Have you noticed these two patterns?

[lovemydog]

42. Most educational 23 minutes I've spent in a long time.

Thank you for sharing the clip KOB.

Desensitization of white people, as that guy describes, starts at an early age. I saw and felt it in public schools, among peers and in family too. Thousands of times. Many white liberals tend to feel they've 'done enough' by voting or not being explicitly racist. It's disturbing to them to consider their privilege because they don't think of themselves as 'racist.'

Why do they keep confusing the two terms? I think that's part of the obfuscation discussed in that clip. As that guy says, it becomes ingrained that 'I'm a good person' so don't call anything I do racist or privileged. They get defensive instead of listening further.

I can relate to the discomfort that white guy was feeling. It's easier to block out than confront. For example, something I've seen here. Most original posts are an attempt to share information or ask how everyone's feeling about something. Sometimes if the response isn't what they want to hear (confirming how great and all-knowing they are) a retort is 'But you don't speak for all black people.' That's something I never encounter. Lord knows I've gotten wacko responses. But no one's ever said 'You don't speak for all white people.' It's assumed as part of white privilege that each white person is an individual human being whereas a black person who disagrees is 'the other.' Some spokesperson or non-spokesperson, rather than an individual also sharing their experiences.

I'm fascinated as you are with historical antecedents. Good luck in your explorations. Feel free to share any other books or texts. The book Anti-Intellectualism in American Life and the essay The Paranoid Style in American Politics, both by Richard Hofstadter, may be useful. Also, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, a sermon by revivalist christian theologian Jonathan Edwards. Preached in Massachusetts & a starting point for origins of puritanism in the first colonies. It's radically different in tone and style from the ecumenical approach found in other churches like unitarian or presbyterian (how I was raised). It's more self-righteous and it's interesting to note that they called themselves 'New Lights' and their movement 'The Great Awakening.' In other words, kind of like 'We know what's best and if you're not enlightened like us then you're a lesser being!'

Does anyone know the name of movie at the end of the clip? It's cheesy (!) but is it based on a real life episode?