David Horowitz: ‘White Privilege’ Is a Racist Idea

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[–]fred_red_beans 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

If racism were so prevalent in the US, you would see members of towns and communities actually acting out against each other. A single incident, such as Charlottesville (which I see no evidence of racism, rather poor judgement calls by police to shut down a planned event and put the two groups in each other's faces), is not proof of rampant racism. Instead what you see is people accusing others of racism based on the main stream medias construct and constant demonizing of those who disagree. I think it could be called an inverted racism. It certainly does divide people and directs their attention away from things like international policy where the US is complicit in the killing of thousands, for what? No one really knows because they are too busy in this partisan bs. Everyone is up in arms about 5 billion for a wall, but no one raises an eyebrow about the nearly 700 billion for "defense". I guess it's not racist to bomb the shit out of other countries, but is to let the ones fleeing those bombs into the US.

[–]SundogsPlace[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Clearly written good points. I agree fully with all said, in the case of most people ignoring the DOD budget, and what's done with that money, I use this example all the time, in a similar context as you.

Usually it's with people who think that the nation is going completely broke due to welfare; they hate anyone on most sorts of welfare.

I always ask them what about the DOD, or the giant corporations that are 'sitting on public welfare'? I usually make my point clear, and almost like clock work, whoever it is, will instantly say something like, 'oh well yeah, they're the real welfare queens, but you can't stop them'... or they ramble on, and change the subject.

My carry my point a little further though, because these same folks will note how a lot of 'people' on welfare are 'scummy',and/or crooks.

I always ask them, wouldn't it be better to give them a couple hundred bucks a month for knick knack crap, and maybe it stops just one robbery, wouldn't that be worth it?

[–]JasonCarswell 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Charlottesville was a engineered, practiced, and staged event. There are ample break downs about where it was located with very strong pros and cons that served their purposes. All else clicks into place after that map breakdown analysis.

[–]fred_red_beans 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

While I have not seen any evidence, it certainly appears that it was planned or engineered for it to go down the way it did. The protest of the statue removal was planned in advance, the masked counter protest was huge, and the way it was handled by the police just made the situation worse.

[–]Tom_Bombadil 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Yep.

[–]Tom_Bombadil 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Yep. I have to laugh at how the manufacturers of the tiki torches the "confederate statue supporter" folks were using, actually asked them to stop buying their brand of torch.

You confederate supporters and your torch light marches could compromise our torch sales!!

That's hilarious.

[–]happysmash27 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

It is a way to distract people from the real issues, but also to destabilise and divide the US.

[–]Tom_Bombadil 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (20 children)

Unpopular question here.

Is it safe to assume that everyone posting here is a white guy?
Is it reasonable to question the assumptions of an extra chamber?

Also, I completely agree about the fact that identity politics it's a social blight.

If that's what people are trying to say.

[–]fred_red_beans 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (8 children)

Other than assumed bias, how does the assumption that those posting here are white refute that 'white privilege' is a racist idea?

I don't think it's the white people or the people of ethnicity or color (who may get additional opportunity by institutions or government) who are more privileged. I think the privileged are in our government and institutions and own the media that shoves these identity politics upon us.

I do not believe the sway in recent years to viewing the US as a place where racists and misogynists are somehow making life hard for everyone is a "grass roots" thing. It's being done by the people who are the 1%, or the .1%.

The sad part is watching people who want to hold on to their world view so much that they will not look at what is really happening in world, or will not even listen to a dissenting view. They believe the BS from the "authoritarians" because their world view is formed from what those authoritarians have told them and taught them in schools and in business.

In general terms, people don't even look at facts anymore, they let someone else draw conclusions (NewsGuard) for them instead of evaluating and analyzing the facts for themselves. This is not something taught in schools, but certainly seems like it's something that could be learned.

[–]Tom_Bombadil 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

I couldn't agree more. Let's try to separate the media hype from this discussion. I'm sure that we all agree that The MSM is exceedingly devisive. So, their tactic is actually working against us.

I am confident that if you knew me that we would be friends, as I'm equally certain that you are a well intentioned individual.

To address the concept of "privilege" we should analyse measurable metrics like:

  • Household income.
  • Education level.
  • Net family wealth
  • Poverty rate
  • Environmental pollution in the community.
  • Available funding for schools, roads, infrastructure.
  • etc.

These are the actual facts that are intentionally overlooked in the media.

Poverty exists within certain populations of all ethnic groups.

Can anyone name an ethnic group that has effectively displaced the white population in the US, or Europe? I agree that the standards of living for all populations had declined in the US. However, minority economic declines have been even more severe.

The actual root of this "privilege" discussion: The rich have gone on strike in the West.

They are taxed less than ever, and this is the predictable result. They are not job creators. In the current form they are wealth extractors (think automation).

Here's a historically relevant fact:

The term "free market" in classical economics meant, "commodity items should sell for slightly above the cost to manufacturer, as in almost "free" "market". Imagine if your cell phone bill only included the cost of service plus 10%. That would be free market. Utilities are similar examples.

This is the Adam Smith meaning of the term "free market", and in those times the economy flourished. He described it as social capitalism. This is the real socialism. Not the bullshit label placed on the Soviet dictators.

The meaning of the word had been hijacked to mean, "charge as much as can possibly be sustained to maximize personal gain; society be damned!".

50 years of this corrupted (propagandized) version of the"free market" has landed is here.

This debate about "privilege" is inextricably rooted in economics. There's an ethnic component (slavery, conquest of northern Mexico {Cali, Ariz, new, Mex, genocide on the indigenous people, etc} to today's economics.

Let's fight the power. To do that we have to be honest with ourselves, and try to understand the perspectives of our common allies.

Does this seem reasonable? ;-).

[–]fred_red_beans 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

The MSM is divisive, and I think that's the point of the "white privilege' phrase.

I'm sure we could be friends, although to have a decent friendship I think we would need to be able to agree to disagree on certain things, or accept each others differences, as everyone will have differences.

I think it's fair to assess privilege of any individual based on economics and access to resources and adequate living environment/ecology. I'm sure there are ways one could quantify a level of privilege for people based on the items you've listed. A person living in a clean environment with access to resources will certainly have more privilege than someone living in a desert with a hut and a basket. Although, I do not think it's fair or adequate to assess privilege solely on skin color, and believe that doing so is a tactic do divide people, reducing their collective power.

There certainly are communities of people with the same type of ethnicity that are generally not doing as well as others. I do believe we are all human beings on this earth and all deserve a level of dignity, sovereignty, opportunity, and rights. Just as men have different tendencies than women, I also see that different ethnicities have different tendencies. Some are better at some things than others, for instance Asians are often found in science and technology. Some ethnic communities may have tendencies that lead them to problems, or don't mesh well with the societal structure they find themselves in. It doesn't mean they are bad or less than anyone else, just different. So, perhaps an argument could be made that white privilege is a systemic issue where the tendencies of the white ethnicity mesh better with the system at hand. But, just because an individual has tendencies doesn't mean they can not choose how they would like to act and interact with a system or society. Becoming a victim does nothing to improve the situation. Self realization is key. Defining or becoming cognizant of problems or tendencies based solely on ethnicity or skin color leads to a shallow understanding. Everyone sees that judging another based on skin color or ethnicity is shallow and can easily become angry at such overt generalizations and judgements. I think the individual understanding their own tendencies using self awareness to accept and deal with their own issues leads to the most improvement. Also, others can foster an environment to help encourage this growth. Although, as far as encouraging individual growth is concerned for all races and ethnicities, our government isn't doing it, our legal "correctional" system isn't doing it, our media isn't doing it, and our schools aren't doing it either. I would argue that they are doing quite the opposite.

I think it's reasonable to take into account the historical context of the economic and earlier conquest by colonial powers in the US. I think slavery and conquest do not necessarily have a racial or ethnic component, for instance Roman Slavery. Although, the winners write history, which affects many of the premises of understanding that we have. I see the use of money as a trust system between people. I have to question: Why is it the best? Is it the only alternative to having things run by the state? It seems to me to be a shallow trust system that promotes economic castes.

I think more power may be found in alliances between individuals creating what they need for themselves (which they are trying to prevent by dividing us), rather than disparate individuals fighting the top.

I appreciate your comments and find them reasonable, thank you for engaging.

Hope you're having a nice day.

[–]happysmash27 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Remember though: there are exceptions to everything. For example, I am male, but fairly feminine. I hate being judged as having masculine attributes like strength, when I often don't…

I think Asians and technology may have more to do with culture and population size than ethnicity, unless that is what you mean by that.

This is one of the most reasonable and scientific views on ethnicity I have ever read. People have adaptations; for example, darker skin is better for high sunlight.

Edit: Did you hear about this view from someone by the way? I recently heard the same one about 6 days ago.

Your idea of power in aliances sounds like many Anarchist ideas. Anarcho-Syndicism, I think this is specifically? Anyways, yes, there are alternatives to money and strong state government; there is just no country for them as of now, other than some attempts without much traction such as Anarkikomunismolando, which is my attempt, currently with no IRL manifestation. One alternative aspect is called a gift economy, where people give things to each other for free. This type of economy is very prevalent in the online world, with open source software communities, Wikipedia, and even in Minecraft and Minetest. Seeing all this online is what inspired me to try to create it in real life. After all, if it can work there, why not in other places?

I love the concept of individuals creating what they need for themselves. If you ever want to collaborate, as always, I am looking for collaborations.

[–]fred_red_beans 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I'm just speaking in general terms. I thinks it's hard to really say where any tendency of any individual really comes from as everyone is different. I would say that, again in general terms, certain tendencies could be attributed to certain types of people.

I think the alternative is the hard work of actually learning to communicate and trust each other. This entails being able to communicate and accept each others differences without reacting in anger etc.

https://anarkokomunismolando.org/ didn't work

I'm definitely a teach a man to fish over give a man a fish kind of person.

[–]happysmash27 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Sorry, I made a small typo. The link should work now.

[–]JasonCarswell 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Perfectly stated.

[–]Tom_Bombadil 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Grazie! ;-)

[–]happysmash27 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Some schools teach it, but not nearly enough do.

[–]SundogsPlace[S] 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (6 children)

Uh, I'm not going to post my picture, but people either ask me to translate Spanish, Farsi, or Arabic..... lol

[–]Tom_Bombadil 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (5 children)

Really? Strangers approach you asking asking for help with translations???

Well, one time in 1985 Michael Jackson knocked on my front door and asked to use the bathroom.

These two stories are equally credible.

[–]JasonCarswell 2 insightful - 3 fun2 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 3 fun -  (4 children)

When I was seven Michael Jackson knocked on my front door and asked to help me use the bathroom.

[–]Tom_Bombadil 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

I borrowed that idea from the movie "Goonies". ;-)

[–]JasonCarswell 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Ha. That's why it sounded familiar.

I never actually watched The Goonies until a couple years ago. I wanted to compare the Stranger Things contexts.

[–]Tom_Bombadil 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

I just got your joke. That's funny! :-)

[–]SundogsPlace[S] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

lol, it's weird he's back in the news.

[–]happysmash27 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Not really.

I am partially Caucasian, but I am also part, well, several other races, if race even makes sense as a concept. People aren't banned here for differing opinions, so this is definitely less of an echo chamber (you meant to say that instead of "extra chamber", right?) than other places.

Specifically, my mom is white (I think), while my dad is mixed. He is partially black, to a less part partially asian, I believe partially white, and possibly partially aboriginal American. It is hard to tell which perception people have of me racially, but one person wondered if I was Asian and apparently some people can tell I am partially black. One person has thought I may be Jewish, due to my dirty blonde afro/frizzy hair, even though I'm not Jewish. I also have a stepdad from Argentina who I am greatly influenced by culturally. I am also culturally influenced by the internet, and have acquired quite a bit of foreign accent. Sometimes I purposefully make my accent more mixed. I live in Los Angeles, where there is so much diversity that there seems to be less racism here than in other places, but maybe this perception is due to my appearance, or maybe just due to me rarely interacting with people IRL. I am openly gay too, and never had a problem with that and other people…

I agree with the headline, and wish people would just stop being racist.

I am generally fairly blind to race and often have a hard time telling these so-called "races" apart, but there have been times I have been worried that I have had a bit of a biased perception based on genetics (because I see it as genetics, not a bunch of solid "races"). It's hard to tell if I am seeing genetics or other cultural factors though that lead me to a slightly biased perception, though.

Racism is terrible on all sides.

[–]SundogsPlace[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

It takes folks like you to speak up, and tell others to 'chilax'. The fact is, people will always tear each other down, or 'see differences' based solely off of their primordial 'fight, or flight', programming; we each were designed to survive.

[–]Tom_Bombadil 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

"Not really" ?

[–]happysmash27 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

It's not safe to assume everyone is white, but like many opinions I have, I am not 100% confident in it and therefore downplay.

[–]SundogsPlace[S] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Very well written article. The question is why are we being subjected to a very well organized attack on all of America; an attack to divide as much as possible.

[–]JasonCarswell 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

/u/fred_red_beans /u/SundogsPlace /u/Tom_Bombadil

If you think this is a hot topic, check out: /s/podcasts/comments/bdi/colin_flaherty_on_blck_crime_and_white_guilt/

It starts out really hot, then is just hot, and never cools down. I don't think he's wrong, but I also don't think he's really addressed why - like the perpetual severe oppression for centuries. "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!"

For that check out: /s/PoliceMisconduct/comments/bix/in_prison_my_whole_life_mumia_abujamal/