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Head's up: I am an old white man and I do not consider myself a privileged racist. The purpose of this "rant," if you will, is to express the feelings of many white folk. We are sick of being called a privileged racist simply because we are Caucasian.
White Privilege is being defined as societal privileges white people have that non-whites do not have in social, economical,or political areas. If you could find a more diminishing term let me know. If white privilege exists, I sure as hell know that I, along with thousands of others, haven't met it.
I grew up in a poor "redneck" coal mining town with seven brothers and sisters. We lived in a four-room and a path company owned house with no running water, heated by a coal burning fireplace. My dad worked six days a week, never earning enough to pay what he owed the company store while my mom cleaned people's houses. We never went on vacation. We never owned a car.
I started working the summer after the eighth grade, and the only reason I could afford to go to college was because I worked hard for my grades, and earned enough money to pay for tuition and books.
Not having a car, I walked to and from college, rain, snow, hot or cold. Yet I'm being lectured by college students and an elite media that I am in fact privileged and racist all because I am white.
Now, don't get me wrong, I live a very blessed life, I don't worry about where my next meal will come from, or whether or not I have a jacket to keep me warm. However, I do not attribute my blessings to "white privilege," I attribute them to hard work.
Students are being taught to assume because I am white that I am a privileged racist. And it's the complete opposite.
Every single day, for as long as I can remember, race has always played a role in society. Hate crimes, racial slurs, and prejudices don't even scratch the surface. However, that is not my focus here.
I don't have any black friends, but I'm open to the possibility. I don't vote for any one political group. I've never attended a racially modified protest. Are they that much fun?
"White Privilege" is a poor excuse used by liberals to divide, and used by those who need a reason as to why they can't succeed, or why they can't get where they want to be.
Not only does the term "White Privilege'' denigrate the hard work of white people, but it depreciates the value of hard work that people who are not white do. When you use the term "white privilege," it sends a message out there that non-whites rarely succeed, that if they do it's a rare occurrence attributed to a stroke of luck. Wrong. There are tens of thousands of non-whites who live the exact same life as I do, there are tens of thousands who live far worse than I do, and there are tens of thousands who live better than I do.
There are non-white teachers, doctors, lawyers, managers, entertainers, athletes, accountants, chefs, and any other job you can imagine. They didn't get there after they miraculously found a pot of gold at the end of their rainbow; they set goals, they worked hard, and they achieved what they wanted.
So when anyone says that "White Privilege' is the bane of a non-white's existence, remember you are diminishing the accomplishments of non-whites by making it appear as though these people just happened to get lucky. Good day.
Robert H. Ware
French Creek