Peggy McIntosh |
And after reading parts of her 1988 "opinion article" which the term "White Privilege" came from, I believe that even more so.
What makes me believe that is the fact that the she apparently believes Whites in "Western societies" enjoy advantages that non-Whites do not experience. She believes Whites have some sort of "an invisible package of unearned assets".
McIntosh is most famous for authoring the 1988 opinion article "White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences through Work in Women's Studies".
Her "opinion" is that all Whites benefit socially, legally, and economically, on a daily basis compared other races. And according to her, this is more true when is come to "White Men".
She believes that Americans need to overcome what she calls "systems of racial oppression." And yes, while she makes all sorts of assumptions in her opinion article, McIntosh assumes the notion that attacking White Americans is a direct way to lessen supposed oppression of "people of color" in America.
First, her assumptions are incorrect and only serve to divide America and demonize White Americans. And second, after reading part of her opinion piece, I believe she hates White men in general.
While I'm all for women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality, something that Democrats do no practice, her hate of White men didn't surprise me coming from a feminist who believes that an entire race of people are oppressing others in this day and age when facts don't prove her assumptions true. Yes, her idea of White Privilege is wrong. The idea is asinine.
This really doesn't surprise me since many on the Left specialize in spreading hate for America, and specifically hate for White Americans. I really believe their goal is to stoke the fires of discontent and create an envy even when there is no reason for it.
I believe people like Peggy McIntosh want to find scapegoats and excuses for one thing or another. Yes, mostly to make excuses for a lack of drive or the lack of gumption it takes to overcome obstacles which we all face.
In Nazi Germany, the same mindset demonized Jews. The Nazi Party pit German against German using race and class warfare to take their focus off the real agenda of the Nazi Party -- that of complete control of the German people. As what took place in Nazi Germany of the 1930s, there are those who use race and class warfare to divide and conquer. All to farther their own agenda of hate.
Today, America has Liberals on the Left who work tirelessly to divide America. Sadly, it seems that President Obama and others on the Left, yes the Democrat Party, has worked to make White Americans the enemy of minorities. And yes, my opinion is that the Left started this by declaring that White Americans have societal privileges, so-called "White Privilege", that other Americans don't have.
So now, let's talk about hard times and something called "White Privilege"
While I'm all for women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality, something that Democrats do no practice, her hate of White men didn't surprise me coming from a feminist who believes that an entire race of people are oppressing others in this day and age when facts don't prove her assumptions true. Yes, her idea of White Privilege is wrong. The idea is asinine.
This really doesn't surprise me since many on the Left specialize in spreading hate for America, and specifically hate for White Americans. I really believe their goal is to stoke the fires of discontent and create an envy even when there is no reason for it.
I believe people like Peggy McIntosh want to find scapegoats and excuses for one thing or another. Yes, mostly to make excuses for a lack of drive or the lack of gumption it takes to overcome obstacles which we all face.
In Nazi Germany, the same mindset demonized Jews. The Nazi Party pit German against German using race and class warfare to take their focus off the real agenda of the Nazi Party -- that of complete control of the German people. As what took place in Nazi Germany of the 1930s, there are those who use race and class warfare to divide and conquer. All to farther their own agenda of hate.
Today, America has Liberals on the Left who work tirelessly to divide America. Sadly, it seems that President Obama and others on the Left, yes the Democrat Party, has worked to make White Americans the enemy of minorities. And yes, my opinion is that the Left started this by declaring that White Americans have societal privileges, so-called "White Privilege", that other Americans don't have.
So now, let's talk about hard times and something called "White Privilege"
The above picture is of a child drawing water from a hand pump in an agricultural workers' shack in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. July, 1939. The picture was one of the many pictures taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the Great Depression.
I know that a great number of young people have no idea about the true hardship of the Great Depression. Even though my parents and grandparents endured those tough days, many people today really have no idea about how really bad it was. And yes, sadly, there are some out there who are trying to rewrite history to say "White Americans" did not suffer during the Great Depression.
Do you think I'm exaggerating what is being taught? No. I'm not.
In a recent email, I was informed by a reader that she was being taught in her university's history course of study, that "Whites aren't effected by poverty like other races are in the United States, and never have been, even during the Great Depression. It's called 'White Privilege.'"
First. let me make something clear. There are two periods of American History, that I have studied more than any other. The first being the Old West from 1867 to 1917 when Americans entered into World War I, and the Great Depression from 1920 to 1941.
And while some are going to read this and say the Great Depression did not start until the Stock Market crash in 1929, I want to ask you to remember that unemployment was almost 12 percent in 1920 and dipped just 7 percent before the Stock Market which shot unemployment to over 25 by 1932. Unemployment did not come down below 10 percent until 1940.
Also, let's keep in mind that that's the "official" numbers that we know of. As with today, there are a great number of people out of work who are unaccounted for and subsequently not part of the statistics. While people drop of the rolls, the unemployment numbers look better. Of course, the problem is that the government has no way to know whether an unemployed person dropped off the rolls because they found a job or because they simply ran out of benefits and were dropped even though they didn't find a job.
So let's talk about people living in miserable poverty during the Great Depression, and this imaginary thing called "White Privilege" that so many racists are talking about today. And later, let's talk about the person who created the term "White Privilege" and how she got it wrong.
It is said the children of the Great Depression had to grow up faster than any other generation in recent history.
If we are to believe their lies, than we are to believe that somehow the color of one's skin enables some people to stave off hunger, to ward off economic downfall, to protect them from despair and depression. If we believe the lies coming from Liberals these days, we are led to believe the lie that the folks in these picture taken during the hard days of the Great Depression simply didn't know that they supposedly had more privileges over other Americans because of the color of their skin.
For me, I refuse to believe the lies coming from Liberals. I know our history and have never seen such things as they are fabricating.
Mother and children in rags during the Great Depression, 1936. Does anybody looking at this picture think they have more or special societal benefits because they were White Americans instead of any other race of Americans? For those today who accept the lies, the hate, the use of the term "White Privilege" to divide us as Americans, I know very well that they believe she did!
This last picture of Americans during the Great Depression is of White children having a dinner of potatoes and cabbage. That was their Christmas Dinner in 1936.
Why am I addressing this topic? Well, in a recent email, I was informed that "Whites aren't effected by poverty like other races are in the United States, and never have been. It's called 'White Privilege.'"
So let's talk about poverty and the myth that somehow White Americans are not effected by hard times because of some make-believe thing called "White Privilege."
But first, let's ask the question if there is a "poverty cycle" today as with what took place during the Great Depression? During the Great Depression, the "poverty cycle" was real and very present as Americans were laid off work and there were no opportunities for new employment.
There were simply no jobs. And friends, the idea of government financed "safety net" programs, to help Americans in dire straights were not around yet. We forget that there were very few government programs, either welfare or other relief programs, to help the American people before 1935. No matter what color you were.
During the Great Depression, the "poverty cycle" seemed endless as it became very apparent to all that the continuation of poverty was triggered by a chain of events, thus it became known as the "poverty cycle".
The poverty cycle: Unemployment meant homelessness, which meant inadequate housing, which meant hunger, family break-up, bad health, and a belief in a bleak future.
Yes, families broke up. The lack of full-time employment resulted in the need to search outside of one's community and across the country for jobs. Not finding jobs resulted in high levels of stress which all contributed to family breakdowns. This is said to have resulted higher than normal levels of depression and despair.
People were evicted from their homes, separated from friends and neighbors. Families were uprooted or squeezed into the homes of relatives. Living conditions were horrid and overcrowded conditions were common. All of which helped to fuel the poverty cycle.
My grandmother used to say, "A man feels good about himself when he's working."
She was absolutely right. The effects of poverty in the 1930s led to feelings of shame, low self-esteem, and despair. That's why during the Great Depression, Americans were driven to take desperate measures and the crime rate increased. People became wary of strangers and were less likely to offer help to strangers.
People were evicted from their homes, separated from friends and neighbors. Families were uprooted or squeezed into the homes of relatives. Living conditions were horrid and overcrowded conditions were common. All of which helped to fuel the poverty cycle.
My grandmother used to say, "A man feels good about himself when he's working."
She was absolutely right. The effects of poverty in the 1930s led to feelings of shame, low self-esteem, and despair. That's why during the Great Depression, Americans were driven to take desperate measures and the crime rate increased. People became wary of strangers and were less likely to offer help to strangers.
The condition of "absolute poverty" has been described as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information". That was the Great Depression.
By the way, during the Great Depression, being White did not stop you from being out of work, hungry, displaced, or despondent. Being White did not mean you were rolling in money while other Americans suffered. Being White did not mean that you received some sort of preferential treatment, some sort of benefit because of your skin color. Hunger, homelessness, joblessness, helplessness are color blind, just as it is today.
Is there some sort of "White Privilege" when it comes to today's economy?
This picture is White Poverty in America in 2014.
Friends, though the poverty numbers are high today, the type of poverty of the Great Depression is different than the poverty in America today. For one thing, the poverty cycle is not as widespread today because of "safety net" programs.
But besides the "safety net" programs that are around today that weren't around years ago, how poverty is defined today has changed. Today, the Federal government considers many citizens "statistically" impoverished despite their ability to sufficiently meet their basic needs. And yes, that includes having adequate shelter, food, clothing, and medical care.
Today, people who are considered "statistically" under the poverty line but actually have the ability to own cell phones, a car, have cable or satellite television, and other items that may not seem possible in their economic state. Also, when measuring if one is below the poverty line or not today, the official Federal poverty line excludes taking into consideration some forms of income, whether or not one is receiving Welfare benefits, Food Stamps, or if one is in public housing.
This means that in some cases, people currently living under the official Federal poverty line are actually better off than many middle-class America. This is because middle-class Americans are paying more taxes than ever before while bringing home less of what they earn.
There are 47 million people living in statistical poverty in the United States as of 2014. That means the poverty rate for 2014 was 15%. And yes, the 2014 poverty rate was 2.3 percentage points higher than in 2008 when the present recession started.So yes, there is definitely an increase. Of course we should note that, whether people want to accept it or not, government over-regulation and high taxation are responsible for closing more businesses and creating poverty in America than any other reason. And this nonsense that somehow White Americans are the less affected by the closings and relocation is pure bull!
Privilege is defined as "a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people."
While this article is about poverty and the fraud the Left is calling "White Privilege," I would like to mention that the number of White Americans make up 84 percent of total taxpayers in America, and pay higher taxes than other races. So is that an economic benefit of "White Privilege"? I don't think so if there were such a thing.
White Americans make up a greater number of what is being called the "working poor." They have less employment opportunities because Federal and State programs encourage the hiring of other races in lieu of hiring White Americans. Minorities have special educational funding programs, housing allowances, and less hoops to jump through when it comes to getting into colleges and universities.
Are these the social and economical benefits of White Privilege that Liberal talk so much about? And how about poverty in America when it comes to White Americans having some sort of benefit over others? And really, why is it OK that White Americans are denied jobs or have to overcome obstacles getting into schools and universities, or getting grants, because of their color?
Don't think this happens? While I don't hate anyone of color because I was raised to be color bind, and was taught to judge people on the content of their character and not by the color of their skin, I was flat out told that I would not be hired as a police officer in a number of cities back in the early 1980s because I wasn't Black.
Did that make me hate Blacks? No. Did that make me disillusioned in the system? Yes. Did I find that right and just? No, but I accepted it as just the way thing were.
And though that was the only time I was effected by racial quotas, I never expected that things would get worse. Today, it's not only city and state governments that are forced by law to meet minority hiring quotas, "big brother" demands that businesses do so as well or face problems.
So today it really doesn't matter who is best qualified for a job, but what color your skin is. And friends, I don't think it's "fair" that one can work his or her butt off to attain the skills and qualifications needed for a certain career, then be denied the chance to pursue that career because one has the wrong skin color or sex. And that applies for any color, or either sex.
Rising to management positions in most of my career choices, I fought for people, not based on color but on character and abilities, all who demonstrated that they had to skill and qualifications to do the job. I hated being told that I had to promote someone simply to fill a quota.
If "White Privilege" is real, than way was it that I didn't get hired even when I was less qualified for a job? If "White Privilege" is real, than way was it that I had to stand in line with everyone else for work? Was it my Spanish/Portuguese surname, my latin surname? If "White Privilege" is real, than way didn't my skin color give me benefits of some sort? It's because the whole idea of White Privilege is a lie? And franky, that is especially true when measured by the poverty rate in America.
While conditions today are not as bad as the Great Depression for everyone in America, today White Americans statistically account for the vast majority of the poor in America.
Yes, of the 47 million people living in "statistical poverty" in the United States, according to the U.S. Census 2014 report, more than half of those living below the poverty line are White Americans.
While this article is about poverty and the fraud the Left is calling "White Privilege," I would like to mention that the number of White Americans make up 84 percent of total taxpayers in America, and pay higher taxes than other races. So is that an economic benefit of "White Privilege"? I don't think so if there were such a thing.
White Americans make up a greater number of what is being called the "working poor." They have less employment opportunities because Federal and State programs encourage the hiring of other races in lieu of hiring White Americans. Minorities have special educational funding programs, housing allowances, and less hoops to jump through when it comes to getting into colleges and universities.
Are these the social and economical benefits of White Privilege that Liberal talk so much about? And how about poverty in America when it comes to White Americans having some sort of benefit over others? And really, why is it OK that White Americans are denied jobs or have to overcome obstacles getting into schools and universities, or getting grants, because of their color?
Don't think this happens? While I don't hate anyone of color because I was raised to be color bind, and was taught to judge people on the content of their character and not by the color of their skin, I was flat out told that I would not be hired as a police officer in a number of cities back in the early 1980s because I wasn't Black.
Did that make me hate Blacks? No. Did that make me disillusioned in the system? Yes. Did I find that right and just? No, but I accepted it as just the way thing were.
And though that was the only time I was effected by racial quotas, I never expected that things would get worse. Today, it's not only city and state governments that are forced by law to meet minority hiring quotas, "big brother" demands that businesses do so as well or face problems.
So today it really doesn't matter who is best qualified for a job, but what color your skin is. And friends, I don't think it's "fair" that one can work his or her butt off to attain the skills and qualifications needed for a certain career, then be denied the chance to pursue that career because one has the wrong skin color or sex. And that applies for any color, or either sex.
Rising to management positions in most of my career choices, I fought for people, not based on color but on character and abilities, all who demonstrated that they had to skill and qualifications to do the job. I hated being told that I had to promote someone simply to fill a quota.
If "White Privilege" is real, than way was it that I didn't get hired even when I was less qualified for a job? If "White Privilege" is real, than way was it that I had to stand in line with everyone else for work? Was it my Spanish/Portuguese surname, my latin surname? If "White Privilege" is real, than way didn't my skin color give me benefits of some sort? It's because the whole idea of White Privilege is a lie? And franky, that is especially true when measured by the poverty rate in America.
While conditions today are not as bad as the Great Depression for everyone in America, today White Americans statistically account for the vast majority of the poor in America.
And as for the children affected by poverty, reports state that White children comprise almost 60 percent of all poor children in America. Child poverty reached record high levels in the United States recently with over 17 million children living in food insecure households. And also, it was reported that many of the neighborhoods these children live in lack basic nutritious food.
Yes, the majority were White children. So where exactly is this White Privilege?
Remember, as of 2015, we know that 47 million people were in poverty and on food stamps. Of that, 26 million are ages 18-64; 17 million are children under the age of 18; and over 4 million are seniors 65 and older. And we know that the vast majority are White Americans. Does any think that White Americans have it better than others, especially with those statistics?
As for homelessness? A report by the National Center on Family Homelessness states the number of homeless children in the United States has reached record levels. That report stated 2.5 million children, or one child in every 30, experienced homelessness in 2013. And yes, the majority of those children are White.
So now for my reader who wrote to say, "Whites aren't affected by poverty like other races are in the United States. It's called White Privilege."
Ask yourself if White Americans should consider it a privilege to pay more taxes, be the majority of our nation's tax payers, be the majority of the "working poor," be shot more by police, or if White Americans should consider it a privilege to be the majority of the poor in America? Unless I'm missing something, the hate for White Americans based on this simply doesn't hold water.
Do you really believe and accept what the Liberal Left is feeding you when they are in fact just lying in an effort to divide Americans? I hope not. But frankly, I know people do.
I hope this helps folks see what's really going on in America. I hope people see that the term "White Privilege" is just propaganda created by the Left to incite hate and division in America today.
And yes, that's just the way I see things.
Tom Correa