General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhere were you when DU blew the lid off the "white privilege" subterfuge?
Like the Kennedy assassination and the Challenger explosion, will you always remember your whereabouts during that fateful February week when a few intrepid internet truth-seekers exposed, for the first time ever, the long-hidden secret that white people ... from asshole slave-owners, to modern asshole redneck shitheads, to well-meaning white assholes eager to explain to African-Americans the real meaning of their struggle ... have always had a leg up in American society?
Was I the only one who already knew about it? Maybe it was my parents pulling me out of my segregated local Virginia elementary school and Mom driving me to the integrated school across town. And then doing the same thing when Dad was stationed in Jacksonville, Florida ... and then in Corpus Christie, Texas ... and even (thank GOD briefly) Biloxi fucking Mississippi. But I grew up knowing that being white didn't suck in America.
Of course, maybe if the internet had been around back then (late 50's, early 60's) they would have shared a bunch of self-aggrandizing "look how tolerant we white folks can be" blog posts. But Dad was a Navy fighter pilot (they kept him kind of busy back then) and Mom preferred to do shit rather than talk about it, so maybe not.
Sheldon Cooper
(3,724 posts)upaloopa
(11,417 posts)at an early age? If so I have found my evidence you!
LostOne4Ever
(9,296 posts)I need some to go along with this popcorn:
upaloopa
(11,417 posts)priveledge folks on ignore. Makes your stay here better.
seattledo
(295 posts)LostOne4Ever
(9,296 posts)Popcorn is a type of internet slang.
It is used as a way of saying that the comment the person is replying to is flamebait; and rather than respond myself, I have decided to just enjoy myself watching that poster and others spar in a verbal war.
It alludes to the cultural tradition of eating popcorn while watching a movie (or in this case an upcoming flamewar). The following smilely references this:
In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)[img][/img]
Captain Stern
(2,201 posts)Not enough topics about it, I guess. Oh well, the more the merrier.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)Often the same peopel who kept their nose in Zimmerman's underpants, and have been busy telling women to shut hte fuck up and make a sandwich already...
Some things might need to be discussed, because it's becoming evident to some of us that DU is losing that liberal shine and is just a few dudebro videos shy of being the backwater of youtube.
Captain Stern
(2,201 posts)Why can't the discussion take place in one thread?
I don't deny the existence of the thing that we are calling 'white privilege'. I'm white, male, straight, and born in the usa.....I don't deny for a second that my life has been easier than otherwise because of that. The only way that it could have been easier would have been if I'd been born to rich parents. So, I guess that's 'white privilege', 'male privilege', 'straight privilege', and 'geographic privilege'. I suppose that the only thing that I object to about the term is that by saying 'privilege', we are implying that white people are getting something special that's above and beyond expected treatment. How white people are treated vs how minorities are treated shouldn't be considered special....it should be how everyone is treated.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)you take after Dad, with all the yakking you do around here?
11 Bravo
(23,928 posts)whatever melts your butter.
I'm an old man, now. I've been to war and afterwards went to teaching, 40 years now.
Of course, your posts have all been cogent and well-reasoned bits of civil discourse, while I just "yak". So ... I guess you've got that going for you.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)snide when I made fun of you back? sort of bad form, no?
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)Thank goodness we have a whole brigade here ready to enlighten us about it.
liberalmuse
(18,672 posts)in the vast minority amongst the liberal ilk, and in the majority amongst the conservative ilk, who are offended at the very notion that they have had more privileges simply because they are melanin deficient. But there it is in a nutshell. Being melanin deficient has been the equivalent of winning the lottery for thousands of years. That is a fact, and poor ol' white males who take offense at that need to pull their heads out of their asses. One tiny example: If you are a person of color driving an expensive car, and a person of much less color driving a clunker, guess who is more likely to be pulled over?
11 Bravo
(23,928 posts)at a few rec-seeking attention junkies, and here we are. NO ONE on this forum seriously denies the fact that white people have always had a HUGE head start in this culture. Some, however, appear to need to begin a NEW DU slugfest after the last one mercifully tapered out.
redqueen
(115,108 posts)You seem to not have a problem with them, and instead direct all your... whateverthefuck this is... at those who do not take kindly to such posters (whom you adorably label "rec-seeking attention junkies" simply for not sharing your tolerance for race-baiting assholery.)
I wonder why that is.
11 Bravo
(23,928 posts)without missing a beat, tell me that I'm adorably (nice touch, that) "tolerant" and ""don't have a problem" with them.
No doubt the pile-on will commence as soon as the word gets spread.
redqueen
(115,108 posts)You decided all on your own to start a whole new thread, and you decided which group should be tolerable and which ones should be encouraged via mockery to STFU.
11 Bravo
(23,928 posts)and then accuse me of encouraging someone to STFU?
The next time you visit your physician, ask for irony supplements.
oldhippie
(3,249 posts)....
redqueen
(115,108 posts)On the contrary, I think it's very good for everyone to make it plain where their sympathies lie.
I was referring to your martyriffic "and so it begins" verbage, and your "who me?" act with respect to the sentiment clearly expressed in your OP.
Throwing in the word "asshole" isn't quite the cover you seem to think it is. One group is well meaning, the other you assert are lazy blowhards just looking for recs. Most of your post was just talking about how much better your parents were than anyone here who isn't as tolerant as you are of those gosh-darned well-meaning assholes.
You tipped your hand.
11 Bravo
(23,928 posts)The tried and true "I know what you meant even if you didn't actually say it" bullshit is more than stupid. It's been employed to the point of being flat-out fucking insipid.
As for your gratuitous and dishonest reference to my parents, I almost responded in the manner which you were attempting to provoke, thereby earning a hide and giving you a nice giggle. But I decided not to give someone who is neither as smart nor as significant as they think they are that satisfaction.
Finally, no one ever said that you are a well-meaning asshole. Unlike you, I won't pretend to decipher the motives of anonymous internet posters. As for the rest of it ... well ... I'll leave that for you to continue to reveal.
You can have the last word ... no doubt something as equally predictable as your ordinary screeds.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)kwassa
(23,340 posts)as I am male, this was not easy.
Skittles
(153,298 posts)*EGREGIOUS*
kwassa
(23,340 posts)not a Skittles ass-kicking!
mzteris
(16,232 posts)Eating cornflake fried chicken while smoking?
kwassa
(23,340 posts)sufrommich
(22,871 posts)The Golden Girls.
Skittles
(153,298 posts)you were doubly-privileged
11 Bravo
(23,928 posts)That's some serious fucking privilege right there!
Skittles
(153,298 posts)yes INDEED
Pretzel_Warrior
(8,361 posts)some of the craziest serial threads I've seen in the past few months:
Porn
Woo (for and agin)
Gender Wars Parts 1, 2, 3 and the prequels
White Privilege
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Per the CBS poll, 53% of white people think the criminal justice system is at least as fair to black people as it is to white people, and 67% think black people have just as good a chance of getting ahead in society as do white people.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)God knows white folks' advantages in society must be deserved, what with them being naturally superior with bigger brains and all...
One post on FR I saw years ago, which I found astonishing even for that cesspit: "White privilege = bigger brain, higher IQ." Speaking as a white person myself, that was probably one of the best arguments for "killing Whitey" I've ever seen in my life. Hell, I wanted to strangle the dude myself!
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)hootinholler
(26,449 posts)Oh, wait, do they have a DU member cross tab?
The Straight Story
(48,121 posts)Lessons I have learned on DU - we all like whacking off to pics of women on magazine covers, we also hate women and want to keep them down, we don't like anyone who isn't white, we will spend a huge amount of time telling people that they are privileged and asking them to just acknowledge it with no input or you don't think you are and you have to be educated over and over.
Meanwhile the rich are getting away with whatever they want, Ukraine is destabilizing, women and girls in places from Afghanistan to Uganda are facing death and massive oppression, the poor and homeless are getting screwed over, children are laboring for pennies to provide us with things we just throw away and the biggest rage on a politics board is the board itself and how people won't run around waving their arms saying 'I am privileged and I know it' loud enough.
For some there is only one issue to hammer on and it is how fellow du'ers don't agree 100% with them and their take and level of outrage on an issue.
idendoit
(505 posts)KoKo
(84,711 posts)I think what you say deserves discussion. But we know there won't be any reasonable discussion. imho..you deserve to be heard because you make points about how people can tar everyone with the same brush for some political agenda and it's gotten really OTT here. I think it makes this site a place where people don't feel welcome. And that shouldn't be what a Democratic website is about.
Just saying.. K&R
The Straight Story
(48,121 posts)That it has become a tad over the top.
Today I was setting up a radio interview with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (to help kick off the new radio show, part of which happens tomorrow morning with a live show on location - I won't be there because I don't feel up to the trip, have a cold) and perusing a variety of web sites and it just sort of struck me....
Du seems to be focused inward and we are battling each other over things we really do agree on but we don't always agree about how to agree on them. Issues, like human trafficking, we also agree on but discussions on that would either be wholly ignored (which, using the measuring stick some put forth means you are for it) or would derail into a subset of the issue covering a very narrow slice of it. It would get one thread, a few replies if one was lucky.
Now, I will admit, I DO understand that because people can't simply reply to every thread, in some they feel powerless to do anything about a subject and so don't comment on it, or they have just have areas they focus on and they do care but use their time and resources elsewhere.
But it makes me wonder when I see us all, and I include myself, trying to elucidate our points on a subject (thread after thread) which, in the end, revolves simply around pleasing a few here when it comes to how something is discussed. We all agree there is racism, sexism, that some folks are more privileged than others (in a variety of ways for a variety of reasons) but some folks just want to keep hammering home a single point (and, again, that whole point is how others either talk about the subject or aren't upset and showing as much outrage as they should be).
No solutions are offered, just complaining about each other and trying to one up each other to see who is the most liberal on du.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)to the point of building them up into giant strawmen...
The Straight Story
(48,121 posts)and read into replies on a topic things which are not there.
I think also a few really miss META.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)Waiting For Everyman
(9,385 posts)I can't think of anything more courageous than a self-congratulatory callout of people who already agree on the basics of an issue.
It's a mystery why the media didn't cover such an important event, but it should have.
1awake
(1,494 posts)in my extremely uncomfortable chair that's as hard as a brick but will do because...well, I need to worry about buying other things right now, like food for tomorrow.
I learned this week that even though I have said I believe in white privilege ohhh... about 35 times so far, apparently I still don't because Im either uneducated on the subject, or disagreeing on a point that has nothing to do with it existing or not, means I really don't believe. I also learned that if you refuse to read or acknowledge what someone says, you can pretty much post anything and make believe that's whats being debated. Seems to work wonders for some.
I've learned that you can care about another person/poster and make nice... until they don't fully agree with you then they are scum and it's fair game to belittle them as well as make ignorant comments about them. It works best when you get another equally dickish poster to go back and forth making fun of them for simple amusement to shut them up. It appears also a good thing to state minorities should be directing a conversation... until a minority who doesnt agree with you speaks up and then they to need to stfu.
I've also learned that calling someone out for failing to do what they stated, is perfectly fine and required by any thinking Democrat... unless it's a Democrat in question, then stfu because you know, that's what we do.
Lastly, I learned that spreading understanding and changing negative things is great but comes second to looking good and being perceived to be valiantly fighting a cause.
Autumn
(45,120 posts)reading these threads because of a couple of jury calls. What you said is what I have seen which leads me to believe some very vocal people don't want to talk, they want to argue and attack.
rrneck
(17,671 posts)We had an orchard and we sold peaches right off the front porch. It was always a madhouse where customer service wasn't much different from a floor show. I didn't wait on customers so much as work the crowd. One day, in a sea of retired white women clamoring for the ripest prettiest fruit, a black man sat on the porch trying to stay out of the way. Elbows on knees, eyes down, he simply sat and waited for his turn in silence.
I usually had a waiting list that stretched into the low double digits. Every change in customer resulted in a bit of a rush from those who thought they were next, or thought they should be. When his turn came up, trailing a small cluster of pushy Cadillac driving retirees, I went and found him. I looked at the rest of the bunch and said, "This man's next." There was no noticeable chagrin from the crowd.
He thanked me later. I told him he was welcome but I figured his money was just as green as anybody elses. He grinned and said, "damn straight". He came back for fruit for years after that.
The question of course is where did class privilege end and white privilege begin?
Blue_Roses
(12,894 posts)I like your post! I am writing a story about a pear orchard and it's along these lines. Would love to ask you a few questions about your peach orchard if you don't mind.
rrneck
(17,671 posts)Bok_Tukalo
(4,325 posts)I love it when little bits if the Internet become performance art pieces.
Niceguy1
(2,467 posts)Kind of like the scene in Forrest Gump where he says all of the ways you can cook shrimp. ...lol
Flying Squirrel
(3,041 posts)Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)Their sanctimony and mutual admiration are unhealthy.
petronius
(26,613 posts)And ever since that watershed moment I've been hoping that just one more glass of wine will enable me to understand what the heck is going on. Pencils? Snow? Not sure I've ever been quite this far behind the DU curve. But maybe one more glass will provide the mental lubricant I need...
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)Last edited Sun Mar 2, 2014, 12:57 AM - Edit history (1)
Just curious...
And to answer your question, it was during the Trayvon Martin case...
When that many people on a supposed Democratic message board were making excuses to justify/ignore racial profiling, it's time for a refresher course...
edbermac
(15,950 posts)badtoworse
(5,957 posts)quinnox
(20,600 posts)humanity at its most perfect. That they have deigned to educate Duers with their flawless wisdom, and grace us with their superior, august presence is an amazing gift, indeed. A nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize for a certain sub-group of these enlightened educators, along with the Congressional Gold Medal is clearly called for.
The Straight Story
(48,121 posts)quinnox
(20,600 posts)Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)Jesus Christ people, we get it.
dionysus
(26,467 posts)shit, I've people claim they've remember what I've said in threads I've never posted in...
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)dionysus
(26,467 posts)Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)through the gaping let-in on my 72 edition. Otherwise, it's a $175 rifle which shoots reliably with fair accuracy. But the blueing sucked. That's past-tense cause it isn't there anymore. Win couldn't get their early computers to work nearly as well as Rem's tape-drives, either.
Pretty much any pre-64 Win rifle sells for a lot more than post-.
dionysus
(26,467 posts)better quality, and value.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)dionysus
(26,467 posts)approximate date of manufacture.
all the old 94s at the store were marked as pre 64 and carried a premium price. however, the one I found, despite being made around 1950, was only marked as being tapped for a scope, not pre 64... so I snapped it up cheap. works great
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)$190. Should have gotten that one. The pawn shop I visit never has more than 1/2 doz guns, but always has a good one, cheap. Got my present Rem 700 in .270, w/ a big scope from the same store. No crap sold here.
dionysus
(26,467 posts)Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)What seemed to be the triggering event was the web cam spying revelations, in which threads none of the loudest "objectification" posters appeared to voice an opinion despite the obvious sexual objectification implications of web cam spying.
KG
(28,753 posts)Romulox
(25,960 posts)They're not interested.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)given a choice between a DINO with ovaries (HRC) and liberal with a y-chromosome, they will generally choose "right".
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)Where they all pivot like a well lubricated machine from one set of talking points to the next when the first set becomes inconvenient for some reason.
At this point you could just about make it an Olympic event, synchronized spinning.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)CTyankee
(63,926 posts)we know all about white privilege, thank you very much. don't need you. never did. we know all about and you should also.
11 Bravo
(23,928 posts)My only point is that the requisite group of back-slappers here didn't just discover it this week.
I'm crushed to that hear you don't need me. And "never did" really stings, but I'll try to soldier on.
Now please tell me, am I still allowed to play your "Name the classic piece of art" game? I'm not good at it, but I always enjoy it.
usa liberal
(9 posts)was the lid truly blown?
is there a source on this amazing instance?