Philosophy Now Forum

"the idea of “white privilege” is a thoroughly white one. It was the brainchild of the extremely pale Peggy McIntosh, now associate director of Wellesley College’s Centers for Women. In 1988 McIntosh, a women’s studies professor who liked to describe herself as a “feminist” and an “antiracist activist,” published what she called a “personal account” in which she asserted that while conscious racism seemed to be on the wane after the victories of the 1960s civil-rights era, white people​—​including McIntosh herself​—​continued to practice a form of unconscious racism that allowed them to oppress minority groups even though they might not have any idea that they were doing so. “I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day but about which I was ‘meant’ to remain oblivious,” McIntosh wrote in her paper. “White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks,” she wrote.... Yet, she still keeps her privileged position in the academy instead of yielding the position to a qualified oppressed person of color.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy_McIntosh

Perhaps not surprisingly, it has been guilt-plagued whites who have most eagerly leapt onto McIntosh’s theoretical bandwagon. In 2012, for example, an organization called Un-Fair Campaign, headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota (90 percent non-Hispanic white, according to the 2010 census), released a video in which Un-Fair members filmed themselves with such slogans as “I Am a White Man​—​That’s Unfair,” “We’re Lucky to Be White,” and “Society Was Set Up for Us” scrawled in black magic marker onto their milky foreheads, cheeks, and chins. It was hard not to laugh​—​as many conservatives did​—​and the University of Minnesota-Duluth, which had originally supported the campaign, backed out, although other institutions, such as the University of Wisconsin-Superior, affirmed their support of the Un-Fair self-loathing campaign. (The video, once freely available on the Internet, has since been withdrawn as “private.”)" (Emphasis added)
http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/ ... ?nopager=1
When I lived in Duluth I was appointed to serve with two others (also white people) on the county's civil service commission. One day in conversation with a black guy who I knew well, he suggested that my service on the commission constituted an instance of "white privilege."

I asked if he wanted to serve in my place. I said that if so I would arrange for his appointment and then I'd resign. He was in shock. Finally, he declined. I then told him that if he found another black person to serve he should let me know. I never heard from him again on the subject.

Liberals complain about their privileges but never give them up.
http://www.stlouiscountymn.gov/GOVERNME ... ssion.aspx

I'm not sure it's a "privilege" to have a job, those who don't have a job don't have it likely because they didn't apply at the right time or were inferior in merit. Perhaps if you treat the word "privilege" vaguely, you could assert it exists in the given context. But basically you get a job because you are best at what you do (and we all have varying degrees of opportunity at becoming best), and you keep that job because you do it well and have accumulated experience. It doesn't make sense to kick people just because they happen to be white and was at some time in the past the only good candidate. If another position opens up, on the other hand, you can start making preference for black guys if those guys are likely at least as good as the best white candidate (positive biased preference among those of about equal merit) on the argument of balancing the demographics of the work environment, if the balance falls short.

priv·i·lege (prv-lj, prvlj)
n.
1.
a. A special advantage, immunity, permission, right, or benefit granted to or enjoyed by an individual, class, or caste. See Synonyms at right.
b. Such an advantage, immunity, or right held as a prerogative of status or rank, and exercised to the exclusion or detriment of others.
2. The principle of granting and maintaining a special right or immunity: a society based on privilege.
3. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Priviledge

Here is an abridged version of Professor Mcintoshe's paper:
http://www.nymbp.org/reference/WhitePrivilege.pdf

"I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets which I can
count on cashing in each day, but about which I was ‘meant’ to remain oblivious. White privilege is
like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes,
tools and blank checks.
Describing white privilege makes one newly accountable. As we in Women’s Studies work to
reveal male privilege and ask men to give up some of their power, so one who writes about having white
privilege must ask, “ Having described it what will I do to lessen or end it?”, supra (Underling added)

The professor clearly states that the holder of white privilege has an ethical duty to do something about the situation. I suggest that the white female college professor (who accepts such an ethical duty) logically should discharge her duty by giving her job to a woman of color.

This whole white/black issue is a bunch of baloney. Get rid of the non-profit and non-taxable status of all private organizations and firms. A single tax on property will solve any so-called racial issues because racial or any other discrimination will adversely affect their financial ability to operate.

Well I hold that the Professor is wrong then. New jobs, okay, old jobs, not so much okay. Then of course you could have in-between solutions, like phase-outs, where one person of colour works at a lower wage and fewer hours for a couple of years perhaps and then takes up the position full time while the other person finds for themselves new jobs in the meantime.

The Voice of Time wrote:Well I hold that the Professor is wrong then. New jobs, okay, old jobs, not so much okay. Then of course you could have in-between solutions, like phase-outs, where one person of colour works at a lower wage and fewer hours for a couple of years perhaps and then takes up the position full time while the other person finds for themselves new jobs in the meantime.

It is a known fact that unions support minimum wage because they know companies will tend to only hire whites. Without minimum wage, companies will be financially penalized by not hiring blacks who would be willing to work for lower wages than whites. In other words, without minimum wage, discrimination becomes costly and affects a company's bottom line.