Who is the most privileged group in Western society (poll)

[AztechZero]

Identity Politics are a cancer on society. Intersectionality just makes it extra cancer.

You should never judge someone by what they are but who they are. You can have an incredibly privileged black man, and an incredibly unfavored white man.

I wish I could up vote this post. Instead you get a /hug

[Hiricine]

White women. Get the most benefit from social programs, have the legal system most skewed in their favor, already at the top of the social hierarchy, and if we're counting the last 100 years don't have to go to wars that their votes influenced. The amount of men killed in the last 100 years while the women and children were generally spared is an indication of who the most privileged as been.

Of course, if you're only counting living people I guess it doesn't matter, since its hard to be underprivileged when you're dead.

[igualitarist]

Middle class/ upper class white females, no doubt about it.

This question just can't be answered ignoring the wealth.

[Deleted]

In terms who has the greatest protections and benefits in our society, including prejudices and historical advantages?

White women = highest institutional and legal support, highest historical advantages, most life choices and social support of those choices

Followed by white men = highest historical advantages, representation in legal/business/politics/etc

Lots of stuff in the middle:

At the bottom, black women

And the most underprivileged: black men

That's really the way it goes in terms of opportunities and protections and you can see it clearly in the outcomes, look at the state of black men in the USA today

There are two other dimensions to this

a) Wealth <-- the biggest factor
b) Intelligence and education <-- another huge factor

[GeekofFury]

The ultra wealthy.

You may want to exclude wealth, but if you do, this whole poll/exercise is useless.

[klogaroth]

I know it's slightly off-topic, but the most privilege isn't even found in the Western world.

Being a man born into an oil rich royal family in a monarchy is pretty much the absolute peak of privilege worldwide. Not many of those are white.

[Shinra1]

This question just can't be answered ignoring the wealth.

I don't even get why many people are bringing up this same objection. There are different layers of privilege and even poor people (working class imo) have varying nuances of privilege, that is, status and power. Plus most people are not rich so by logic everyone is already on a level playing field. This wealth discussion is a red herring from privileged white straight/gay men in a bid to distract from their own privilege and have everyone sing along and direct their hate towards the 1%, wall street and corporations. /Yawn

Finally, I want to mention that a white people are richer on the whole than minorities so yes skin colour (and the privilege it grants) plays a major role on financial outlook, from inheritance, whites receiving better education and thus getting higher paying jobs and subsequently living in better/family oriented neighbourhoods.

[Zcion999]

Both is correct.
Your ethnicity increases the chance of a good inheritage.
That is all there is to it.

Where did I use the word racism combined with privilege?
It's just a fact. That's it.
Water is wet.
The sun is hot.
A black woman is more likely to have a shitty life than a white man.
The south pole is cold.

Honestly. I don't give a fuck about privilege.
But I do care when people deny there is such a thing.
Same goes for the systematic discrimination with resumes, etc.


I'd love to discuss evolution with you

I think the issue Revi has with this (sorry for putting words in your mouth if that is not the case) is the way privilege is used to diminish accomplishments and rob people of their agency.

The way I see it :

I am a western white male born to a middle class family. I was lucky to be born in that family, I was lucky to be born to a father and mother who worked their asses off to build their business and to be able to afford to educate myself and my brothers. I was also very lucky to be born to these two people who cared deeply about their children and taught them the value of work ethics and education. They both come from much poorer parents and their parents taught them the same things and they worked hard to get where they are right now.

I took this privilege, this luck and worked through university, I worked through my career until I got to the point here where I am wealthier than my parents and will transmit the same values to my children. Hopefully they will do as I did and work their asses off until they can surpass my success. This is the way it should be. My privilege and my children's privilege is that they are born to people who worked hard and taught them the value of hard work.


The way some people see it :

I did nothing to deserve my station in life. I was a lazy asshole who inherited everything he as and only has this position because of my penis and whiteness. I am also evil because I am stopping black people from succeeding because I am greedy and want all the money for myself.


The second way is the way I see privilege talked about much much more.

[Rudol Von Stroheim]

I don't even get why many people are bringing up this same objection. There are different layers of privilege and even poor people (working class imo) have varying nuances of privilege, that is, status and power. Plus most people are not rich so by logic everyone is already on a level playing field. This wealth discussion is a red herring from privileged white straight/gay men in a bid to distract from their own privilege and have everyone sing along and direct their hate towards the 1%, wall street and corporations. /Yawn

I think it's the idea that privilege is much more complex than simply being white, or black, or female, or male, and so on. It's nuanced, as you said, and by default you do not have greater privilege than the next by simply being a given race, gender, or orientation. All those factors can vary depending. Even location down to the city can be a factor. Then you're intentionally ignoring the one factor that does, without a doubt, grant privilege - that is one's wealth. Particularly what they're born into.

[Blur4stuff]

because wealth is the biggest one without question. no race or gender combination comes close.

race and gender has very little to do with it anyways. whatever privilege you attribute to one group is pointless because they don't all automatically get it. for example, a lot of people point fingers at white men, yet the vast majority of white men are no better off than any other group.

also, it greatly depends on where you are. white man privilege you say? sure, only in select areas of the world. on most of the planet a white male would be at a disadvantage. even many areas within western countries like the usa.

[klogaroth]

This is a pretty interesting article that touches on ideas of privilege and how we got to where we are:

http://www.stirjournal.com/2016/04/0...p-trump-trump/

It's a bit over 8000 words, so be prepared for some reading.



Also......the reason wealth is the most important is thanks to the way politics works sufficient wealth pretty much gives you the power to write your own laws provided you don't take the absolute piss with it.

It takes decades for anyone else to accomplish what money can do in months in politics.

[Aeula]

Disabled transgender homosexual black Muslim women from Syria.

[Shadowferal]

Top 5%....about as privileged as one can get.

[Revi]

Both is correct.
Your ethnicity increases the chance of a good inheritage.
That is all there is to it.

But it's a nonsensical statement. Privilege is used in contexts as if it has social relevance and more importantly as if it points to something being wrong or unfair between people who have X trait and people who don't. For it to be remotely relevant or even to avoid being totally wrong, you can't be as illogical as to suggest people of white ethnicity are all privileged in terms of skin color because they have higher frequency of good inheritance. Not all white people have higher inheritance (money/power/position) and the average is not spread out, so not all white people have white privilege (if you use it to mean better start in life). And that privilege is not exclusive to white people-

This discussion was off the rails from the start anyway, because white privilege generally means not having to deal with racism. I'm just saying that you can't include the benefits from inheritance, better family situations and the like with that white privilege, because that's not white privilege, that's class privilege and benefits all colors born into that class.

That's why my initial response to the thread was that class is more significant that ethnicity.

[Jinpachi]

Dafuq is a cis gendered?

It's a made up word by people who feel sorry for themselves to make people who aren't "normal" feel better about their abnormal conditions.

[Shinra1]

I think it's the idea that privilege is much more complex than simply being white, or black, or female, or male, and so on. It's nuanced, as you said, and by default you do not have greater privilege than the next by simply being a given race, gender, or orientation. All those factors can vary depending. Even location down to the city can be a factor. Then you're intentionally ignoring the one factor that does, without a doubt, grant privilege - that is one's wealth. Particularly what they're born into.

Wealth generally is a side effect of being successful or being born rich these are hugely influenced by gender, sexuality, and most importantly skin colour. In America and indeed many western countries but I want to focus on America, generational wealth has meant that minorities particularly AAs are poorer than white people and I have posted countless sources of the more than 100k wealth gap between white and black families in America. Black and brown people are poorer because they haven't accumulated as much wealth as white people nor have they been as free as white people to pursue at any institution much less get the grades required because being poorer meant they didn't receive a good education or the drive to go to college.

It all boils down to skin colour, gender and orientation... Until you (and others) acknowledge that white men/women and even gay men to some extents are more privileged on the whole than minorities we will not reach much of a resolution or have a productive discussion.

[Jinpachi]

There are certain perks that come along with conquering a nation. I dont see why people have such a problem with it. We all enjoy the fruits of their labor. You're free to move to 3rd world countries where you have to worry about being ethnically cleansed, or beheaded for having a different religion, or eaten by the local wildlife. Im sure you'll have a much better understanding of what "priviledge" really is.

[dontknowdoya]

Your poll is biased, three of the options are targeted at white people. Then you throw sexuality and the broad "other" option.

[Shinra1]

The wealthy. Being white helps in some countries, but it isn't required.

Delusional. Being white helps EVERYWHERE in the West and even many 2nd/third world countries prefer tourists who are white than black tourists because of insidious and cultural racism. Go to India in the summer with a black friend and tell him/her you're both equal.

[Rudol Von Stroheim]

Wealth generally is a side effect of being successful or being born rich these are hugely influenced by gender, sexuality, and most importantly skin colour. In America and indeed many western countries but I want to focus on America, generational wealth has meant that minorities particularly AAs are poorer than white people and I have posted countless sources of the more than 100k wealth gap between white and black families in America. Black and brown people are poorer because they haven't accumulated as much wealth as white people nor have they been as free as white people to pursue at any institution much less get the grades required because being poorer meant they didn't receive a good education or the drive to go to college.

It all boils down to skin colour, gender and orientation... Until you (and others) acknowledge that white men/women and even gay men to some extents are more privileged on the whole than minorities we will not reach much of a resolution or have a productive discussion.

Your entire statement is horseshit when the majority race by no competition is whites and therefore would inherently have a larger physical representation among the elite and well-to-do. This fact however does not inherently extend to other whites. You're taking the sheer size of a given demographic and using as a sign of privilege versus actually taking a critical look at the real underlying factors that determines one's privilege. You're basically looking at the end result of causality by numbers and stretching it over your own world view.

No, I do not agree with this and you can argue with me until you're blue in the face but it is complete and utter tripe.