John Stewart Debate's Bill O'Reilly on White Privilege
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So this Government that you speak of has at it's ahead an African-American, the highest Law-Enforcement officer in the Nation is also African-American, plus too numerous to count, Mayors of several large Cities in the United States are also of African descent, there are also State Governors who are of African descent, here in Philly we not only have a Black Mayor, but also the District Atty, both Police and Fire Commissioners , the Chair of the Election board, the President of the City Council and the head of the School district are all African -Americans, so all these Government officials are part of the "white privilege " theory? Your argument holds some merit if we were speaking of an earlier time ,I would say up to the early 60's, but not now, there has been instances of racism that's for sure, but not of the pervasive nature that you speak of.
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johnnycee Wrote: So this Government that you speak of has at it's ahead an African-American, the highest Law-Enforcement officer in the Nation is also African-American, plus too numerous to count, Mayors of several large Cities in the United States are also of African descent, there are also State Governors who are of African descent, here in Philly we not only have a Black Mayor, but also the District Atty, both Police and Fire Commissioners , the Chair of the Election board, the President of the City Council and the head of the School district are all African -Americans, so all these Government officials are part of the "white privilege " theory? Your argument holds some merit if we were speaking of an earlier time ,I would say up to the early 60's, but not now, there has been instances of racism that's for sure, but not of the pervasive nature that you speak of. The, "theory" is for society as a whole, not individually speaking. Yes you can point out several African Americans and other races other than Caucasians, in positions of authority, wealth and success. But the point is that in today's America there is a privilege 'built in' when you are born Caucasian. It's not as though it is celebrated or pushed. People like to say it's just a thing of the past, then turn around and call someone out for being racist. Now would you say racism is a thing of the past? No. Slavery is a thing of the past, not racism. To say racism is strong today, and white privilege is not is ridiculous. Not that they are they same thing, but they both are part of the same issue.
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johnnycee Wrote: Some people like to hold onto past injustices caused by many who are not even alive in todays world so as to justify their current bias, so when a 68 year old man looks across his desk and sees a black man, he then should him hire over other candidates, even those who may be more qualified because of what, past injustices done to this mans race that he had nothing to do with, am I correct, or am I not understanding the concept of white privilege? Is not this white man exercising his white privilege when he denies the white man's employment but instead opts to hire the black man . Some people like to hold onto past injustices because those injustices continue nearly unabated to this day. Our country, through its centuries old policies, has waged war against blacks. It used to be through slavery. Then Jim Crow. Then through our criminal justice system. Don't believe me? Why in the world would crack cocaine land you in prison for ten times longer than white powder cocaine if our laws weren't racist? Hell, we even have vigilantes who bravely patrol their streets and shoot down unarmed kids for committing the terrible crime of walking while black in their own neighborhoods. What do so many whites in this country do when something like that happens? Give a collective shrug and ask what the kid must have been doing wrong that made the brave and heroic vigilante murder him.
It is quite interesting to see an older man insist there is no such thing as white privilege. It's just like Bill O'Reilly, who grew up in a whites only town, but balks at the idea of him being a recipient of white privilege. I guess it's easy to not notice your privilege when you've had it for your entire life.
Just because we had a civil rights movement in the 1960's doesn't mean that racism is over. Fifty years is one generation. People that fought tooth and nail against the civil rights movement raised their kids to make them think they are better than blacks. Those kids are now having children. That is why the deep south is still struggling to rid itself of the rampant racism it has been accustomed to for centuries.
Racism permeates throughout our entire society. White people get scared when they see a black person walking down the street. Why? Well, because the media has portrayed the "scary black man" as a villain for hundreds of years. Those kinds of things are ingrained in our brains and don't just go away with legislation. They have to go away with a change of consciousness in this country and we are far from that day. We may have a black President, but we're also witnessing the biggest rise of hate groups in America since the Jim Crow era.
Keep telling yourself that there's no white privilege though. Whatever helps you sleep better at night...
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