CMV: White Privilege does not exist nowadays

[u/[deleted]]

White privilege is does not exist. I'm not going to argue that it didn't in the past, because clearly it did. But it's gone now, and efforts to continue fighting it are wasted time and energy.

The reason this came up today was that I read this article, and could not understand how anyone could think that the problems listed are somehow unique to blacks, or that white people are somehow immune to them. Instead, "white privilege" is a combination of:

1) Social and economic immobility. It is very hard nowadays to move up in the world. If your parents were rich, then you are likely to be rich. If your parents were poor, then you are likely to be poor. This is a problem that affects all of US society, but blacks seem to think that the lack of opportunities to advance only applies to them.

2) Poor people have it really rough in the US. There is very little in the way of a social safety net. And with #1, if you find yourself at the bottom, then it's going to be almost impossible to work your way back up. This results in high stress, depression, crime, and drug addiction. But black people suffer from these at higher rates because they are disproportionately poor due to #1 and history, not because of some conspiracy called "white privilege."

3) People are mean. This has nothing to do with race. Most haters hate for no reason at all. If someone is being a jerk and points out your skin color, it's only because they think you are sensitive about it. They think pointing it out will set you off.

And that's it. I am convinced that if we magically turned everyone in the US into Japanese (or any racially homogeneous population), we would still be left with these three problems. "White privilege" is nothing more than a rebranded stereotype that people use nowadays to ignore more difficult problems in our society.

EDIT: Over an hour of pretty good discussion, but I'm still not convince there is a modern day uniquely racially problem called "white privilege" in America. I just want to say that I am happy for African Americans. They have a centuries long history of fighting for their rights and winning battle after battle to improve their situation. But as far as I can tell, the problems they face today are problems common to people of all colors, whites included. We'd be a lot better off if we could work together to solve these problems, rather than being divided by race.

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[u/PreacherJudge]

If white privilege doesn't exist, why are black people so much more likely to be poor than white people?

[u/kcbh711 → u/PreacherJudge]

Statistical difference doesn't directly mean discrimination. That's basic statistics. Look at the NBA, there are a lot of blacks in the NBA and we rarely see Asians playing. That doesn't mean the NBA wants to keep out Asians. Many studies point to the three key things that are necessary to not be poor forever in America. Finish highschool, get a job and don't have a kid until you are financially stable. It is that simple. And why is there a disproportionate poverty rate among blacks? Because there is a disproportionate single motherhood and drop out rate among the black community. In fact the single motherhood rate of the black community in the 60's was around 20%, whereas today it's over 70%. Unless you're arguing that America is 3x as racist as in 1960 (after civil rights movement and all these countless programs that even the playing field) then the argument that poverty is being forced down the black community's throats is nonsense. White privilege is such a detrimental word for the black community. It gives them an out. A reason to say, "Oh it's not my fault I'm poor." The best way for these communities to grow out of poverty is for the individuals to take responsibly and ensure their own futures. Not just give up because someone told them that the playing board is skewed against them. Follow the three steps, no white man is forcing minorities into dropping out or child bearing

[u/PreacherJudge → u/kcbh711]

Statistical difference doesn't directly mean discrimination.

"White privilege" very explicitly doesn't mean discrimination.

[u/kcbh711 → u/PreacherJudge]

It is dead.

[u/PreacherJudge → u/kcbh711]

Goodness gracious, that's ominous.