Confessing your priviledge

[Mammone]

This discussion thread was locked by Electric Larry (a host of the Men's Group group).

I see more and more pleas to men and white men in particular to confess their unfair, unearned privilege. I do not deny I benefit from privilege but I sure as hell am not going to apologize for it.

[rrneck]

1. Every woman I know makes more money than I do.

Most have health care. A few are worth millions.

I haven't noticed any privilege personally.

[Mammone]

2. maybe you just don't know the secret handshake?

[rrneck]

3. Or I'm not shaking the right thing. nt

[seabeyond]

13. one privilege, if a man gets raises and promotion he isnt accused of shaking

something but patted on the back for the hard work.



just to help yawl out.

and thank you for sharing an example of privilege.

[rrneck]

16. I have gotten none of those

nor would I no matter what I shook. That was the joke.

[Warren Stupidity]

17. actually the frequent accusation is of anal-oral gratification.

which amounts to the same general figuration of submissive sexual acts performed for reward. It sucks to be a peasant, it generally sucks more to be a female peasant than a male peasant, but it sucks all around.

[Warren DeMontague]

20. What if the promotion is for a job that actually involves shaking stuff?

[unreadierLizard]

4. I've had to fight every day of my life

to get where I am. I never got any kind of "privilege".

[Mammone]

5. privilige does exist

I am not one trying to deny that it does not exist. I don't get a second look when I enter a store. Some the privileges race/sex baiters list as privilege is usually trivial.

Some people were born to money, with good looks, model parents, tall, white, male, etc.

What I find offensive is people trying to get me to apologize, confess, renounce, or decry the circumstances I was born with. These "anti-racist" people scare me. Next thing is a 'final solution' for whiteness.

[lumberjack_jeff]

8. If your concern is about racial injustice or prejudice, then I suggest this is the wrong place

This is the men's group, not the white men's group.

[Warren Stupidity]

6. I haven't seen or read any demands that I confess an unfair unearned privilege. Do you have a link?

Actually you need to not only provide a link, but provide data indicating a growing demand. Please do so.

[Mammone]

10. Who heard of white male privilege before a few years ago.

I do see more and more mentions about privilege in the blogosphere but don't have hard data.

I lost track of the last article about privilege but will post some links here later.

[Behind the Aegis]

11. I heard of it back in the late 80's.

I also heard it in conjunction with Heterosexual and Christian (in the US) privileges. Is it so difficult to imagine that majority groups have privileges that minority groups do not?

[Warren Stupidity]

15. Again, you made a specific assertion, I asked for substantiation.

Now you are attempting to change the subject.

You have alleged that you are being asked to confess, and that there is an increasing frequency of these demands. I think your OP is bullshit. Please provide a link. And changing the subject doesn't cut it.

[Mammone]

14. It's easy being straight white male

http://www.theroot.com/buzz/it-easy-be-straight-white-male

[Warren Stupidity]

21. where is the demand for confession?

You made a specific assertion in your op. back it up.

[4th law of robotics]

22. If that's assumed to be true, and that all races and both genders enjoy the same

average levels of intelligence, drive, common sense, etc then white males would come out on top in every "good" metric we use to measure populations.

They would for instance: live longer, be less likely to be laid off, more likely to graduate college/highschool, less likely to be incarcerated, perform better in school, face lower incarceration rates, less likely to commit suicide, end up homeless, die violently, and so on than any other combination of race/gender.

That is very much not the case.

[4th law of robotics]

7. Kinda reminds me of the stories that came out from the old soviet union

where the children of undesirable classes (land owners mostly) would be forced to denounce themselves and their entire families if they want to be tolerated.

The great advantage they enjoyed over their peers was knowing that several generations back their ancestors were far better off than someone else's ancestors.

It didn't help them at all personally.

But still they had to apologize.

[Mammone]

9. CCCP

That's exactly what "checking your privilege" is about; apologies.

[Upton]

12. Guilt too..

as of late, I've learned from certain sources here at DU that I'm supposed to feel guilty for being born white and male. As if I ordered myself up from some sort of baby menu and popped out shouting racist and misogynist insults.

Sure I've had advantages in my life, but I've also run across some significant disadvantages mostly due to my gender. I'd like to elaborate further, but you'll have to excuse me while I go contemplate my guilt and shame..

[Major Nikon]

25. Not a bad deal as far as religions go

You can do whatever you want, but you just have to tell somebody.

[Warren DeMontague]

19. I'm wondering where, specifically, anyone has demanded or asked you to apologize.

I'm curious to see it.

[jorno67]

23. You rec'd your own OP...

just sayin...

[trumad]

24. I tried---I really tried...

It is encouraging to see Warren rise above this shit.... but I just can't participate for fear of raising my hidden threads to astronomical levels.

But--- I'll risk this one because the only thing the Op should apologize for is being a fucking douchebag.

You Boys have fun here in the errrrr. Men's Group.

[IDFbunny]

26. How was this group going to NOT turn MRA?

[Warren DeMontague]

28. Um, by not ascribing the motives and content of the entire group to trolls who just got here?

That would be a start.