Over the past ten years I've heard quite a bit about the concept of 'White Privilege' from folks on the Left. I've had e-mails sent to me by well-meaning friends who believed that I would benefit reading about why I am a 'bad person' by the sole virtue of birth to parents who are: Irish, German, and depending upon which relative you listened... Perhaps a bit of 'Scot' thrown in for good measure?
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Am I White? Aye, yes I am. Shoot, I'm so White it's hard to look at me on a sunny day without protecting your eyes with thick, polarized lenses. I'm downright REFLECTIVE in the daylight.
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So here I sit - White as charged.
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Given my personal level of 'Whiteness' I've got to figure that there are folks out there who see me as being incredibly privileged. This will come as a HUGE surprise to my wife (she's White too, just so there's no misunderstanding) who feels that we struggle monthly to get ahead in this 'robust economic recovery' we've been in since President Obama took the helm of the Nation's economic policies.
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DIGRESSION ALERT IN 3, 2, 1:
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Just the other day I heard that the economy is growing at pretty darn close to 1.2% in Q2! This growth is more than TWICE the growth of GDP in Q1 2016 ( 0.5%). For anyone keeping score, Hillary Clinton says she wants to continue President Obama's Economic policies if she's elected... WooHoo!!!! How about that!?!?!
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DIGRESSION ALERT ENDS IN 3, 2, 1
We now continue the prior post already in progress...
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However, I've got to wonder, how can people see me as being privileged solely by virtue of my particular 'hue'? Why do some people feel the need to judge me NOT by the content of my character, but rather, by the color of my skin? Yes, you've heard that one before, said by a man whose life has had much more import than my own.
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I know it will may some folks on the Left reading these lines upset, angry, and possibly even a bit 'wacky' to learn that I don't feel any guilt over being born the color of an incredibly pale peach.
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But hey folks - here's the news flash... I have no self-loathing. You'll have to take that pity party on your own (book early, seats are filling up fast!)
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| Puddles the Clown - Bad Puddles, Bad! You are VERY White! |
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If you're one of the folks subscribing to the notion of White Privilege (a.k.a.: 'WP') and are looking for self-loathing from the kid here - go find ANY shiny surface around your home and peer deeply into it. Hate yourself if you like (if it makes you feel 'better'?). While I may disappoint myself (and others) at times, I believe that my life's condition is pretty much a reflection of my own efforts and good / bad decision-making ability. While not perfect, I'm pretty happy with me - sorry to disappoint those looking for yours truly to get weepy and bemoan the fact that I'm not something other than I am.
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I've also heard that if you're White (you, know, like me), that you can't possibly understand what it means to be 'non-white'. Yeah, maybe so. Perhaps this is the pale-skinned Americans' 'Get out of Jail Free' card against those unhappy preachers of the 'WP' philosophy? I mean, how can I know what's it like to be something... Which I am not?
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But here's the thing, can a 'non-pale-peach-colored' person know what it's like to be someone 'incredibly White' like me? Everyone on this planet has his/her own experiences which conspire to make them the person they are today. While I have done impressions of other people / characters - I don't truly know what it is to BE them.
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Conversely then, might it also be true that purveyors of 'WP' don't know what it's like to be, you know, White like me?
