WHITE AND OTHER KINDS OF PRIVILEGE

(In earlier posts, I have railed against racism. But I also denounce false charges of racism. Read this long post all the way through before you criticize my viewpoint. I am more solution oriented than problem finder.)

Hang around me long enough and you will figure me out. If you look for me in church on Sunday morning, I will be the guy in the suit and tie. I drive a Ford Explorer (kind of a rust/maroon color) and I live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. Converse with me and you will discover my midwestern accent, my vocabulary straight out of the 1960’s, my views and values, and my likes and dislikes. I like steak and potatoes, banana pudding and coffee made with freshly ground whole beans. I could go on and on but the descriptions of my tastes and predilections would most likely render you comatose, if you’re breathing at all.

My complex profile consists of big things like my race, socioeconomic status, religion, upbringing, education, travels, regional culture, family background, health, and life experiences. It also stems from little things like the cutest girl in my kindergarten class rejecting my affections, a bully beating me up in the sixth grade, a teacher belittling me in junior high, and making the high school varsity debate team. Throw in my height, weight, name, looks, ethnic traits (Greek), my IQ, my Dad’s occupation, and the side of town where I lived. In short, I am the sum of all the influences, the experiences, and the circumstances of my life. Race, being one of many of these factors, does not completely account for who I am.

So, for the last few years, we have heard this concept of white privilege emerging from the increasingly verdant field of trendy sociology. Indulge me for a simple logic exercise: “All tall men are green. John is green. Therefore, John is tall.” Flawed logic. Green does not equal tall, even if tall equals green. Applied to race, assume that privilege is evil. Some then assert that all white women are privileged. Sally is privileged. Therefore, Sally must be white, right? No. Sally is black. The premise that white equals privilege is false. The question comes down to this. Is privilege evil or is whiteness evil? The literary construct leads one to associate the two together as if they are one and the same.

The assertion of white privilege (a term coined by Peggy Mcintosh—who is white, by the way—a feminist activist) amounts to a diabolically clever combination of “white” with “privilege.” The insidious nature of the charge, however, reduces all human behavior, interaction, values, and culture down to race and skin pigmentation. If true, it is a charge from which there is no relief, no escape, nor is there any solution. Even if by some innovative biological miracle, we were able to homogenize all races into one skin tone, the problem wouldn’t go away. Each person would then be subjected to background checks and DNA tests to determine his or her heritage. If it is discovered that your antecedents were white, you would still be classified as white.

There are apologists for this viewpoint. From thesun, a UK paper, “But prominent Black Lives Matter activist Emmanuel Acho, a former NFL player, and current analyst for Fox Sports 1, recently claimed to clarify the meaning. He said: ‘This [definition] resonated with the most people. White privilege is not saying that as a white person your life hasn’t been hard. White privilege is simply saying your skin colour hasn’t been a contributing factor.’” https://www.thesun.co.uk/…/what-white-privilege-meaning-te…/

On the other hand, “white privilege” dissenters make a strong case against it. David Marcus of The Federalist writes, “Today we know that almost every piece of scientific evidence ever produced to describe the nature of any individual based on race is bunk. And yet rather than treating racism as illogical and irrational, we treat it as immoral and unjust. Racism may well be the latter, but its cure can only be found in the former. Only when everyone views snap judgments about individuals based on race as the absurd equivalent of such judgments based on hair or eye color, will the great moral victory over bigotry be won. But this is precisely what progressive views on race stand in the way of. Since the 1980s we have moved away from the goal of the colorblind society towards the goal of valuing differences. This focus on difference reinforces racial pseudoscience and frankly gives cover to racists of all kinds who obviously would rather debate morality than science.

“When we make assumptions about a person based on their skin color we are engaged in a logical fallacy. What we think we know is based on aggregated demographic information, some accurate, some not so much. We might think an Asian student is good at math because studies show that in the aggregate Asians score high in math. But while aggregations are made up of individual people, individual people are not made up of aggregations. It’s not a two-way street. In areas such as medicine and public policy these aggregations can be useful in allocating resources, but on the individual level they are meaningless.” https://thefederalist.com/…/why-white-privilege-is-not-the…/

Without a doubt, being black in America poses a level of difficulty that I cannot identify with, but to set it apart as the foundational reason for the alleged failings of the black race to the exclusion of every other possible factor speaks of lazy analysis, if not a prima facia falsity. (My suspicion is that Ms. Macintosh grew so fond of the phrase she invented that she didn’t rest until she strung together enough anecdotal evidence to make it appear legitimate and scored a breakthrough theory.) The convoluted logic of white privilege may serve as a desperate attempt to analyze a set of social circumstances for which all other answers appear unsatisfactory, but not much else. It ignores the train wreck of past government solutions, it generalizes the evil or criminal actions of some into the indictment of an entire race, and it is a puerile oversimplification of a contentious and complex problem that has frustrated some of the greatest, racially diverse minds in the world.

Being a member of a multiracial church, I have seen firsthand how harmony between the races works, and I see an amazing indifference to skin tone in the interactions of black, white, brown and any combination thereof. Those who insist on seeing racism behind every tree would call my experience an anomaly if they even believe it to be a legitimate claim. Most likely, they would just mock me with assertions of ignorance of white privilege on my part. My response is this: Those who are totally sold out to seeing problems cannot afford to see solutions lest they lose their purpose in life.

If you believe in white privilege, you will probably not be convinced otherwise. If you have an open mind, however, you may be able to recognize other kinds of privilege that can be just as influential as you think white privilege to be. Yellow privilege, bi-lingual privilege, I.Q. privilege, Harvard privilege, Ivy League privilege, wealth privilege, Northern privilege, Southern privilege, athletic privilege, regional privilege, in-house privilege, hometown privilege, home school privilege, artistic privilege, religious privilege, nepotism privilege, celebrity privilege, personality privilege, experience privilege, and yes, black privilege.

I do not deny that white privilege exists in America. In fact, I guarantee you that white privilege works as a viable concept in any number of situations and contexts. But I also guarantee you that all these other listed privileges (and more) may indeed be more influential in other situations and contexts. For me, the bottom line is this: Is the road to racial equality paved with educating the public with a dubious—if not false—theory of white privilege, and then rooting it out through accusation, intimidation, guilt, shame, self-flagellating exercises, and sensitivity training which already sports a dismal track record? Or is it simply to enforce laws that are already on the books? If white privilege is a case of immorality, what can we do about it? Have we ever been successful legislating morality? In terms of punishment, laws against discrimination—the real culprit—appear in jurisdictions at every level in our society. Equal housing, equal employment and a host of other laws criminalizing racial bias are virtually guaranteed to every American citizen. To give someone a hefty fine or throw them in jail acts as an effective deterrent against discrimination.

If you truly want to change hearts and minds, the last place to go or the last method to choose is the college classroom or the activists’ training ground. There, you will only find useless theories, exacerbation of conflict, revenge, hatred, ridicule, arrogance, blame games, and fighting injustice with violence. Far from the noble intentions of improving racial relations, these venues more accurately represent a devolvement back to the Neanderthal era. They speak of regression, not progression.

It’s time to change tactics. Go to church. Read the Bible. Ask for guidance from the Spirit of God. Practice forgiveness. Spread love. Promote kindness. Revive the golden rule. A regenerated heart provides our only assurance that we can overcome the ugliness and sinfulness of racism.

A parable Jesus told aptly illustrates what I mean. I have added clarifications to show relevance to the topic at hand. “’There was once a man [race unknown] traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers [bigots]. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest [of the racial majority] was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite [also of the racial majority] religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man. A Samaritan [of a racial minority] traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’ What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers? ‘The one who treated him kindly,’ the religion scholar responded. Jesus said, ‘Go and do the same.’” Luke 10:30-37 (MSG)

God bless the Samaritans.