It is as part of a _group_ that a white person has advantages, privileges, more money, money being very important in our society. One is not individually guilty for advantages one gains as part of a group. For individuals are formed by groups more than vica versa
How do we keep that critique of white supremacy with persons always considered as in groups and trying to change groups they are in ?
Am I correct about that Carrol ?
On Fri, Aug 16, 2013 at 12:25 PM, Carrol Cox <cbcox at ilstu.edu> wrote:
> I think I've got a metaphor dramatizing the difference between _privilege_
> and _rights_. In Rumania, in Hungary, in Austria, & in Germany, there was
> at
> least one waitress or waiter who understood and spoke _some_ English. In
> the
> railway station in Budapest we encountered a porter who spoke English, & he
> found us a taxi-driver who spoke English.
>
> I doubt that speakers of Farsi, Estonian, or Arabic would have been so
> lucky.
>
> Now, no one has the _right_ to find English speakers in Budapest; it is a
> pleasant privilege to have, however, and I think it is a privilege 'gained'
> by over two centuries of imperialist aggression by Anglos. An note, there
> is
> no way 'we' can reject that privilege -- and if we did somehow it would
> gain
> no advantage for speakers of Arabic going into a Budapest restaurant.
>
> Now, it is _not_ a privilege but a _right_ for any of us to walk into a
> government office and be served by someone who speaks English. It OUGHT to
> be a right of any Spanish-speaker in the U.S. to find Spanish speakers in
> government offices, courts, etc. Surrendering the _right_ (not privilege)
> of
> Anglos to speak English in Court would not help Spanish speakers. We
> should,
> if we are serious leftists, join with Spanish speakers to make Spanish in
> addition to English an official language in the U.S. -- but "checking" our
> right, not privilege, to speak English in court would not help that
> struggle.
>
> Now -- _every_ resident (not merely every citizen) of the U.S. should have
> the RIGHT to walk down a street (anywhere) at (say) 1a.m. and not get shot
> or roughed up or hassled (stop and frisk)ed). It is NOT a privilege, but it
> is a Right. For whites to surrender that right would not in any way help
> Black and Brown people.
>
> And so forth.
>
> The renunciation of Privilege by one group, even if possible, would not
> help
> those who are deprived of it.
>
> Carrol
>
> P.S. Let me repeat one point: However technically inaccurate the slogan may
> be, the slogan "Fight Racism" must be a core slogan of the U.S. left; in
> our
> practice we must concretize it.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:
> lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org]
> > On Behalf Of Doug Henwood
> > Sent: Friday, August 16, 2013 1:37 PM
> > To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> > Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Check your privilege?
> >
> >
> > On Aug 16, 2013, at 2:32 PM, JOANNA A. <123hop at comcast.net> wrote:
> >
> > > I don't quite get this "check your privilege" business.
> >
> > We've solved this one on Facebook!
> > ___________________________________
> > http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>
>
> ___________________________________
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>