Todays neo-liberals are, for the most part, irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay. It did not used to be that way, but it certainly is at present.
On Sep 14, 3:44 am, mike532 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > [ let me start by saying i did not write this piece but wish that i > had ! mike > 532 ] > 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. > > White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town > smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state > with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island > of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people > don’t all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. > Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means > you’re "untested." > > White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under > God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough for > the founding fathers, it’s good enough for me," and not be immediately > disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was > written in the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn’t added until > the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and > terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you > used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous > and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals. > > White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make > people immediately scared of you. White privilege is being able to > have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that > wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was "Alaska > first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, > while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 > memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, > people immediately think she’s being disrespectful. > > White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and > the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of > women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end > to child labor--and people think you’re being pithy and tough, but if > you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month > governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in > college--you’re somehow being mean, or even sexist. > > White privilege is being able to convince white women who don’t even > agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your > running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the > ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made > them give your party a "second look." > > White privilege is being able to fire people who didn’t support your > political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being > a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and > merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in > Chicago means you must be corrupt. > > White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose > pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize > George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly > Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian > theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who > say the conflict in the Middle East is God’s punishment on Jews for > rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you’re just a good > church-going Christian, but if you’re black and friends with a black > pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of > Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign > policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on > black people, you’re an extremist who probably hates America. > > White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by > a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you > such a "trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give > one-word answers to the queries of Bill O’Reilly means you’re dodging > the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced. > > White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has > anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being > black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it, a > "light" burden. > > And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly > allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. > Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, > people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is > increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters > aren’t sure about that whole "change" thing. Ya know, it’s just too > vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which > is very concrete and certain. > > White privilege is, in short, the problem. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
