What Happens When You Post About White Privilege on Facebook

Joe Smith If I send you my image will you make one of those cards for me?

John R. Mireles - Joe Smith White Privilege Cards are reserved only for those people who are excluded from white privilege. We will soon be offering Ally cards for those who enjoy the benefits of white privilege and wish to help elevate the status of those who don’t. Perhaps I can sign you up for one of those?

Joe Smith John, I have been excluded from White Privilege my entire life. Are you racially profiling me?😀 I am serious, I want my card.

John R. Mireles - Joe Smith You’re a white person. You may not be aware of your privilege but that doesn’t mean you haven’t benefited from it. You’re welcome to visit our welcometowhiteprivilege.com page to learn more about white privilege.

Mike Wheeler - John R. Mireles are you white? My perception is yes, dating all the way back to the mid 80s when we met.

John R. Mireles - Mike Wheeler Ethnically, I’m Latino. By appearance, I’m white - hence I can offer my white privilege to others.

Joe Smith - John R. Mireles Sadly you are SO WRONG.

John R. Mireles - Joe Smith Are you saying that you’re a person of color and that the white guy in your profile photos isn’t you?

Joe Smith - John R. Mireles Labels based on your perception. Do not attempt to profile me from a photo. Don’t judge a book by the cover. So you are standing against the perception of “White Privilege “ with this hateful self promotion? You are so talented. Why the SJW propaganda?

John R. Mireles - Joe Smith Oh Joe... Now your white fragility is showing. Why are you so afraid to be identified as white? It’s really amazing to see white people scurry from whiteness the second they fear it may somehow be used against them. You’re white! Own it!

As far as the rest of your nonsense, calling out hate and racism and advocating for social justice - is not hate. What is racist are your defensiveness and your attacks. Part of white people’s strategy in responding to discussions of race is to turn things around, to bully and attempt to change the discussion from the pain inflicted by racism and their - either implicitly or explicitly - racist acts to their own sense of victimization. Your response here is a textbook example. 

Here’s an article I suggest you read if you’re interested in more information on the topic of how white people respond to being made aware of their privilege: White Fragility

Joe Smith - John R. Mireles Calling me a racist is your only defense for you self promoting under the guise of social justice. 

Really you are Latino but say you are white. Ashamed? I am not ashamed of my Spanish background.

Calling me a racist because I find your opinions and promotion of hatred is ridiculous. Kind of like me saying your photo looks like Charles Manson. You must be a manipulative cult leader.

Enjoy your 15 minutes.

John R. Mireles - Joe Smith If you're interested in learning about what white privilege is and why you have it regardless of your ethnicity, I suggest that you visit the BWP website that I've shared with you. The article above will also help you to understand just how your responses do in fact perpetuate racism. Don't worry, you're not alone in doing so. I've done the same many times in the past. Virtually all white people - usually unwittingly - have. Reacting defensively when confronted with their white privilege is a common reaction among white people.

You're arguing from a position of ignorance: that in and of itself is a racist act. You're perpetuating existing mythologies and power structures while actively ignoring the opportunity to learn.

How White People Handle Diversity Training in the Workplace

A good read and insightful article on how white people respond to being made aware of their inherent racial bias and acts of racism. Here’s a quote:

…white people’s moral objection to racism increases their resistance to acknowledging complicity with it. In a white supremacist context, white identity largely rests on a foundation of (superficial) racial tolerance and acceptance. We whites who position ourselves as liberal often opt to protect what we perceive as our moral reputations, rather than recognize or change our participation in systems of inequity and domination.

Link to article here.

Are We All Bigots?

This episode of Through the Wormhole narrated by Morgan Freeman is worth the watch. It’s sure to change your opinions of racism and how it manifests itself in all Americans.

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

In this seminal paper from 1990, Peggy McIntosh lays out a clear and concise explanation of White Privilege.

Here’s an important point from the article:

One factor seems clear about all of the interlocking oppressions. They take both active forms, which we can see, and embedded forms, which as a member of the dominant group one is taught not to see. In my class and place, I did not see myself as a racist because I was taught to recognize racism only in individual acts of meanness by members of my group, never in invisible systems conferring unsought racial dominance on my group from birth.

My White Friend Asked Me on Facebook to Explain White Privilege. I Decided to Be Honest

Here’s a quote from this article written by Lori Lakin Hutcherson that appears in Good Black News:

As to you “being part of the problem,” trust me, nobody is mad at you for being white. Nobody. Just like nobody should be mad at me for being black. Or female. Or whatever. But what IS being asked of you is to acknowledge that white privilege DOES exist and to not only to treat people of races that differ from yours “with respect and humor,” but also to stand up for fair treatment and justice, to not let “jokes” or “off-color” comments by friends, co-workers or family slide by without challenge, and to continually make an effort to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, so we may all cherish and respect our unique and special contributions to society as much as we do our common ground.

Scott Woods on Race and Racism

Scott Woods has an excellent blog that’s worth digging into. Here’s quote about racism from one of his posts:

The problem is that white people see racism as conscious hate, when racism is bigger than that. Racism is a complex system of social and political levers and pulleys set up generations ago to continue working on the behalf of whites at other people’s expense, whether whites know/like it or not. Racism is an insidious cultural disease. It is so insidious that it doesn’t care if you are a white person who likes black people; it’s still going to find a way to infect how you deal with people who don’t look like you. Yes, racism looks like hate, but hate is just one manifestation. Privilege is another. Access is another. Ignorance is another. Apathy is another. And so on.

So while I agree with people who say no one is born racist, it remains a powerful system that we’re immediately born into. It’s like being born into air: you take it in as soon as you breathe. It’s not a cold that you can get over. There is no anti-racist certification class. It’s a set of socioeconomic traps and cultural values that are fired up every time we interact with the world. It is a thing you have to keep scooping out of the boat of your life to keep from drowning in it. I know it’s hard work, but it’s the price you pay for owning everything.

Here’s the link to his website.