They have spent their whole lives believing that white straight men are superior to everyone else.
They don’t see their privilege, just that they have succeeded - so that must mean they worked harder, or are smarter, or are loved better by their deity. And if they don’t, for whatever reason, its never their own fault. Didn’t get into the college you wanted? Must be cause some woman or minority took ‘your’ place. Didn’t get the promotion that someone else got - reverse racism or affirmative action. They never recognize that the color of their skin means that they have a totally different life experience. White men don’t understand that being white (and often Christian and straight) confirms enormous advantages on you from the moment you are born until the day you die. So when a black man is successful it can’t possibly because he worked hard, and studied and did all the things that white folks are always saying minority people have to do. No, its got to be something else. It a sekrit mooslim conspiracy. Or he’s not an American, or he went to the wrong church (radical, socialist, unAmerican), or whatever else they can think of. Because at the end of the day, the most butt-ignorant white man believes that he smarter and better than anyone not like him, be that women or people of color. It’s so ingrained in them that they cannot accept the fact that white men aren’t entitled to all the seats at the table. Any seat gained by an ‘other’ is a loss to them of their power and control. That’s what the birthers are about. That’s what the Tea Party is about. That’s what the immigration debate is about. That’s what anti-choice is about. Its about men, and specifically white straight men who don’t feel that anyone else should have the freedom to make choices that don’t reinforce their own privilege.
LJ User aviv_b, being awesome in sf_d…
-
misseffieb liked this
-
theboyfallsfromthesky reblogged this from witofastaircase
-
tree-stars liked this
-
fetchhappened said:
*slow clap*
-
fetchhappened liked this
-
witofastaircase posted this
