Acting White: White-on-White Privilege

I am not a fan of Tim Wise. While I may agree with his analyses, I disagree with the guilt-frenzy he whips whites and blacks into. This guilt does neither group any good, as we live the reversing impact of the demands and gifts that follow. Nevertheless, his micro-analysis of Palin is on target and worthy of exceptional consideration./JC

This is Your Nation on White Privilege

By Tim Wise

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 challenges,” 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 coursework 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 someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action...more

James C. Collier

READ MOST RECENT POSTS AT ACTING WHITE...

Technorati Tags: Acting White: White-on-White Privilege, Tim Wise, Bristol Palin, Sarah Palin, White Guilt, Acting White