do you black vs. white discussion.

-Rudey