"White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack"

If that's anything like what I think it is, I think I already agree with it and don't need to read it. Regardless I'll read it after this thread. This topic means a lot to me for different reasons than it would for you (because you still value your ethnicity and I don't even acknowledge it except grudgingly as a biological taxonomy). Just stating the different viewpoints...

White people don't rank as privileged and every time I hear it I think about all of my white friends (what little I have left) and how they aren't supremely rich people who "step upon" other races every day in their tyrannical rule of us all. And even if you're not talking about that any more, in general the notion of 'rich white man' are limited to a small group of people who are only the way they are being hundreds of years ago rich white men in Europe paid for the development of technology that allowed them to live eternally wealthy lives (excluding those who died shortly after losing all their wealth, like in the great depression). At least that's my oversimplified defense.

If I had to pick a privileged group it would be whoever is capable of gaining the most from government socialistic programs. I would categorize those people as 'the lazy', but at the same time I'm expecting people will defend such people 'hey they lost their jobs and it's hard to find work nowadays'. Okay sure. Or some sort of social Darwinism justification. I still stand by my bias/bigotry :)

Generally speaking we're all very privileged: we live in a '1st world' country, I owe money to pay for a car and yet I'm richer than most people on the planet, most of whom don't own a car. I have this statement I tend to say which puts it in perspective: "We didn't steal this land from the Indians just so I have to not waste my food/not be able to litter/do anything I want" -- our place in the social order of things is at the very top, no matter who we are.

Also, have you noticed that the difference between your material goods are not very different than the material goods of the super rich? They also have: cars, clothes, houses, golf clubs, tvs, microwaves, ovens, fridges, beds, etc. Compare our relative happiness to say, Russia. Russia has access to worldwide television, but have none of the material goods, so they know what they are missing out.

So those are the two views I hold on this issue. It's basically caused me to actually 'value' or 'prefer' one 'ethnicity' over the rest ("white" people) for a new reason now (other than socialisation). Thankfully I don't use this as an excuse to stereotype against the rest, but you can count on me for cheering for things like a 'white people bursary', which has existed, and, curiously, was widely criticized by every other ethnicity.

Actually I'm starting to stereotype against other ethnicities now that I think about what I know. I better stop thinking. Thinking sucks.