You have missed the point of the post. The post is about how the White Privilege narrative is poor way to build the necessary support from white people in order to build a winning political coalition. Another point I mention is making judgments about people based on their skin color. Yes, I am a straight, white man. I am also a straight, white man who has two African-American sons who are teenagers. I also have 13 nieces and nephews who are African-American. Do you honestly think I am not concerned or don't understand the challenges they are going to face in society???

@TonyMacaroni I’m not one for missing the point usually. If that was truly your point, it was your responsibility to have written out your thoughts in way that would convey that. Dude, most of the comments on here are coming at you from the same angle. Whatever your intentions for a discussion. it wasn’t a great post. Plus, not understanding what WP is very similar to not understanding BLM is not about lessening the significance of other races’ lives. I think WP and BLM should be taught at kindergarten. They are both great ways of showing that black people (rich or poor) live a life that’s constantly questioned and undervalued. To argue against it is pointless. Calling BLM something “Black lives are undervalued but should be as valued as much as a white person’s” or WP re-named “Black peoples rich or poor, experience daily assumptions, aggressions and violence that white people never experience and are not aware this happens” is not going to make these concepts any less prickly for racists to deal with, or for white men to suck up.

Agreed and well stated my friend.

One area where you nailed it is people thinking you stole something nice... living in Houston I go to carshows and its not uncommon to see some young guy driving a new Lamborghini complete with something like a Underground Racing twin turbo kit hanging off the rearend... yeah, a turbo kit that cost over 200k added ontop of the cost of the car. Is he a rock star? A drug dealer? Nah... just the product of some family with oil money. No one questions it if its a white kid. Put a 27yr old black kid in the same car, cops would be running the plates.

I do understand why a minority group would feel that way. My point is that it is not an effective narrative to build the coalition needed to drive change. Personally, I am horrified by President Trump. However, I recognize that he is a master at manipulating his supporters to behave in an almost cult like manner. When you add in the fact that the Republicans have a statistical advantage based on gerrymandering, they are going to be very difficult to unseat. So it pains me when I see rhetoric that accomplishes nothing but divisiveness.

@Beach_slim I live on planet mixed neighborhood - half black and half white. We all get along fine. Sucks to live on your planet, apparently.

Well said. Thanks.

Im as pale as snow in the moonlight, and have experienced every one of the things you just mentioned.

I've experienced the latter two far too often. The job thing, I'm not too fussed about, because it's far more likely that my age, disability, or credit score had more to do with it than my colour, regardless of the fact that I've literally heard hiring managers say white people were off the list. The shopping thing, however, happens a lot and I have no idea why.

If you are trying to gain admission to Harvard and you are not Black, your struggle IS based on your skin color.

@doug6352 poor white men are so oppressed. I’ll pray for you

@Marcie1974 Sarcasm isn't an adequate substitute for accurate facts and correct logic. I am guessing that if it was your child who lost admission to Harvard due to their skin color, you would feel differently.

Minorities get charged and convicted for a disproportionate level of crime compared to white privileged people, those are the real stats but you believe what makes you feel good.

@Renickulous I am not trying to be argumentative, but what do you think is the cause of this?

@Renickulous They actually don’t. However seriously underfunded neighborhoods with shitty schools, megre access to healthcare, crap amenities, lack of transportation and low numbers of police who are not evenhanded - those areas have crime issues. it’s not minorities who are a problem - it’s lack of funding and racism. You sound like a proper racist. Can you explain?

@Renickulous seen your profile with all your answers to other questions. You frequently troll people for sport and you seem to have joined our community to piss people off. Get back to your coloring book or go and shoot hoops instead, you complete child.

@Renickulous Being nice to each other, what a novel idea?

@Renickulous Sounds like you have it all figured out. I won't bother to contest what you want to believe is the truth, your truth.

@Renickulous maybe you need to look for the solutions to your problems within instead of blaming them on others, especially when you base it on the colour of their skin. It's that mindset that breeds racist hatred, it occurs in the mind because that's the where the difference is, only in the head/

@Renickulous You pointed out that the crime rate among minorities is higher than than that of whites (which is true). What do you believe the causal factors are for this?

@Renickulous The statistics show that our drug laws are a major issue. African-Americans make up almost half the people in jail for drug charges. The war on drugs is one of the costliest, most damaging failures in modern United States history. Ending the war on drugs alone will move the needle in a very big way. Another cause is endemic poverty. One of my major issues with people like Ben Shapiro is that he opposes programs that are proven to make a difference in this area (Head Start, Medicaid) and is part of the movement to damage public schools. Public schools in areas where you have a high rate of poverty need more funding and vastly improved approaches to handling these children who are from broken families. It's a nasty cycle of poverty.

@Renickulous There is no "law", it is just ingrained in society. You see it your way and I see it my way. That is just the way it is.

@Renickulous have you ever read the Constitution of the United States?

@Renickulous You need to get out more. Again, you see it your way and I see it my way.

@Renickulous You are right. I won't even try. Your opinion is noted as is mine.

@Renickulous looks like your definition of read and my definition of read differ at least slightly. For perposes of representation only, black people were counted as three fifths of a person. Or maybe it's the math that confuses you?

@Renickulous I got to check you on your history there. You are factually incorrect about Jim Crow. Jim Crow was firmly in place until 1965. I would refer you to the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act and SCOTUS cases like Loving vs. Virginia.

@Renickulous You are such a prat! You keep asking the same question, going on about laws. The whole question of white privilege has been explained in many ways on this thread by many members. It isn’t that you don’t get it, it’s that you’re refusing to get it, and just keep needling people over and over with the same, dumb, already answered question. You are a troll.

@Renickulous Arguments are typically supported by facts. You stated something as a fact that is absolutely false. Even Ben Shaprio says that we you don't get to choose your own facts.

@TonyMacaroni Unfortunately in this day of alt-everything, a lot of us DO pick our own facts. For what it's worth.

@Renickulous it’s not a matter of laws. It’s how non-white people are treated. Legal or not.

@Renickulous not getting shot by a cop when you call in a possible rape.

[en.m.wikipedia.org]

@Renickulous I see....you’re one of those people who can’t see reality.

@Renickulous did you see my video post? Maybe that will help you

@Renickulous I posted as a separate comment that you should be able to see. But....I’ll post it here as well.

@Renickulous oh my god you’re totally delusional if you buy that shit. Have a “nice” life.

@Gwendolyn2018 thanks!!!

@Marcie1974 If you look at an earlier post, @Renickulous, thinks that Jim Crow was abolished in the 1870's. I think that speaks volumes about his world view. He also doesn't recognize the impact of the War on Drugs on the imprisonment of minorities (hard facts). He is one of those guys who watches Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson, and simply regurgitates their viewpoints.

@Renickulous This was one of my replies to your comments last night. I specifically acknowledge that the crime rate is higher with minority groups. Is your cell phone to blame for this too?

@Renickulous You have failed to acknowledge the drug war and it's impact on the prison population. That has had a significant impact on the incarceration rates of minority. Also, if you happen to be poor and commit the same crime that a person who has money commits, you will almost certainly go to jail longer. This is due to the under funded public defender system, our ridiculous bail bond (insurance) industry and private prison system that views more prisoners as top line growth.

@Renickulous First, there is no evidence that drug use is higher among African Americans than Whites. However, despite representing only 12.5% of the population, African Americans represent 33% of those in prison for drug related crimes. Why is that the case? First, our draconian drug laws lock up people who really shouldn't be locked up. These drug laws have done nothing to curb the use of illegal drugs in the United States. Second, poverty rates among minorities are substantially higher than poverty rates for whites. In our criminal justice system, you are pretty much fucked if you don't have money. There are many Libertarians (like Rand Paul) who understand this issue.

[randpaul.com]

@Renickulous You know, I am going to concede a point to you! According to the stats you provided, African Americans make up 14.2% of the population and use illegal drugs a rate that is 21.5% higher than the national average. So, based on this, African Americans should make up about 17.2% of the people locked up for drug related crimes. But, they actually make up 33% of the people who are locked up! My points are that not only is our criminal justice not fair, but the drug laws themselves need to be radically reformed.

@Renickulous You seem to be struggling because I don't fit a predefined stereotype in your head. I have never said these are fake crimes (to the contrary). I have never called anyone racist in my comments. Also, you made a statement that implies that it is okay that some people can buy their way out of crimes. Really? That is nonsense. That is counter to the principals of our Western criminal justice system. If you were to make that comment to someone like Ben Shapiro, you would be laughed at considering that he is a Harvard educated lawyer.

@Renickulous I am really questioning your ability to think independently and rationally. On multiple occasions you have committed a straw man fallacy by either misstating my position or just making up things I have never said. I also find it remarkable you are not aware of the issues with our drug laws. You are aware that there is now broad, bi-partisan support for reforming our drug laws? You are aware that Kamala Harris and Rand Paul have radically different political philosophies but both have found common ground on issues with our criminal justice system?? I also find it remarkable that you provide me statistics that instead of refuting my argument, actually prove it.

@Renickulous Bail bond reform (look at the ground breaking legislation just passed in Connecticut, better funding for public defenders, getting rid of private prisons, removing Marijuana from being classified as a scheduled I drug, getting rid of the mandatory sentencing for drug offences, complete decriminalization of Marijuana, these are key elements of a system results in a far higher rate of incarceration than is predicted by statistical evidence. Again, when statistics indicate that African Americans should make up 17% of the people in jail for drug crimes, but they actually make up almost double that, we have a broken system. And you should keep in mind that locking people up has a huge financial cost for society. It costs a $100k per year to house a prisoner and, once convicted, their future earning potential is radically reduced ( lower taxes, lower consumer spending).

@Gwendolyn2018 l blocked him a few days ago.

@Gwendolyn2018 lol... Ain't it the truth. I find myself blocking more and more lately. I was reluctant at first, but now, not so much. I know l have been blocked and that is OK too.

@Gwendolyn2018 I'm sure they don't. You can be quite feisty. ?

@Gwendolyn2018 They would probably use a different terminology. ?

@Gwendolyn2018 ?

@Renickulous ? Wow?! You certainly are making a great deal of assumptions about stuff I never said. You are dead wrong about several things and only underscore directly the validity of "White privilege."

Wow!

@Renickulous I will repeat - I didn't say you "can't possibly understand." I said it was "difficult to understand." What part of reading simple English don't you grasp?

@Renickulous I never said that there were not things that black people find difficult to understand. You would do well to stop making so many blatantly incorrect assumptions.

@Renickulous I strongly disagree. You apparently can't read.

@Renickulous Wrong - I am saying exactly what I mean. You can't read.

@Renickulous You clearly are incapable of even grasping the concept of "White Privilege" much less discussing it intelligently. This conversation can serve no further purpose and I will not respond to further tags.

Even though I don't like the term, I am your team. I believe in and support any cause or candidate that wants to end the war on drugs and reform the criminal justice system. However, using the term "White Privilege" is a gift from god (no pun intended) to Conservative groups who deftly use it turn white voters (many of them poor) against the cause.

but thats not privilege, thats disadvantage of those that suffer.But it wouldnt be politically correct to call it black disadvantage, despite that is, in fact what the complaint actually is.

@dellik If the starting line is at 0 and you move 4 of 5 racers back to -10, isn't the reality that the 1 racer not impeded is the largest factor in everyone else being moved back? Call it what you will if it makes you feel better, the reality is that the white race enjoys a different level and number of opportunities than other races. If you think your feelings on how it's titled are important, then you don't really care about the fact that it's happening.

@Renickulous Wow you're right, I'm sure then that all of the stastical data also points to minority races reaping all the benefits in life.

I'll never understand the attempt at justifying racism. If you're a piece of shit just own it.

@Renickulous [slate.com]

@Renickulous I'm sorry that you think your conservative political commentator that is paid by conservative groups isn't just telling you want you want to hear to he can keep getting paid because you keep watching.

@Renickulous Do you understand what bias is or do you actually think deflection is pointing out clear motives based on monetary concern?

The difference between the article I linked and your video, is that I provided statistical evidence and you provided an editorial opinion piece by a guy I already showed you is paid by people who hold the same opinion to voice that opinion publicly. You trust a guy who's background consists of lawyer and politician before he was making videos for you to lap up.

Here I thought atheists cared about evidence and statistics as opposed to what someone preaches, even if it makes you feel good.

@Renickulous So you clearly didn't read the article or even skim it past the title so thanks for commenting on it without putting in the actual work.

Explain to me who decided his "logic was flawless" you? Oh right, so when I said that you "like his opinion" you countered with your ultimate judgement of his logic which is perfect.

Look, you've really just circled all the way back around to the fact that you like being racist and agreeing with other racists. Own it for fuck's sake instead of wasting my time with your weak ass arguments.

@Renickulous You made some good statements like "that's illegal and I agree that shouldn't be happening" and "I really don't understand this one very well".

Let me retort to everything in your Shaprio video "I disagree".

@Renickulous He doesn't state facts which is why he doesn't back up anything he says and why you can't find anything to support his bullshit. I'm not about to waste my time searching for crap I already know and it took 1 article for me to prove that his crap isn't true.

@Renickulous I didn't get all my knowledge from 1 article, but it only took me 1 article to provide counter points to your statements, look into reading comprehension.

Step 1 is to find a way for all white people to stop denying its existence. If you want to know what a large part of the race/sex disparities are in our world, it's people like you who continuously deny that they exist.

Both of my sons are African Americans. My wife is African American. I have 13 nieces and nephews who are African American. I am very, very familiar with the racial profiling that goes on. My key point is that advancing the narrative "White Privilege" is a terrible way to build the broad support you need to effect real change. You can't guilt people into supporting your cause.

I appreciate your thoughtful reply!