I published this a short time ago, and it resulted in a healthy discussion.
I am re-publishing to the Group so it may be discussed under the new rulz of "Armando the Civil".
Good rules, by the way!
It started with a comment, a question actually, that grew in to a thread. It had a profound effect on me partly because I was talking with a fellow Liberal, a man I have grown to admire through these pages; and partly because the subject is so poorly understood that it frequently causes division where none should exist.
It represents the last bastion of social division. It is White Privilege ... and Male Privilege ... and Heterosexual Privilege.
When the day comes, as it surely must because nothing is forever, then the final weapon in the armory of the Grand Old Party will be the suggestion that white, heterosexual and, to a lesser extent, male is the "pure" form, the ultimate salvation; and everyone else is not.
This is not exclusive to America, it is everywhere. Every city, every State and Nation State has a similar metric. Sometimes the groups are different, but the process is the same. If you belong to the majority especially the ruling majority, then you are privileged. You might not know it, and you may wish to rebel through personal growth and development. Nonetheless, it is there and only the knowledge you can gain through listening will reduce the effects.
We talk quite extensively about "White Privilege". The privilege, however, is not restricted solely to race, although race is often the most visible manifestation. It applies equally to any minority group and in the case of sexism, to the majority group, there being actually more women than men.
Let me start you with a small example ... Promiscuity.
Attitudes may have changed a little over the last few generations, yet it might well be argued that more recently they have actually hardened. The Summer of Love was a long time ago Let us consider the terms applied to men and women should they be known to be promiscuous.
Men are referred to as studs, da man, sowing their oats, boys being boys, players. All terms that are either positive, or indulgent.
Women often considered to be sluts, tramps, whores, loose, hoes, easy, slags ... I could go on. The point is obvious. They are all negative terms and there are many more of them.
My wife and I spent an interesting few minutes "googling" those terms. There are some ... ahem ... interesting parts of the inter-tubz that appear, and they scare the crap out of parental control filters!
This discrimination is not always quite so easy to spot. For example, when was the last time you heard a journalist describe Eric Cantor's suit? He's a guy, he is expected to be wearing a suit, he is wearing a suit. What is there to say? Contrast that with Michelle Obama. Have you ever heard the media describe her clothes? I rest my case. What makes this even worse is that this highly accomplished and intelligent woman is almost forced into buying into this bullshit.
All of this serves to objectify women. To reduce their essential humanity, intelligence and abilities into little more than decorative items for some men to own, and others to comment upon. Equally it serves to reinforce the privilege that men enjoy, over women. Damn right they should fight back and it's a core progressive value that we help them. Not only should we never buy into the meme, it is incumbent on both men and women to actively reject these notions, wherever they are on display. Women do not get a free pass either. Progressive women should reject this portrayal of their sex, even when portrayed by other women. Thankfully, they frequently do just that.
If you are a man you will never know what it feels like to have to hide your sexual behaviour, or be considered to be "dirty" or rejected if you do not. Only women understand that.
I do not understand it, I cannot. What I can do is empathise. I can try to imagine how I would feel were I a woman subjected to that particular social convention; but I can not know any more than I can ever understand the fear of being black, and unable to walk through my community without the worry of being harassed by Police Officers. Both of those things are unknowable to a white male.
The battle for equality of the sexes is ongoing. Despite the fact that the Equal Rights Amendment has never been ratified, some of the impetus for this has been lost due to Supreme Court decisions granting the Rights anyway. This, I believe misses the point. The equal rights supposedly recognised by the Supreme Court are within the gift of the Court, and the Court is already making unpleasant noises. The worst aspect of this is that it puts up for discussion that which should already be Constitutionally guaranteed, and beyond discussion or debate.
I chose to start with sexism because it is the least contentious of the three Privileges mentioned above. For those struggling with the concept, it is far easier to consider the implications free from the emotive language that currently surrounds race and sexuality.
One thing that disturbed me in the comment thread was the suggestion that white people were being blamed, all white people were being blamed for their privilege. The point was forcefully made that many white people do not seem to enjoy many fruits of their supposed advantage.
While I can understand where this attitude comes from, I think it misses the point somewhat. It is true that not all white people are blessed with more opportunity or wealth than all black Americans. What is also true is that no white people were ever denied opportunities because they were white.
I think this is the crux of the matter. If you only read one sentence of this Diary, please read the previous one. In fact, at risk of attracting accusations of redundancy, I shall repeat it.
No white person was ever denied an opportunity simply because they were white.
No heterosexuals have been told that they will "burn in Hell" because they happen to be heterosexual.
I would hazard a guess that few men have ever been paid less than women for performing the same jobs.
I don't want to hear about your white uncle Bertie who lived in Jamaica and was passed over for a job in favor of a black guy. I already acknowledged that privilege is applied differently in different demographic groups.
This, in a nutshell, is the concept of "privilege". If you belong to a privileged group, it is not your fault. If you get a job ahead of a black guy, it wasn't you doing the hiring, it isn't your fault. If a Church excludes gays, it isn't you are not to blame. If your pay is higher than the woman assembling the same whachamadoodle to the thingumajig on the line next to you, that is not your fault, and it is not her fault either.
If, however, you refuse to recognise that you are privileged, even when your colleagues and fellow citizens are patiently explaining it to you, then that is your fault. You do not have the luxury of denying other people their experiences. You do not get to tell black folk that affirmative action disadvantages white people because that serves only to demonstrate your total and complete ignorance and worse, it makes you part of the problem and no part of the solution.
You are simply not entitled to complain about "activist fatigue". Activism is not some personal quest for a few entitlements that you are not sure are fully deserved. It is a fight for basic human rights, human dignity and equality that you were granted at birth. Never, ever tell a minority individual that you are fed up of all the campaigning, because when you do that you deny them their rightful place in society, a place you occupy without anyone ever questioning it.
Wake up, smell the coffee. Those activists you are fatigued about are doing nothing more than wanting to sit next to you at the table. Is that undeserved?
In many walks of life, from politics to simple local gatherings, the term "White Privilege" is a dog whistle. It is a clarion call for all those dis-affected folk, on both sides, to vent their spleens on each other. I see it on websites, I hear it in bars. It is there in the churches too .....
It just isn't true that the 30% of black people in your small town prefer their own churches to the 1st Baptist Church. They are simply made to feel unwelcome at the 1st Baptist by those who believe that they "prefer their own churches".
.... It is those attitudes, springing from generations of suspicion and mistrust and fostered by a political leadership that is craven, and deeply racist that perpetuates these myths.
I am a white guy. I am straight and because of that I never have to fear that I will be denied anything because of who I am. That is what we all need to take on board because until we do, until we accept the truth of it, then the disadvantages will continue.
It isn't my fault that I am who I am but unless I do what I am able to reject these notions, then I am perpetuating the privilege that favours me. I wrote this Diary because I can, and had I not taken this action then I would be part of the problem.
Throughout the course of this Diary I have attempted to write clearly and unambiguously. To make it some of the best writing that I am capable of. I have taken this much care because I sat here feeling that I owed this much effort to the people I am attempting to support. Nothing but my best was ever going to be good enough. You, the readers, can be the judge.