this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2024
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It's not obvious? Because white males as a demographic are the most privileged people on the planet and not coincidentally also the ones most prone to petty, oblivious arrogance, tantrum-throwing, and egotistical man-splaining. The latter was demonstrated by the one in this NASA scientist's anecdote.
This robs people of their individual context. The UK Prime Ministers wife is Indian and astonishingly privileged. You are suggesting a poor mine worker from Romania is somehow more privileged based on how he looks.
Lumping people into loose categories (particularly based on skin colour) and then prescribing loose values to them is fascist and racist.
You misunderstand the concept of privilege. It’s not linear. Intersectionality was devised to solve this exact contradiction.
Expand?
Intersectionality is the idea that various forms of privilege and circumstance interact with each other to make an individual. Certain influences are more impactful upon a particular person's circumstances, and thus influence privilege to a much greater extent. The non-linear nature that DinosaurThussy is talking about can better be shown with examples.
If you're homeless and white it's clear that you're in a worse off situation than a billionaire who is black. Class status has a far greater influence on this situation. It would be fair to say that the black billionaire has more privilege due to his class status but not his ethnic identity. That being said, it's unlikely that the white man was denied a job due to his race in a way a homeless black person may be. Being poor and white and poor and black have many commonalities, but intersectional analysis allows us to understand the different ways and avenues that particular characteristics influences the ways that a person may end up in a particular circumstance.
The idea continues on. A person who is a billionaire may be significantly shielded from a lot of racism, or face it in a less extreme way. For example, that proverbial black billionaire likely wouldn't have many run ins with racist cops in impoverished neighborhoods. However, he still might face the unifying characteristic of being called a slur by his peers in the way that a poor black person might. His privilege of wealth may not complete inoculate him facing racism at all, even if he faces it in a less extreme way.
In essence, this situation is viewing individuals dialectic-ly. It seeks to understand how all of a person's identity and circumstances relate to the struggles and oppression certain groups or people may face in society.
I empathise with most of this and thank you for bothering to respond without resorting to 4chan energy.
The problem that remains unresolved is the refusal of some people to acknowledge that, like in science, observation is not without cost. What ends up happening is the observation of these trends then causes casualties of blame - in your example we could say the huge population of white people who dont fundamentally see black people in any light other than equal. An insult based on a black billionaire being a greedy billionaire gets called racially charged, when actually, it's entirely class based. This reliably means that (for example) white working class boys/girls are left to rot.
Personally I see most of these prejudicial issues being an exclusively American problem that has been exported abroad, to the extent now that its difficult to untangle.
Prejudice being exclusively a domain of America is a crazy hot take
America has prejudicial issues at astonishing levels compared to the rest of the developed world. Obviously its an absurd statement to say there is no predujude abroad in the western world, but the US has the controlling stake in it, and happens to be an infectious cultural juggernaut.
there is literally a genocide being perpetrated by israel right now what do you mean america has prejudicial issues at astonishing levels comparatively
Have you forgotten where many originated from?
Have you forgotten who colonised most of the world, including America? This is in no way an American centric issue. Racism exists in most countries on earth.
You are correct, but you can't discuss on a rational level with people from hexbear, just give up.
That poor mine worker is still in a better position than an otherwise identical minority would be in the same position.
A poor mine worker is in a tough place but at least he wasn't refused that job because the company doesn't hire non white people.
This exporting US culture shit has got to stop
We aren't talking about another mine worker. We are comparing 2 individuals with certain characteristics. You have instead decided to compare a third individual because the initial comparison made the concept break down
Just because someone is a certain color does not prescribe to them any specific value judgement. As soon as you do that, one of those categories becomes the ongoing scapegoat for everyone's problems, and it becomes fascist.
Does it ever occur to you that for your arguments to make sense you have to strip it of all context, historical perspecrive or material reality.
I literally didn't say anything about the us. I'm saying that Romanian is still better off than a minority in Romania that got discriminated again.
Any more reasons for you to smugly ignore everything everybody is repeatedly telling you.
For people who complain about how rude we are and how we're an echo chamber you're being shown an incredible amount of patience for how unbearably obtuse you're intentionally being.
This is precisely the issue that I pointed at before, in reality, not everyone of a certain demographic has an advantage over everyone else of a certain demographic. Its a stupid point to attempt to initiate change because its flawed from the start
Is the context not that in STEM women often face sexism?
I honestly have to pretend that sexism in STEM is nowhere near as bad as I know it is for the sake of my own mental health. I've heard incredible stories of blatant sexism from colleagues and friends that I just can't fathom
I've had to defend a close friend from repeated advances and touching, she was an engineer, he was 40 years older than her. It's a problem. I've had good friends get taken advantage of by a PI. Gross. It's the power dynamic in academia too where one person controls the career outcome of the PhD student. It's really nuts out there. It's getting better but that takes time and awareness. I've seen what the bad eggs do and they disgust me. It's not just men, but there are a lot of cases of it.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00795-1
Address what I said, not something else
Is the individual context not that in STEM women often face sexism, not something else?
Do you think that the Prime Ministers wife is less privileged than the Romanian miner? How would you address the discrepancy with the group prescription?
Do you think STEM women don't face sexism? Address what I said, not something else.
Of course, I have first hand experience of it.
Now respond to what I said
You sound inexperienced. Nothing you will say will even slightly move the needle on my intent or ability to discuss things. You can cry, wail, scream, insult, have a tantrum until you are blue in the face. It makes no difference to me. If you are willing to actually discuss something, then go for it. If you are just going to project your insecurities and view everything as a fight before it's become one, then you are the barrier to opinions changing based on new information, and nothing else.
Experience isn't an excuse for you to be willfully ignorant. That just makes you old and ignorant.
youre deliberately misinterpreting the concept of intersectionality, it includes class.
I'm not deliberately mistinterpreting anything, if I don't understand something, then explain it to me.
Incredibly privileged of you to assume everyone else has your spoilt middle class educational background
ok so you have deliberately removed as many brain cells as possible from your brain, understood![emoji 07 07](https://www.hexbear.net/pictrs/image/4d01158b-c48e-41d4-a94f-5f66eb7f051f.png)
Do you really think that you know all there is to know? Perhaps I know something that you don't, but you don't know what it is. What then?
Not the "I know of this one poc that's in a position of power and so white privilege doesn't exist" argument lol