4 ms·

First, not everyone here is a white male. Second, statistics that measure the state are not direct evidence. Individual cases may or may not fit. There may be

by sunir 13y ago

First, not everyone here is a white male. Second, statistics that measure the state are not direct evidence. Individual cases may or may not fit. There may be statistics that measure a company that demonstrate a bias, but unless you have direct evidence of that, it's better to not burden your mind with that negativity. Third, you aren't a statistic. You have to keep developing and getting better. Don't internalize the statistical oppression. Internalization is the worst form of oppression.

tedks 13y ago
It is incredibly, blindingly privileged to say that internalized oppression is the worst form of oppression. Being oppressed is the worst form of oppression. And, for people who aren't white men, oppression is a lived reality, not an abstract concept that you can attempt to rationalize away. It is both rational and justified to think that prejudice is a predominant factor in virtually everything, because it is. Finally, oppression isn't "statistical." The people who cause those statistics have names, faces, and addresses. As do the people who act as their apologists. The personal is the political, but the political is also personal.
- ivanca 13y ago
  If this is true why so many homeless are white men? If this is true why being a soldier, the worst job in the world (because amputations and PTSD are no fun) is done by so many white men? Where is the "privilege" you talk about there? And there is no intrinsic racism against others by white men, where I'm from (Colombia) everyone is brown-ish but there is still a lot of racism against black people, just for being the majority not for being white.
  - pessimizer 13y ago
    And why would people say that planes are for flying when there are so many on the ground? Where do you see this "flying" then? And what of broken planes, or model planes, or photographs of planes? Next time you see a photograph of a plane flying through the sky at 20,000 feet you can try again to convince me that racism exists, buddy.
    - ivanca 13y ago
      Actually I never said racism didn't exist.
      - pessimizer 13y ago
        You didn't. I did. Because planes.
        ivanca 13y ago
        Yeah, your attempts to use sarcasm to show your point are not any good.
        ffbellfhtlflf 13y ago
        It's a cancerous post modern rhetorical strategy, where people are so convinced that they are absolutely, 100% correct that they use shitty sarcasm to the point of absurdity, then try to call you out for not "getting" a shitty half baked idea, a là reddit/r/shitredditsays
  - seestheday 13y ago
    What are you talking about. Being a white male is easy mode. I'm a white male. This shit is awesome. I won the genetic lottery. Does anyone ever assume that I can't speak English - No Does anyone ever assume that I might have body odor - No Does anyone ever assume that I am not technical/intelligent before speaking to me - No Am I ever physically/sexually harassed - No If I move to any high tech friendly city anywhere in North America will I be in a minority and possibly have difficulty finding friends who understand my culture - No Do I ever worry about little things like having to search for somewhere special to get my haircut - No (I've heard this is a problem for Black and possibly Asian people, I honestly have no idea) Every door is open, no doors are closed. It should be the same way for everybody, but right now it isn't and that is really unfortunate. Is it really too hard to recognize that others have it harder? [edit - formatting]
    - ivanca 13y ago
      You should try to start from scratch somewhere else in the US without using your tech/management knowledge, your current money and current friends. I bet you would change your views about the relevance of your skin color. Is not hard to also see it in statistics: Men are 68% vs Women; and between races White (non-hispanic) is the largest one: http://homeless.samhsa.gov/ResourceFiles/hrc_factsheet.pdf http://homeless.samhsa.gov/ResourceFiles/hrc_factsheet.pdf
rayiner 13y ago
I don't disagree that your attitude is more productive, but telling people to ignore statistics and assume that they're a special snowflake would be considered unsound advice in any other context.

by sunir 13y ago

tedks 13y ago

It is incredibly, blindingly privileged to say that internalized oppression is the worst form of oppression. Being oppressed is the worst form of oppression. And, for people who aren't white men, oppression is a lived reality, not an abstract concept that you can attempt to rationalize away. It is both rational and justified to think that prejudice is a predominant factor in virtually everything, because it is. Finally, oppression isn't "statistical." The people who cause those statistics have names, faces, and addresses. As do the people who act as their apologists. The personal is the political, but the political is also personal.

ivanca 13y ago
If this is true why so many homeless are white men? If this is true why being a soldier, the worst job in the world (because amputations and PTSD are no fun) is done by so many white men? Where is the "privilege" you talk about there? And there is no intrinsic racism against others by white men, where I'm from (Colombia) everyone is brown-ish but there is still a lot of racism against black people, just for being the majority not for being white.
- pessimizer 13y ago
  And why would people say that planes are for flying when there are so many on the ground? Where do you see this "flying" then? And what of broken planes, or model planes, or photographs of planes? Next time you see a photograph of a plane flying through the sky at 20,000 feet you can try again to convince me that racism exists, buddy.
  - ivanca 13y ago
    Actually I never said racism didn't exist.
    - pessimizer 13y ago
      You didn't. I did. Because planes.
      - ivanca 13y ago
        Yeah, your attempts to use sarcasm to show your point are not any good.
        ffbellfhtlflf 13y ago
        It's a cancerous post modern rhetorical strategy, where people are so convinced that they are absolutely, 100% correct that they use shitty sarcasm to the point of absurdity, then try to call you out for not "getting" a shitty half baked idea, a là reddit/r/shitredditsays
- seestheday 13y ago
  What are you talking about. Being a white male is easy mode. I'm a white male. This shit is awesome. I won the genetic lottery. Does anyone ever assume that I can't speak English - No Does anyone ever assume that I might have body odor - No Does anyone ever assume that I am not technical/intelligent before speaking to me - No Am I ever physically/sexually harassed - No If I move to any high tech friendly city anywhere in North America will I be in a minority and possibly have difficulty finding friends who understand my culture - No Do I ever worry about little things like having to search for somewhere special to get my haircut - No (I've heard this is a problem for Black and possibly Asian people, I honestly have no idea) Every door is open, no doors are closed. It should be the same way for everybody, but right now it isn't and that is really unfortunate. Is it really too hard to recognize that others have it harder? [edit - formatting]
  - ivanca 13y ago
    You should try to start from scratch somewhere else in the US without using your tech/management knowledge, your current money and current friends. I bet you would change your views about the relevance of your skin color. Is not hard to also see it in statistics: Men are 68% vs Women; and between races White (non-hispanic) is the largest one: http://homeless.samhsa.gov/ResourceFiles/hrc_factsheet.pdf http://homeless.samhsa.gov/ResourceFiles/hrc_factsheet.pdf

rayiner 13y ago

I don't disagree that your attitude is more productive, but telling people to ignore statistics and assume that they're a special snowflake would be considered unsound advice in any other context.