Hypocrisy in Motion

[bloodyrosemccoy]

Welcome, folks, to Amelia's Political Blog.  It's all part of my fascination with sociology, I swear.

This is Your Nation on White Privilege
By Tim Wise
September 13, 2008

For those who still can’t grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for an easy-to-understand example of it, perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you, or your parents, because “every family has challenges,” even as black and Latino families with similar “challenges” are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a “fuckin’ redneck,” like Bristol Palin’s boyfriend does, who likes to “kick ass” if people mess with you, and who likes to “shoot shit,” for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action. ...

It goes on ...

Tip o' the blog to kittikattie .

Comments

[placetohide.livejournal.com]

REALLY great article.

[dreams-cametrue.livejournal.com]

But you use this as if it were the Palin's fault that some people feel this way about class and race differences.

One could also say that it's awful when a woman is subjected to strident accusations from one faction that she "has no experience because she was a stay-at-home mom until a couple of years ago" then on the other hand is criticized for pursuing her career when her family is going through a trying time.

[chairman-wow.livejournal.com]

Wait, wait, does anyone actually think that guy isn't a thug and a bit frightening? Except for people who are the same as him. The other two, yeah, I can see that.

Some of the examples, to me, though, just seem like points that are ignored by Palin's supporters because they support her and are hypocritical, not particularly to do with the opponent being black... but I don't pretend to have much of an understanding of how things like that play into American politics.

Relatedly, I never really understood this thing where people seem to vote for someone just because they're in the same demographic as them - black, female, old, whatever. Do people actually do this? How do they justify it?

I really don't understand what happens over there sometimes. All politics are ridiculous sometimes, but most other countries' make more sense to me.