It's like the oppression olympics though.. We can easily say that white males top the charts of the privileged, but we ignore that poor white men living in poverty or on the streets are treated just as badly as people of color often times (though not all of the time), and often times by the same people who disdain people of color.

It's easy for us to talk about global trends, but I think we need to keep in mind that on an individual level, these trends don't necessarily hold true for all circumstances.

I understand 100%. It really doesn't disappear. I just feel that on an individual level, trends don't really help.

Plus, I feel that if we want others to take our accounts of racism seriously on an individual level as well as on a grander scale, it helps if we take their experiences seriously as well.

It's unfortunate that you read this as some sort of pity party for white men. I tried to use the inflated language I've heard from both whites and minorities to color the article. But the intention of the piece is actually a lot more gray than you think. I don't think you actually read it though, but that's cool. On the surface it appears a certain way and I cannot fault you for jumping to conclusions. Thanks for the comments. They will definitely help me going forward. What is funny is that this article has elicited rage from people, thinking it is a diatribe against white people and others who think it is some sort of pro-white manifesto. It is neither.

I agree with what you're saying. It's a dangerous place to go when middle-upper class white men with houses, university degrees, and +100K/year jobs start complaining about being oppressed. Then it's just time for a reality check.

As for class issues, that needs to be brought up, like you say. It's too bad that classism is ignored in favor of racism by many people who don't realize that the two often intersect. And even when they dont... let's just say that combating classism would help a lot of people right now.

Just wait, soon we'll be called out on playing the "class card."

Sorry it riled you up, but what about the article is inherently racist?

I was actually a bit hurt by your remarks, the whole point of the article is to obliterate the old tired "the white man is inherently bad" stereotype by using frank language. All I'm saying that even if you believe in the idea that all white people are oppressors you only give the oppressor power by acknowledging this over and over and over again. This creates a victim culture and the victim's begin celebrating this culture and forget that it is the oppressor that created the culture. This brings about an ironic situation where the oppressed, by celebrating their culture, are in essence thanking their oppressor because without the oppressor they would not have seen themselves in this light. Not saying all culture is BS, just saying that it's relative and it's kind of myopic to think that your culture didn't evolve in relation to another.

Okay I'm done, thanks for the spirited comments.

HA! Too funny. Well my ex has my balls, so I understand. Yeah, the race thing is getting a little tired. Class is the next thing and I think the Tea Party is on the avant-garde of a new movement. The Tea Party, just like the civil rights movement may evolve into a more diverse beast as more and more people become disenchanted with the government. But we can subvert our fear of the government and big business (kind of one in the same these days) if we stop acting like victims. The only tie they have to us is that green stuff in our wallets. As long as we care about that they got us by the balls. Good thing I don't have any.

Why so angry?
I'm not racist against anyone, half my family is white.

Did you even watch the videos? Really, if you take the time to watch them, you'll learn something. I did.

I agree teachers should be paid more and that athletes should be paid less, but that really has nothing to do with this.

You personally are not responsible for anything, I didn't say that. But as a white man, you ARE privileged, even if you don't eat for days on end. You have more life chances than a minority.

When people like me talk about racism, we're talking (or at least I talk) about systemic racism. It's a type of racism where IN GENERAL, white people have a better starting point that non-white people. That goes more so for men. That's not to say that you have no disadvantages. It just means that on the scale of advantages to disadvantages, being a white male puts you a little higher in the line up (a fast-pass to the rides, if you will).

What social justice is about is recognizing that this disparity exists between races and attempt to rectify it and educate people that such a disparity exists.

It is NEVER about any single person, and it most certainly is NOT about you. If anyone is blaming you, they deserve a straight kick in the nads, because racism certainly isn't your fault.

Who we should ALL be blaming, however, are the top earners who make tons of money and essentially set our roles for us. We should all be trying to reclaim power back from THEM.

I'm sorry that you have to deal with the blame though. Speaking as a feminist, and a woman who believes in racial equality (though I don't speak for everyone who live in those categories), I definitely don't, and never will blame you for being who you are.

Thank you, I appreciate that. I really do.

:)

No one should EVER be made a scapegoat, white males included. Makes no sense for us to fight oppression by trying oppress white men who never had a hand in said oppression.

How about if we judge you not by the color of your skin,
but by the contents of your posts?

I agree with you and appreciate your comments. But I have been discriminated against. I was working for Nike when they built a new warehouse in Memphis. I had worked for them for three years with great reviews, I was in line for a middle management position. They built a new warehouse and the asked me to change positions, and I agreed. But a black woman applied for the same job, and even though I had a degree in accounting and I had more experience with the company and she came off the street with no education, they gave her the job. They even told me backroom that was why she got the job and they wanted me to stay on and I would get another chance. I told them to fuck off and walked out the door and never looked back.

I would appreciate that. That would clear up a lot of clutter I've taken on this site since I got on in 2008 advocating Hillary over Obama. If we had nominated Hillary, we wouldn't have seen a historic wave for the Republicans last week.

Attorney General Eric Holder said Americans were cowards for not talking about race. I am not a coward.

I had a very, very long reply to your post, but I clicked on "reply" again by accident and it got deleted. You probably don't want me to get on that same old soapbox again and rant and rave, so I'll try to keep it short..

I'm glad you had the chance to stand up for yourself, I wish I was brave enough to tell an employer to eff off.. but I'm also lucky that I've never had the need to do so. I hope things look up for you. I think you're a very good person. Honestly, of the people I disagree with so much on current (and I have a healthy list), you're one of the few people on that list I very strongly respect.

Thanks tverdell, later in the article I mention that we all suffer from an inferiority complex. The title of the article could be "I'm Black/Chinese/Zanzibarian/Gay, Male/Female/Transgender, So The @#$% What!!!" It's really a case for and against identity supremacy in an effort to "reboot" how we view our human identity. The layers of distinction are important, but they are not everything. There's still that 99.9% similarity we love to ignore.

Right beside ya.