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I am in the USA. My ancestors escaped from Prussia and immigrated from Sweden in the late 19th century, well after Slavery and the Slave trade was over and liv

I am in the USA. My ancestors escaped from Prussia and immigrated from Sweden in the late 19th century, well after Slavery and the Slave trade was over and lived in hovels dug into the side of hills in the wind-swept and tree-free plains of the mid-west. In a area on the North American continent that was never touched by slavery. They became farmers and worked the land. My father didn't even have central plumbing for a great deal of his childhood. Had to piss in buckets when it became too cold and too dangerous to go to the outhouse in the winter. Yet I have plenty of people all over the planet that I should be ashamed to have European heritage living in the USA and that it's my fault there are a lot of poor black people. And that I owe them money and should "check my privilege" because of it.

boomboomsubban 4y ago
> In a area on the North American continent that was never touched by slavery Ignoring that slavery touched the entirety of the continent, I'm going to guess that means your German ancestors ended up in the Midwest. Probably on Native American lands. To this day, Native Americans are 20 times more likely to lack indoor plumbing than Whites. Roughly fifteen percent of the Oglala Lakota County, containing the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, in South Dakota lack indoor plumbing. Meaning this year they likely had to piss in buckets as the outhouse was too dangerous.
- native_samples 4y ago
  He explicitly says his ancestors ended up in the mid west in his comment.
- 300bps 4y ago
  How many European peoples were subjugated and annihilated to get the current population we have today? It goes back even further than modern humans that likely directly caused or at least aided the extinction of the Neanderthal.
- hushpuppy 4y ago
  > Ignoring that slavery touched the entirety of the continent, I'm going to guess that means your German ancestors ended up in the Midwest. Probably on Native American lands. By that logic there isn't a square inch anywhere on the planet that wasn't "touched by slavery". Which renders the whole notion pretty much irrelevant and diminishes the role of slavery in USA history.
  - boomboomsubban 4y ago
    If you only look at a one sentence statement it can seem to diminish things. There's never a need to only look at one sentence though.
    - Fomorian 4y ago
      You're accusing this guy of only reading one sentence, when you "guessed" that the ancestors of the guy you replied to settled in the Midwest. He explicitly stated in his comment that they settled in the Midwest. Might be everybody on all sides of this conversation needs to calm down a bit.
      - boomboomsubban 4y ago
        I'll admit to missing one line, I read their post an additional two times after being told that and I missed the line both times before finally catching it. I blame wordwrap and a lack of capitalization, but it was my mistake. Doesn't change anything I said, it just means I guessed based on a German immigrating to land "never touched by slavery" unnecessarily.
bozosunited 4y ago
Similar story, my grandparents immigrated from Hungary and faced significant challenges assimilating. They changed their name and their religious affiliation to avoid negative biases. They were never really successful and my parent on that side describes a “dirt poor” upbringing. While there are systemic (and observable in aggregate, though often not individually) benefits to having white skin in the US, the idea that there’s a uniform “White” experience and that it is universally one of privilege is obviously wrong, and it’s also needlessly divisive.
- alsaaro 4y ago
  If you can imagine that you were a pre-Civil rights era black, under constant attack from the government, and from the majority population as a matter of social custom -- you may conclude whites are privileged. The term white privilege is an accusatory polemic -- from a certain white perspective. Likewise a fish may not have the perspective to understand water, some whites may not understand they live in a social milieu that privileges them by disadvantaging everyone else. The term white privilege is an inversion of the indubitable reality of anti-black discrimination, probably an unnecessary inversion.
manuelabeledo 4y ago
> Yet I have plenty of people all over the planet that I should be ashamed to have European heritage living in the USA and that it's my fault there are a lot of poor black people. Do the "plenty" of people have an issue with you having a German ethnicity? How so? > And that I owe them money and should "check my privilege" because of it. You are conflating different things here. "Reparations" aren't a way to funnel money from "you" to "black people". That's another oversimplification, akin to saying that Medicare is about taking from richer people to put money into poor people's pockets. "Privilege" has more to do with the colour of your skin, than your ethnic background.
- _-david-_ 4y ago
  Privilege has nothing to do with skin color. Do you think an average white person from Appalachia is more privileged than a child of LeBron James?
- hushpuppy 4y ago
  > You are conflating different things here. No I am not. Race is a political grift. It has been a political grift since the beginning. It's a way for some individuals to exploit social divides for personal profit. It's a political gamesmanship. It was a grift when "white" was first legally defined during the colonial era. It is a grift now. The greater wedge they can drive between people the greater the potential for personal profit and political power. If you want to eliminate racism in the USA then the worst possible way you can do it is by trying to force some idiotic and unrealistic notion of "equity" on the american people in the name of racial injustice.
  - manuelabeledo 4y ago
    > The greater wedge they can drive between people the greater the potential for personal profit and political power. And I agree with that. Also, I would say that the main issue here is money, not skin colour. Poor people are basically getting screwed so billionaires like Musk or Bezos add a couple more zeroes to their bank accounts. But I cannot ignore the fact that there is racism embedded in the system, and that it is a massive problem. I see this a bit like gender inequality back in the 70s and 80s. Are we going to ignore it, like our grandparents and parents did, or will be acknowledging it?

boomboomsubban 4y ago

> In a area on the North American continent that was never touched by slavery Ignoring that slavery touched the entirety of the continent, I'm going to guess that means your German ancestors ended up in the Midwest. Probably on Native American lands. To this day, Native Americans are 20 times more likely to lack indoor plumbing than Whites. Roughly fifteen percent of the Oglala Lakota County, containing the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, in South Dakota lack indoor plumbing. Meaning this year they likely had to piss in buckets as the outhouse was too dangerous.

native_samples 4y ago
He explicitly says his ancestors ended up in the mid west in his comment.
300bps 4y ago
How many European peoples were subjugated and annihilated to get the current population we have today? It goes back even further than modern humans that likely directly caused or at least aided the extinction of the Neanderthal.
hushpuppy 4y ago
> Ignoring that slavery touched the entirety of the continent, I'm going to guess that means your German ancestors ended up in the Midwest. Probably on Native American lands. By that logic there isn't a square inch anywhere on the planet that wasn't "touched by slavery". Which renders the whole notion pretty much irrelevant and diminishes the role of slavery in USA history.
- boomboomsubban 4y ago
  If you only look at a one sentence statement it can seem to diminish things. There's never a need to only look at one sentence though.
  - Fomorian 4y ago
    You're accusing this guy of only reading one sentence, when you "guessed" that the ancestors of the guy you replied to settled in the Midwest. He explicitly stated in his comment that they settled in the Midwest. Might be everybody on all sides of this conversation needs to calm down a bit.
    - boomboomsubban 4y ago
      I'll admit to missing one line, I read their post an additional two times after being told that and I missed the line both times before finally catching it. I blame wordwrap and a lack of capitalization, but it was my mistake. Doesn't change anything I said, it just means I guessed based on a German immigrating to land "never touched by slavery" unnecessarily.

bozosunited 4y ago

Similar story, my grandparents immigrated from Hungary and faced significant challenges assimilating. They changed their name and their religious affiliation to avoid negative biases. They were never really successful and my parent on that side describes a “dirt poor” upbringing. While there are systemic (and observable in aggregate, though often not individually) benefits to having white skin in the US, the idea that there’s a uniform “White” experience and that it is universally one of privilege is obviously wrong, and it’s also needlessly divisive.

alsaaro 4y ago
If you can imagine that you were a pre-Civil rights era black, under constant attack from the government, and from the majority population as a matter of social custom -- you may conclude whites are privileged. The term white privilege is an accusatory polemic -- from a certain white perspective. Likewise a fish may not have the perspective to understand water, some whites may not understand they live in a social milieu that privileges them by disadvantaging everyone else. The term white privilege is an inversion of the indubitable reality of anti-black discrimination, probably an unnecessary inversion.

manuelabeledo 4y ago

> Yet I have plenty of people all over the planet that I should be ashamed to have European heritage living in the USA and that it's my fault there are a lot of poor black people. Do the "plenty" of people have an issue with you having a German ethnicity? How so? > And that I owe them money and should "check my privilege" because of it. You are conflating different things here. "Reparations" aren't a way to funnel money from "you" to "black people". That's another oversimplification, akin to saying that Medicare is about taking from richer people to put money into poor people's pockets. "Privilege" has more to do with the colour of your skin, than your ethnic background.

_-david-_ 4y ago
Privilege has nothing to do with skin color. Do you think an average white person from Appalachia is more privileged than a child of LeBron James?
hushpuppy 4y ago
> You are conflating different things here. No I am not. Race is a political grift. It has been a political grift since the beginning. It's a way for some individuals to exploit social divides for personal profit. It's a political gamesmanship. It was a grift when "white" was first legally defined during the colonial era. It is a grift now. The greater wedge they can drive between people the greater the potential for personal profit and political power. If you want to eliminate racism in the USA then the worst possible way you can do it is by trying to force some idiotic and unrealistic notion of "equity" on the american people in the name of racial injustice.
- manuelabeledo 4y ago
  > The greater wedge they can drive between people the greater the potential for personal profit and political power. And I agree with that. Also, I would say that the main issue here is money, not skin colour. Poor people are basically getting screwed so billionaires like Musk or Bezos add a couple more zeroes to their bank accounts. But I cannot ignore the fact that there is racism embedded in the system, and that it is a massive problem. I see this a bit like gender inequality back in the 70s and 80s. Are we going to ignore it, like our grandparents and parents did, or will be acknowledging it?