Edit: Meme has been slightly altered to be more accurate. Credit to @ininewcrow for the updated and better image.

  • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    I strongly disagree, I grew up in a 100% white community in a 99% white country. In that situation there is no white privilege, because everybody is white.
    And I see zero problem with that shirt. I don’t see why anybody would wear it, usually that kind of shirt would be worn, because you agree with or even is a fan of what is depicted.

    I wouldn’t mind wearing a BLM shirt for instance, because no matter what you skin color is, it is a true statement.

    • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      White privilege is the privilege of never having to think about your race or be impacted by it. You literally just defined it.

      The shirt points that out. You have no problem with it.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        That’s neither exclusive nor specifically for being white, lots of people of other skin colors don’t have to worry about that, and aren’t impacted by it. I have never heard anyone talk about yellow or white privilege for Japanese.

        I’m not denying white privilege exists, but the fact that I don’t mind a T-shirt saying Caucasian, is not a symptom of that IMO.
        If I was a fan of Indian culture, and had a shirt with the name of a tribe, please explain why that would be offensive to an Indian?
        Maybe then I can understand the point some people here are trying to make.

        Edit:
        I guess this could be related to some sports using Indian imagery, that is completely out of context, and could be perceived as cultural appropriation I guess. They are playing under a “false” banner. But we don’t have that or anything similar in Europe AFAIK.

        • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          It’s exclusively white in America. I’m sure there are other countries with other systems. I don’t live in those so I don’t know their history and systems.

          • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            Not everything is about USA, “We” meaning white Americans is a pretty big dose of being self centered.

            • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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              8 months ago

              If you’re not talking about America, in a thread about a topic about Native Americans and their symbolism, then I admit I have no idea what you’re going on about.

    • RickRussell_CA@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      I strongly disagree, I grew up in a 100% white community in a 99% white country. In that situation there is no white privilege, because everybody is white.

      Would you hold to the position that the white folks of your country didn’t benefit from colonialism & exploitation of people elsewhere in the world, resulting in a significant positive effect on generational wealth? Were your social institutions, such as universities and churches, built without any input from colonial exploitation, or doing business with those who did exploit other races for profit?

      Privilege isn’t just about your local police treating you better than a brown person. It’s also about your skin color opening doors to education, power, and wealth.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Would you hold to the position that the white folks of your country didn’t benefit from colonialism & exploitation of people elsewhere in the world

        Pretty much yes, our only possession of what could be called foreign land is Greenland, and that’s a huge economic deficit.

        But even if we still have some privileges from colonial powers, that does not change the fact of not being particularly privileged in the society I live in when growing up.
        Meaning it hasn’t formed my character on how I regard other people.

        You could say I was privileged in not being under privileged or discriminated against. that in itself is of course of huge value. But not really a privilege compared to everyone I grew up with.

          • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            Ah yes, the good old days. 😋
            Many of them even asked us to come back a couple of years ago. They have had some problems ruling themselves.
            In jest I’m sure, or was it?

        • Drivebyhaiku@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          Privilege is generally fairly invisible to the people who have it. Like privilege of unrestricted travel. European nations with a high number of white people enjoy the privilege of their passports and visas allowing them to essentially walk into a high number of other countries. Let’s say… Denmark who has a whopping 159 countries that allow them free transit through boarders. If your country is predominantly not white and has broken ties with European colonization or has a non-European government structure then you might have free transit through approximately one quarter of the number of free countries and a number of additional stipulations are in place where you might theoretically have “free transit” but have to write ahead about your reasons for transit and can be denied access for things like visiting the deathbeds of dying family members.

          Privilege isn’t just something that affects you from the standpoint of how well treated you are in comparison to the people immediately around you, it’s formative to your mindset because there are layers of restrictions of freedoms, choices and behaviours you don’t even have to know about because they do not apply to you. If you did not grow up with an expectation of having to make do with visibly less then privilege absolutely has shaped you and your worldview.

          Not feeling privileged is part of privilege itself. Ask yourself if you feel like your experience has made you feel like a true citizen of your country? Can you wear clothes that allow you to feel modest by the standard of your religion without hastle? Were you as a child ever subjected to additional classes to reform your home culture? Privilege is as simple as feeling like you are home and nobody questions you being there.

          • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            Privilege is generally fairly invisible to the people who have it.

            I agree and understand that.

            Denmark who has a whopping 159 countries that allow them free transit

            I’m sure for instance Singapore and Japan enjoy mostly similar benefits.
            It has nothing to do with being white. Ergo it is not a white privilege. The same goes for for instance Americans, the number of countries they can visit is not tied to their skin color. Despite that, there is no doubt all white Americans enjoy some degree of white privilege, that does not mean the same goes for all other countries.

            • Drivebyhaiku@lemmy.world
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              8 months ago

              Wow, that’s one hell of a cherry pick that left 90% of what I said on the table. One might also note that I mentioned “colonized by a European nation” and picking the two Asian nations that still host UK and US military bases and are maintaining democratic systems directly implemented by those occupying powers which continue as primary economic bedfellows isn’t exactly disproving my point.

              If you’re going to be lazy then why bother replying?