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> Compared with the rest of the (nationally representative) polling sample, progressive activists are much more likely to be rich, highly educated—and white. Th

> Compared with the rest of the (nationally representative) polling sample, progressive activists are much more likely to be rich, highly educated—and white. They are nearly twice as likely as the average to make more than $100,000 a year. They are nearly three times as likely to have a postgraduate degree. And while 12 percent of the overall sample in the study is African American, only 3 percent of progressive activists are. With the exception of the small tribe of devoted conservatives, progressive activists are the most racially homogeneous group in the country. This is one of the problems I have with the modern progressive movement. All of the most privileged people I know are also the only people I know who constantly complain about privilege. It definitely comes off as upper middle class in-group signaling and more than a little grating. Especially when the unrelenting target of said complaining are practitioners of STEM.

growlist 8y ago
Indeed. I'll start 'checking my privilege' once I see some evidence I've benefited from that, as opposed to risk taking and thousands of hours of hard work.
- bfuller 8y ago
  >as opposed to risk taking and thousands of hours of hard work. one might say it is a privilege to get to do those things.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
- romwell 8y ago
  Oh really? The whole point is that people who don't have your privileges can't afford to take as many risks, the same hard work has a smaller payoff, and the cost of a mistake is higher. Privilege doesn't mean getting where you got was easy. It means that for those that don't have it, it's way, way, way harder to get to the same place.
  - growlist 8y ago
    All I have is my own experience here, and at least in the UK I've almost never witnessed any kind of prejudice keeping people down - on the contrary, IT is crying out for women, ethnic minorities etc - with one major exception: the class system, which without question still matters when going for jobs in e.g. the City. However, not being a posh boy from grammar school, I don't benefit from that.
    - DanBC 8y ago
      > and at least in the UK I've almost never witnessed any kind of prejudice keeping people down You haven't been paying attention. Black people are more likely to be subject to stop and search than white people. In particular for drugs even though they use drugs at a lower rate than white people. Despite knowing about this injustice for years rates have got worse. https://www.theguardian.com/law/2018/oct/13/racial-bias-police-stop-and-search-policy-black-people-report https://www.theguardian.com/law/2018/oct/13/racial-bias-poli... Black people are more likely to be detained under the MH Act, more likely to be subjected to restraint and rapid tranquilisation, and more likely to be on a community treatment order. This is probably racism. https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/independent-review-of-the-mental-health-act https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/independent-review-of-t... https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-act-independent-review https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-act... Black carribean pupils are excluded at 3 times the rate of white pupils, and this is probably racism. https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/education-skills-and-training/absence-and-exclusions/pupil-exclusions/latest https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/education... Black doctors get paid less than white doctors; BAME health care professionals have complaints investigated more often than their white collagues and those complaints are more often upheld. THis is probably racism. https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2018/01/31/amitava-banerjee-institutional-racism-is-still-a-major-problem-in-the-nhs/ https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2018/01/31/amitava-banerjee-instit...
      - growlist 8y ago
        I've never witnessed it personally is what I said, so a wall of references doesn't really add much.
AnarchoYeasty 8y ago
Probably because we have seen how bullshit it is that we've "made it" while people who have worked a hell of a lot harder and deserve it so much more than us still stuggle to make it. Also, it's pretty hard to become an activist if you are struggling, so it absolutely makes sense that it would be the upper-middle class who take up the fight.
rdtsc 8y ago
> It definitely comes off as upper middle class in-group signaling and more than a little grating. I have noticed this as well at work, in the extended family, when I was at school and other places. At one level I think it is because the overt display of privilege, wealth and power like it was before is not sophisticated enough, so it moved to this inverted display of humility or some deep concern for some marginalized class. I'd like to believe it is real but I suspect quite often it is just to one-up someone else in the social status game. Anyone notice this? Someone at a gathering, or online, mentions they support some marginalized group. Right after someone else chimes in with "Oh but I support an even more persecuted group, my group is more worthy than yours because...<reasons follow>". After a few rounds a winner emerges.

growlist 8y ago

Indeed. I'll start 'checking my privilege' once I see some evidence I've benefited from that, as opposed to risk taking and thousands of hours of hard work.

bfuller 8y ago
>as opposed to risk taking and thousands of hours of hard work. one might say it is a privilege to get to do those things.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
romwell 8y ago
Oh really? The whole point is that people who don't have your privileges can't afford to take as many risks, the same hard work has a smaller payoff, and the cost of a mistake is higher. Privilege doesn't mean getting where you got was easy. It means that for those that don't have it, it's way, way, way harder to get to the same place.
- growlist 8y ago
  All I have is my own experience here, and at least in the UK I've almost never witnessed any kind of prejudice keeping people down - on the contrary, IT is crying out for women, ethnic minorities etc - with one major exception: the class system, which without question still matters when going for jobs in e.g. the City. However, not being a posh boy from grammar school, I don't benefit from that.
  - DanBC 8y ago
    > and at least in the UK I've almost never witnessed any kind of prejudice keeping people down You haven't been paying attention. Black people are more likely to be subject to stop and search than white people. In particular for drugs even though they use drugs at a lower rate than white people. Despite knowing about this injustice for years rates have got worse. https://www.theguardian.com/law/2018/oct/13/racial-bias-police-stop-and-search-policy-black-people-report https://www.theguardian.com/law/2018/oct/13/racial-bias-poli... Black people are more likely to be detained under the MH Act, more likely to be subjected to restraint and rapid tranquilisation, and more likely to be on a community treatment order. This is probably racism. https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/independent-review-of-the-mental-health-act https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/independent-review-of-t... https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-act-independent-review https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-act... Black carribean pupils are excluded at 3 times the rate of white pupils, and this is probably racism. https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/education-skills-and-training/absence-and-exclusions/pupil-exclusions/latest https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/education... Black doctors get paid less than white doctors; BAME health care professionals have complaints investigated more often than their white collagues and those complaints are more often upheld. THis is probably racism. https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2018/01/31/amitava-banerjee-institutional-racism-is-still-a-major-problem-in-the-nhs/ https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2018/01/31/amitava-banerjee-instit...
    - growlist 8y ago
      I've never witnessed it personally is what I said, so a wall of references doesn't really add much.

AnarchoYeasty 8y ago

Probably because we have seen how bullshit it is that we've "made it" while people who have worked a hell of a lot harder and deserve it so much more than us still stuggle to make it. Also, it's pretty hard to become an activist if you are struggling, so it absolutely makes sense that it would be the upper-middle class who take up the fight.

rdtsc 8y ago

> It definitely comes off as upper middle class in-group signaling and more than a little grating. I have noticed this as well at work, in the extended family, when I was at school and other places. At one level I think it is because the overt display of privilege, wealth and power like it was before is not sophisticated enough, so it moved to this inverted display of humility or some deep concern for some marginalized class. I'd like to believe it is real but I suspect quite often it is just to one-up someone else in the social status game. Anyone notice this? Someone at a gathering, or online, mentions they support some marginalized group. Right after someone else chimes in with "Oh but I support an even more persecuted group, my group is more worthy than yours because...<reasons follow>". After a few rounds a winner emerges.