Don’t understand privilege? Maybe this will help.

Warning:  This post may offend some readers bc I’m going to talk about that most dreaded of words: P R I V I L E G E.  While there are many types of privilege and multiple social groups that benefit from the concept, all too often, I hear the whines of white folks who deny the existence of White Privilege. Denial to the point of Losing. Their. Shit. The way some of them (please note the wording for you #notallwhitz people) react to that word, you’d think speaking it conjured a demonic entity that spews vomit, does 360º head spins, masturbates with a cross, and wants to spend eternity joined in unholy matrimony by their side. Common refrains of “I’m not privileged. I’ve had a hard life” or “I grew up poor, how can you say I have privilege” can be heard by these poor beleaguered souls doomed to an eternity of matrimonial bliss by the side of a demon from the nether regions of hell.  But really, I need you folks to calm down. Stop being so damned testerical. Breathe. Engage those logical thought processes that you are so fond of proclaiming you possess and listen. Yes, it’s that time again. That time when you sit down, shut up, and listen. I’m going to attempt for the umpteen thousandth time to explain the concept of privilege. I have no idea why bc to be honest, bc some of you nincomfucks are *still* not going to get it. But here goes:

Continue reading “Don’t understand privilege? Maybe this will help.”

Don’t understand privilege? Maybe this will help.
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Victim-blaming double standards

When victims of sexual assault or rape share the story of their trauma, there are several depressingly common responses.

What were you wearing?

Why were you out alone?

Did you lead your attacker on?

Why were you drinking if you didn’t want to be assaulted?

Why were you hanging out with “those people” (c.f. people who blame women for going to frat parties and being raped)?

Those responses all blame the victim. They place some, most, or all responsibility for the sexual assault or rape on the victim, as if they had some measure of control over what happened to them. They don’t. They never do, because they aren’t the one committing the sexual assault or rape. The only person with the power to prevent a rape or sexual assault is the perpetrator. By not committing the act, no rape or sexual assault will occur. People have been the victims of sexual assault or rape no matter how much or how little they wear, no matter how much or how little they drink, in the presence (or absence) of friends or family, and in a variety of social situations (ranging from work environments to frat parties).

African-Americans and their progressive allies have received similar victim blaming responses as they continue to protest against a racist criminal justice system.

Eric Garner shouldn’t have resisted arrest.

Michael Brown should have listened to Darren Wilson and gotten off the street (or as some like to argue, “he shouldn’t have shoplifted”)

Tamir Rice’s father and mother had violent pasts.

All of these responses attempt to shift the responsibility for the deaths of the victim onto their hands. Eric Garner would still be alive if Daniel Pantaleo hadn’t placed him in a chokehold. Michael Brown would still be alive if Darren Wilson hadn’t shot and killed him.  Tamir Rice would still be alive if Timothy Loehmann hadn’t begun firing at the 12-year-old seconds after exiting the police car. Some might say that these examples are different from victim blaming the survivors of sexual assault and rape. But here’s the thing: in both cases, the victim is treated as having some degree of responsibility for what happened to them. The victims of sexual assault and rape are held responsible for their victimization. The actions of People of Color (or their family members) who have lost their lives to law enforcement officials are used as justification for their extrajudicial executions (can someone honestly tell me they think the punishment for shoplifting-for the sake of argument, I’m conceding this point-should be death…that expressing your frustration at being racially profiled by the NYPD should be cause for death by chokehold…that the actions of a 12-year-old boy’s parents somehow justifies the execution of that child?)

An article at .Mic highlights a Tweet by Stephen Dacres that perfectly sums all the above up, with an additional piece of insight:

The message gets to the heart of things. It encapsulates many of the frustrations faced by minority groups: victim blaming, a lack of institutional accountability, power imbalances. It also speaks volumes about the empathy our society is willing to grant people when they fall into the category of “white male.” When people who don’t fit into that box are the focus — even if they’re the victims — they fall by the wayside.

Brown’s death isn’t the only example of this. In the past couple of weeks Akai Gurley, 28, was shot and killed by police while walking down a dark stairwell with his girlfriend. Tamir Rice, 12, was killed by a first-year police officer in Cleveland because he had an airsoft gun in his hands. And the Rolling Stone detailed Wednesday, among other things, the failure of a university to punish an alleged gang rape of one of its own.

Go back even further and similar instances pile up. Yet there are still those out there who believe white privilege doesn’t exist, or that black Americans are pulling the race card or that a woman who is raped somehow deserved it.

And yet when incidents like Sandy Hook and the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater shooting occur, the discussions tend to revolve around mental health: Why did this happen? How can we prevent it? How did we fail these people?

That’s not to say these questions don’t have a place; we can and must continue to work harder to prevent these situations before they happen. But when we’re not asking the same things when women and people of color are concerned — and instead try to find any way possible way to place the blame on them — that’s a problem.

If there’s anything to be taken from the event of the past few weeks, it’s this: Privilege is one hell of a drug.

The horrible lesson of the realities of white male privilege? When People of Color are the victims of police brutality, they did something wrong. The victims of sexual assault and rape acted in a manner that caused them to be victimized. Both groups receive blame, derision, contempt, or character assassination. From many people, they get no empathy or compassion.

But the white male who causes violence or commits sexual assault? He can be the victimizer, and still get compassion and empathy (for another example: the Steubenville rapists, got a lot of compassion and sympathy as if they were the victims, while the actual victim got a fuckton of victim blaming).

I wonder why white men are treated differently? (That’s a rhetorical question, btw)

Victim-blaming double standards