This is Your Nation on White Privilege

September, 14 2008By Wise, Tim
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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.

Tim Wise is the author of White Like Me (Soft Skull, 2005, revised 2008), and of Speaking Treason Fluently, publishing this month, also by Soft Skull. For review copies or interview requests, please reply to publicity@softskull.com

 

September 17th, 2008
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They have done it again. The Republican ability to get focus away from issues and on minutia is genius. Don’t we have any evil democrats? Clever Democrats? Know how to win democrats?
Last election, in the midst of a war and the Illegal alien crisis( what happended to that? did they go home?) Karl Rove got America to vote on the fact gays should not get married because they are evil and God hates them. It worked. After 4 more years of Bush you can be confident when your home is foreclosed it will not be auctioned off to a gay couple.
Now its Palin, Palin, Palin.
Do you like her? hate her? qualified ? unqualified? MILF? bad mom? was McCain checking out her ass?
These are the questions that matter. No talk about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac falling apart and CEO’s leaving on golden parachutes. We want you to explain where you stand on lipstick and pigs. That’s what really matters. Health care? Nope , let’s talk pig beauty.
Funny, when McCain mentioned lipstick and pigs regarding Hillary’s health care stance, no one was outraged. Hell, no one noticed.
Lipstick and pigs, where do you stand? and no flip flopping. Me? I’m so strongly in favor of lipstick on pigs I am ready to argue shades and glitter or no glitter.
Obama my ass , everyone knows he’s a secret Muslim and they don’t even eat pigs. How unamerican is that?
I’ve just about given up here. Friends are telling me to stay positive but once again we as a nation are sinking to a new level.
A new level of what? I don’t know, dumb? apathy? fear?
They say Obama only offers hope. Well you know my friends, maybe thats what America needs more than anything, even pigs

September 11th, 2008
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Sorry the last few posts have been so long. These politicians get me going

September 3rd, 2008
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Oddly enough, even after hearing her speech I still feel I don’t know much about Sarah Palin. I know far too much about her family. The hockey mom can be a veep story. A hockey mom becoming president is a great Disney movie. It shouldn’t be risked in real life.

 I love how every time a republican is asked about her the answer is “ she’s a great mom”. The question doesn’t really matter; she’s a great mom. OK, I got it. She’s a great mom. I see that as qualifying her to be a great mom

I have no real problem with her being a working mom, good for her. The republican hypocrisy is saying she’s under attack for it and her pregnant daughter.

Can you imagine if Baraack Obama had a 17-year-old unmarried pregnant daughter? Seriously, how bad I would it be? I doubt he would have made it to the senate. Call me racist all you want but I just don’t think “America” is as forgiving of unmarried pregnant black girls.

So the “family values” party, which is led by a bunch of guys with their second trophy wives, now endorses kids having kids. Wow, that is a long way from the old abstinence line. I guess they do believe in change.

Sarah Palin did get off a few good lines about Baraack and the columns and small town America jokes, I’ll give her that.

The problem is there was no substance to the speech. Same old same old.

Obama will raise taxes, including the dreaded DEATH tax. There’s a funny thing about the inheritance tax. No small business or family farm has ever been lost to the inheritance tax. It just hasn’t happened. They never mention that. Capitol gains taxes don’t affect most Americans. You’re just not rich enough. Check with your broker. What do you mean you don’t have a broker? Well, who counts your houses for God’s sake?

Her sister is opening a gas station and doesn’t want to pay more taxes. Well, unless sis and hubby make over 400 grand they won’t pay more taxes.

Did you know 400 grand is just a bit more than McCain and his wife save if the Bush tax cuts are made permanent. Look it up, they save about 340000.

We gotta “ WIN THE WAR” Baraack never talks about us “ WINNING THE WAR” We’re close to “WINNING THE WAR”

Problem is they never define winning the war. Did we win back when Bush posed under “ mission accomplished” banner? Do we win when we get the oil from Iraq, do we win when Al Queda is destroyed. Do we win when Halliburton actually owns Iraq?

Or, sadly, do we win when 5000 of our troops have died

McCain is a war hero and was in Hanoi prison, I got that. I heard. Now how does that help fix the economy? Did he study economics in there? I hope so because our economy is broken. I’m not just imagining it, it really is broken. Granted I’m a pessimist but even optimistic mortgage brokers admit something is wrong.

The Democratic congress spends too much. Really? And Bush’s policies had nothing to do with it.

 Now I’m no fan of congress, I think the congress and the senate are useless and worthless. They were elected with a mandate to end the war based on promises never even visited after they were elected. Remember the passenger bill of rights they were going to hit airlines with? That one died without even a vote. So I ask you to please not think for a minute that I am forgiving congress, but HASN’T BUSH BEEN PRESIDENT THE LAST 8 YEARS.

She sat there and compared herself to Harry Truman, a democrat. The repubs love to bring up Lincoln and compare themselves with all these people from the past but they never mention Bush. We are broke because he tried to pay for a war with tax cuts. That’s right, spend more and take in less, brilliant. How did it not work?

They talk about Washington and the “ insiders” I think McCain has been there long enough to be an insider. McCain may have actually known Washington himself.

Obama has no executive experience, well neither does ole John. Sarah Palin’s exec experience is running a small town and the state of Alaska, c’mon; you know that’s not hard. You could do it yourself from home.

She’s been proud of America her whole life? Well I have been to Alaska a few times. They are proud up there. They are proud of being separate and different from the lower 48. It’s actually pretty cool the way they consider themselves part of yet separate from the lower 48.

The pride thing was a shot at Michelle Obama, which is cool but I’m guessing Michelle Obama has experienced a different America than an Alaskan hockey mom. Its called racism, overt, institutional or just those “what are you doing here” looks that we black people imagine all the time. Kind of like the looks the few black people at the republican convention are getting. Cowboy Troy? Really?

Ok I’m playing the race card again, sorry. Things are so fair and balanced in this country.

How could I ever think a black woman’s experience would be different from a white woman’s.

Did you ever think maybe its even more American for the Obama’s to try? I mean, they had to have a frank discussion about the fact he may be shot. America has a habit of shooting people with high ideals calling for change, ask the Kennedy’s or MLK.

I don’t think assassination ever came up at the PTA meetings.

Hey I bet tough hockey mom wouldn’t meet Michelle Obama in the ring, winner take all. There’s a fight I’d like to see.

She shot down Ted Steven’s “bridge to nowhere”. He’s a republican. Wonder why she didn’t mention that? She was able to sign a bill giving Alaskans oil money back. Well that’s because so much of Alaska operates on federal subsidies. I guess she’ll mention that later

Like I said, same old same old.

I’ll wrap up by paraphrasing a quote I heard from Keith Olberman (left wing media guy probably communist) attributed to Lincoln

“ Those who like this sort of thing will find this to be the sort of thing they like”

God Bless her. You remember God, He’s republican. He told me so right after he told Ann Coulter about us godless liberals. I think it was after he told Bush he was “ chosen”

September 3rd, 2008
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So McCain threw everyone a curve by choosing Palin as his veep. I don’t think anyone saw this coming. Not one of the pundits, experts , wonks or talking heads picked her. Congratulations Madam Palin.
She is a great republican. You know how hard it must be to find a woman who’s anti abortion, anti gay marriage and against the polar bears. She’s a member of the NRA and her parents found out she’s going for veep while they were out moose hunting. Are you kidding me? Its an NRA wet dream. It could only get better if her dad shot a Mexican robbing a neighbor’s house.
She has a son in the army and I’m sure he’s doing a great job protecting Fairbanks. Hey, Bushie protected Arkansas between drinks, this is great.
She’s under investigation. You know how much republicans like a good investigation. Seems she fired the public safety commissioner because he wouldn’t fire her brother in law during her sister’s divorce. Of course it was her husband making the calls, she had no knowledge of it.
This means she’s vindictive, another great right wing trait. Her sister’s divorce just strengthens the case for the sanctity of marriage, right?
Finally, she’s a liar. Just 2 months ago she said she wouldn’t go to Washington because Alaska needed her. She even said she doesn’t know what the veep does. How’s that for a politician? Beautiful.
It is a great chess move by McCain. Women will like her glass ceiling talk. Conservatives will like her “Christian “ values, 5 kids etc and the dems can’t attack a woman without looking bad the same way republicans have to dance around Baraack being black.
The big question is, where does it leave Rush Limbaugh? Is she a feminazi? How do you hate one of your own?
Don’t worry, Rush will find a way!
BTW the loud sucking sound you hear is a lot of air being let out of Baraack’s campaign.

August 29th, 2008
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