Are you Lilith?
This is Your Nation on White Privilege
By Tim Wise [white anti-racist activist & writer]
9/13/08
.
For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or
who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples
of it, perhaps this list will help.
.
White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like
Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that
of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right
to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challen-
ges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges"
are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters
of social decay.
.
White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin' redneck,"
like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone
messes with you, you'll "kick their fuckin' ass," and talk about
how you like to "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a
responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be)
rather than a thug.
.
White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in
six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed
out of, then returned to after making up some course work at
a community college), and no one questions your intelligence
or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who
did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably some-
one who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.
.
White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town
smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of
a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth
of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be
president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter,
while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and
constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."
.
White privilege is being able to say that you support the words
"under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good
enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me," and
not be immediately disqualified from holding office -- since, after
all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God"
part wasn't added until the 1950s -- while believing that reading
accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know,
the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law
school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported
by mushy liberals.
.
White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make
people immediately scared of you.
.
White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member
of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from
the Union, and whose motto was "Alaska first," and no one questions
your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your
spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home
with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think
she's being disrespectful.
.
White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers
and the work they do -- like, among other things, fight for the right
of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an
end to child labor -- and people think you're being pithy and tough,
but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor
and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond
a class she took in college -- you're somehow being mean, or even
sexist.
.
White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't
even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and
your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence
on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women,
and made them give your party a "second look."
.
White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your
political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or
being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being
black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political
machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.
.
White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years
whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely
criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an
explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christ-
ian theological principles into government, and who bring in speak-
ers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on
Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a
good, church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with
a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S.
Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result
of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism
and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably
hates America.
.
White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when
asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter
for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and
merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill
O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem
overly intellectual and nuanced.
.
White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW
has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while
being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has refer-
red to it a "light" burden.
.
And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly
allow someone to become president when he has voted with
George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment
is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising,
and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just
because white voters aren't sure about that whole "change"
thing. Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say,
four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.
9/13/08
.
For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or
who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples
of it, perhaps this list will help.
.
White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like
Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that
of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right
to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challen-
ges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges"
are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters
of social decay.
.
White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin' redneck,"
like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone
messes with you, you'll "kick their fuckin' ass," and talk about
how you like to "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a
responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be)
rather than a thug.
.
White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in
six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed
out of, then returned to after making up some course work at
a community college), and no one questions your intelligence
or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who
did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably some-
one who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.
.
White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town
smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of
a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth
of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be
president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter,
while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and
constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."
.
White privilege is being able to say that you support the words
"under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good
enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me," and
not be immediately disqualified from holding office -- since, after
all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God"
part wasn't added until the 1950s -- while believing that reading
accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know,
the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law
school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported
by mushy liberals.
.
White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make
people immediately scared of you.
.
White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member
of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from
the Union, and whose motto was "Alaska first," and no one questions
your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your
spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home
with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think
she's being disrespectful.
.
White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers
and the work they do -- like, among other things, fight for the right
of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an
end to child labor -- and people think you're being pithy and tough,
but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor
and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond
a class she took in college -- you're somehow being mean, or even
sexist.
.
White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't
even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and
your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence
on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women,
and made them give your party a "second look."
.
White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your
political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or
being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being
black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political
machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.
.
White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years
whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely
criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an
explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christ-
ian theological principles into government, and who bring in speak-
ers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on
Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a
good, church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with
a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S.
Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result
of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism
and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably
hates America.
.
White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when
asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter
for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and
merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill
O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem
overly intellectual and nuanced.
.
White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW
has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while
being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has refer-
red to it a "light" burden.
.
And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly
allow someone to become president when he has voted with
George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment
is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising,
and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just
because white voters aren't sure about that whole "change"
thing. Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say,
four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.
Comment
-
Comment by Karla Ross on November 17, 2008 at 9:44am
- This blog post blew me away. THANK YOU for so eloquently posting EXACTLY what was in my heart. I have been so disillusioned by the last 8 years of politics and government. I have vaguely Christian views, but I have ALWAYS felt church and state should be DISTINCTLY seperate. That is one of the reasons our nation was founded, remember? NOT because we wanted a "Quaker" state (or any other)...but because we wanted freedom to practice any or NO religion. Obama's election allowed me to sigh with relief and HOPE that there are more of us out there who are growing more enlightened and compassionate and open-minded each day. Perhaps our species is evolving? I grew up in the bible belt and have many relatives living there still....but I am now regarded as a "yankee" since I live in the midwest. Big deal. I'd rather be called a name than seen as representing a region that lives in the past, amidst stale views and stodgy old boy networks. I love the south like my own flesh, but I cannot abide the narrow-minded racist rants consistently emerging----it misrepresents some good folk and clarifies the intelligence level of others. It isn't even really just "the south"---it is all those "refuse to change" red states. Not sure how or why I decided to pour out my heart here. Just wanted to say YOU ROCK and KUDOS/BRAVO on your sophisticated post!!!!
-
Comment by Kelly Fisher on October 6, 2008 at 11:30pm -
Interestingly, even though both of my parents claim the same church, fate led me through more churches than I can count, though it was mostly Roman Catholic or Presbyterian. But I've experienced Jehovah's Witness, Mormon, Freaky Bible Thumper, Scary Layer-On-Of-Hands, Conservative Christian, and Amen Brother! varieties of churches. I even took time to learn a little about Jewish, Pagan, Hindu, and Muslim beliefs just to have some backgrounds knowledge. I'm a big believer in letting people study and figure their beliefs out on their own.
I wonder if that means I take advantage of white privilege? (:
-
Comment by Cindy on October 6, 2008 at 8:35pm - oh, I am certainly just making a point...definately not bothered by the separation. I always thought being forced to say something about a god you might not believe in, was rediculous. In all honestly Kelly, my dad was a practicing Hindu for 15 years before he died. Prior to that, he was Irish Protestant. My mom grew up Irish Catholic, (how fun huh lmao!) but not ONE time, did I EVER go to church with my parents; they NEVER went. I went MANY times by myself..in search of the God we were taught about in school. I took the church bus (usually by myself or with my neighbor friend) to a Baptist church, as well as a Catholic church. My grandpa attended a Christian church, and I only attended THAT on Easter. pfft! Then, as I got older, my neighbor's would take me to Jesus of Latter day saints...yeah. I had my share of different churches, all by choice. I decided I liked my dad's way of believing...and that didn't include saying the pledge of allegiance:)
-
Comment by Kelly Fisher on October 6, 2008 at 4:51pm
- Dude, one of the founding tenants of our nation was that there should be a separation of church and state. I may think it's a bit ridiculous that the pledge of allegiance is now optional, but it doesn't actually bother me that my children won't be required to recite it every morning with no real appreciation for what they're pledging. I was in college before I fully understood what the pledge of allegiance meant! But God was never supposed to be a part of our government; this country was meant to be a haven of religious tolerance, where the governing body couldn't dictate the beliefs of its people, and I wholeheartedly support that ideal. God shouldn't be a part of our government, because then we lose our fundamental freedom of religion. And it's my freedom of religion that allows me to walk out of Those Churches, just like you say. (So... are you bothered by the optional pledge of allegiance, or were you just making a point, because sometimes I can't tell...)
-
Comment by Cindy on October 5, 2008 at 4:27am
-
*and it wont be until we realize that the only race is the human race that we all finally manage to have an equal footing*
and racist blogs like HIS will help? How? To spew venom which in most part, is false? Beleive me, the people who voted for Hilary, and won Obama, will continue to vote for Obama. People who want McCain, certainly, for the most part, PROBABLY are cringing at the very THOUGHT of a WOMAN being our president of something happens to him. They ARE REPUBLICANS for crying outloud! Don't forget that. IF and I mean IF a democrat votes against their own party because McCain has a woman on the ticket, than that only MEANS it it because he has a WOMAN on the ticket! IT doesn't mean they are voting against a black man. That is a card McCain pulled, and Obama could EASILY have pulled Hilary to HIS ticket. HE CHOSE NOT TO.
-
Comment by Cindy on October 5, 2008 at 4:19am
- The race card will be played..it's inevitable.
-
Comment by Cindy on October 5, 2008 at 4:15am
- We can't even say the pledge of allegiance in class anymore. IF we do, it "isn't mandatory". Do you have children? When you were little, did you say it in class? Do you know how the rules have changed? GOD is no longer a part of this government or country..not anymore. Our values have taken a complete and utter dive down the tubes when it comes right down to it. If you have been subjected to churches like THAT, then don't go. You DO have a choice now.
-
Comment by Kelly Fisher on October 5, 2008 at 3:52am
-
"White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years
whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely
criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an
explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christ-
ian theological principles into government, and who bring in speak-
ers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on
Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a
good, church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with
a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S.
Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result
of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism
and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably
hates America."
Oh and I've totally been subjected to churches like this. God love the Bible Belt! I can't tell you how often I've walked out of churches (almost always Baptist ones, I might add) because I refuse to be told what to believe. It's one thing to be taught about God and the Bible: it's another thing altogether to be told what to believe, how to act/dress/vote, etc. I won't be some preacher's puppet.
-
Comment by Kelly Fisher on October 5, 2008 at 3:47am
- I dunno, I kind of agree with this blog post. There is a nasty double standard in America, and ignoring it won't make it go away any more than ignoring the school bully will make him (or her) stop bullying people. If anything it'll exacerbate the problem by allowing him to think he can get away with it. I'm not saying the civil rights movement needs to be revived, but tolerance does need to be taught to all parties; it's a two-way street, after all. Every race has its own privileges and is racist, and it wont be until we realize that the only race is the human race that we all finally manage to have an equal footing.
-
Comment by Cindy on October 5, 2008 at 3:31am
-
BTW
Obama is leading the polls..atleast for now. So, to write such bogus crap to stir up some shit, is just too radical for me.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/us/general_election_mccain_vs_obama-225.html
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