General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "Let's work to end racial discrimination" is a better approach than "whites are so privileged". [View all]DanTex
(20,709 posts)I'm also not entirely sold on the term "white privilege". Not because it doesn't exist. Simply because of word choice.
Language is important, and "privilege" is a heavy word. Here are three ways to state the general idea:
--White people have privileges that minorities don't
--White people have advantages that minorities don't
--Minorities have disadvantages that white people don't
These are all pretty much synonymous, but they are worded in ways that are sequentially less likely to rub a white person who has is struggling economically the wrong way. Language matters.
Many working class white people don't feel that they occupy a "privileged" position in our society. And they are justified in this belief. This post, for example:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024575218#post187
I feel that using the term "privilege" can create an unhealthy dynamic where groups that are at a disadvantage are somehow competing about who is more oppressed. Yes, I understand your point about the different axes of privilege, but that is an intellectual point. And, given that the same concept can be communicated and described without using the word "privilege", I don't see the advantage to using this unnecessarily loaded word.
BTW, it doesn't bother me personally, but that's because I actually am what you could call "privileged" -- good education, career, grew up comfortably, never been discriminated against, etc. But I think that's part of the problem. The intellectual types who end up discussing white privilege tend to not be working class, and so "privilege" doesn't carry the same weight. But I can easily imagine a white person struggling on a minimum wage job, turning on the TV, and watching a bunch of well-educated, well-dressed people (of multiple races) who earn good money and all have careers which are empowering rather than exploitative, talking about the supposed "privilege" that comes with being white, and not feeling too great about it.