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http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/17230/ He’s 20, he’s white, and he’s a freshman at Princeton University. According to the ethnic and feminist studies college students and professors who frequently and vehemently complain that this country is steeped in racism and sexism and is only fair and just and equal for white, heterosexual males – he is the poster child for so-called “White Privilege.” His name is Tal Fortgang, and just eight months into his Ivy League experience, he’s been told on numerous occasions to “check his privilege” – a phrase that has taken social media social justice campaigning by storm. It is meant to remind white, heterosexual males that they have it so good because they’re white, heterosexual males. They haven’t faced tough times, they don’t know what it’s like to be judged by the color of their skin. Oh, but they do. Those sick of being labeled are the very same ones doing it to others, and Tal Fortgang has a powerful message for them: There is a phrase that floats around college campuses, Princeton being no exception, that threatens to strike down opinions without regard for their merits, but rather solely on the basis of the person that voiced them. “Check your privilege,” the saying goes, and I have been reprimanded by it several times this year. The phrase, handed down by my moral superiors, descends recklessly, like an Obama-sanctioned drone, and aims laser-like at my pinkish-peach complexion, my maleness, and the nerve I displayed in offering an opinion rooted in a personal Weltanschauung. “Check your privilege,” they tell me in a command that teeters between an imposition to actually explore how I got where I am, and a reminder that I ought to feel personally apologetic because white males seem to pull most of the strings in the world. I do not accuse those who “check” me and my perspective of overt racism, although the phrase, which assumes that simply because I belong to a certain ethnic group I should be judged collectively with it, toes that line. But I do condemn them for diminishing everything I have personally accomplished, all the hard work I have done in my life, and for ascribing all the fruit I reap not to the seeds I sow but to some invisible patron saint of white maleness who places it out for me before I even arrive. Furthermore, I condemn them for casting the equal protection clause, indeed the very idea of a meritocracy, as a myth, and for declaring that we are all governed by invisible forces (some would call them “stigmas” or “societal norms”), that our nation runs on racist and sexist conspiracies. Forget “you didn’t build that;” check your privilege and realize that nothing you have accomplished is real. But they can’t be telling me that everything I’ve done with my life can be credited to the racist patriarchy holding my hand throughout my years of education and eventually guiding me into Princeton. Even that is too extreme. So to find out what they are saying, I decided to take their advice. I actually went and checked the origins of my privileged existence, to empathize with those whose underdog stories I can’t possibly comprehend. I have unearthed some examples of the privilege with which my family was blessed, and now I think I better understand those who assure me that skin color allowed my family and I to flourish today. Perhaps it’s the privilege my grandfather and his brother had to flee their home as teenagers when the Nazis invaded Poland, leaving their mother and five younger siblings behind, running and running until they reached a Displaced Persons camp in Siberia, where they would do years of hard labor in the bitter cold until World War II ended. Maybe it was the privilege my grandfather had of taking on the local Rabbi’s work in that DP camp, telling him that the spiritual leader shouldn’t do hard work, but should save his energy to pass Jewish tradition along to those who might survive. Perhaps it was the privilege my great-grandmother and those five great-aunts and uncles I never knew had of being shot into an open grave outside their hometown. Maybe that’s my privilege. Or maybe it’s the privilege my grandmother had of spending weeks upon weeks on a death march through Polish forests in subzero temperatures, one of just a handful to survive, only to be put in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where she would have died but for the Allied forces who liberated her and helped her regain her health when her weight dwindled to barely 80 pounds. Perhaps my privilege is that those two resilient individuals came to America with no money and no English, obtained citizenship, learned the language and met each other; that my grandfather started a humble wicker basket business with nothing but long hours, an idea, and an iron will—to paraphrase the man I never met: “I escaped Hitler. Some business troubles are going to ruin me?” Maybe my privilege is that they worked hard enough to raise four children, and to send them to Jewish day school and eventually City College. Perhaps it was my privilege that my own father worked hard enough in City College to earn a spot at a top graduate school, got a good job, and for 25 years got up well before the crack of dawn, sacrificing precious time he wanted to spend with those he valued most—his wife and kids—to earn that living. I can say with certainty there was no legacy involved in any of his accomplishments. The wicker business just isn’t that influential. Now would you say that we’ve been really privileged? That our success has been gift-wrapped? That’s the problem with calling someone out for the “privilege” which you assume has defined their narrative. You don’t know what their struggles have been, what they may have gone through to be where they are. Assuming they’ve benefitted from “power systems” or other conspiratorial imaginary institutions denies them credit for all they’ve done, things of which you may not even conceive. You don’t know whose father died defending your freedom. You don’t know whose mother escaped oppression. You don’t know who conquered their demons, or may still conquering them now. The truth is, though, that I have been exceptionally privileged in my life, albeit not in the way any detractors would have it. It has been my distinct privilege that my grandparents came to America. First, that there was a place at all that would take them from the ruins of Europe. And second, that such a place was one where they could legally enter, learn the language, and acclimate to a society that ultimately allowed them to flourish. It was their privilege to come to a country that grants equal protection under the law to its citizens, that cares not about religion or race, but the content of your character. It was my privilege that my grandfather was blessed with resolve and an entrepreneurial spirit, and that he was lucky enough to come to the place where he could realize the dream of giving his children a better life than he had. But far more important for me than his attributes was the legacy he sought to pass along, which forms the basis of what detractors call my “privilege,” but which actually should be praised as one of altruism and self-sacrifice. Those who came before us suffered for the sake of giving us a better life. When we similarly sacrifice for our descendents by caring for the planet, it’s called “environmentalism,” and is applauded. But when we do it by passing along property and a set of values, it’s called “privilege.” (And when we do it by raising questions about our crippling national debt, we’re called Tea Party radicals.) Such sacrifice of any form shouldn’t be scorned, but admired. My exploration did yield some results. I recognize that it was my parents’ privilege and now my own that there is such a thing as an American dream which is attainable even for a penniless Jewish immigrant. I am privileged that values like faith and education were passed along to me. My grandparents played an active role in my parents’ education, and some of my earliest memories included learning the Hebrew alphabet with my Dad. It’s been made clear to me that education begins in the home, and the importance of parents’ involvement with their kids’ education—from mathematics to morality—cannot be overstated. It’s not a matter of white or black, male or female or any other division which we seek, but a matter of the values we pass along, the legacy we leave, that perpetuates “privilege.” And there’s nothing wrong with that. Behind every success, large or small, there is a story, and it isn’t always told by sex or skin color. My appearance certainly doesn’t tell the whole story, and to assume that it does and that I should apologize for it is insulting. While I haven’t done everything for myself up to this point in my life, someone sacrificed themselves so that I can lead a better life. But that is a legacy I am proud of. I have checked my privilege. And I apologize for nothing.
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May 1, 2014 06:53
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 16:21 |
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gently caress you
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May 1, 2014 06:54
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Iseeyouseemeseeyou posted:gently caress you hmm. rude.
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May 1, 2014 06:55
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FORTGANG
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May 1, 2014 06:55
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Neo Duckberg posted:hmm. rude. I apologize for nothing
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May 1, 2014 06:56
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who gives a poo poo. kill all white people.
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May 1, 2014 06:57
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Nobody should be ashamed of "privilege".
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May 1, 2014 06:57
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breaking news: forums user "attention whore" thinks anyone will read that poo poo
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May 1, 2014 06:57
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chances of reading that are 0
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May 1, 2014 06:58
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being white rules
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May 1, 2014 06:59
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tranime scholar posted:being white rules but who is really "white" when you really think about it
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May 1, 2014 07:00
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tranime scholar posted:being white rules
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May 1, 2014 07:00
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that's a lot of words about some freshman bitch
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May 1, 2014 07:00
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lol not reading all that poo poo
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May 1, 2014 07:01
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Check my foot up yo rear end biatche
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May 1, 2014 07:01
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Moridin920 posted:that's a lot of words about some freshman bitch
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May 1, 2014 07:02
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*checks pants for privilege* Whew, still there.
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May 1, 2014 07:03
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MotherFuckingT-REX posted:say that 2 my face fucker instead of over the internet thats a lot of words about some freshman bitch
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May 1, 2014 07:04
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fits my needs posted:who gives a poo poo. kill all white people.
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May 1, 2014 07:05
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Maoist Pussy posted:*checks pants for privilege* thats a cute name for your dilz i call my little guy 9/11, cause girls never forget it
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May 1, 2014 07:05
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gently caress i was expecting like, a sentence, and instead you posted an article, you fucker
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May 1, 2014 07:07
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Are you done checking your privilege yet? I'd like to order a dog with onions and ketchup, please.
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May 1, 2014 07:08
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take your sjw poo poo and gently caress off
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May 1, 2014 07:08
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THE RED MENACE posted:thats a cute name for your dilz also because it drops in seconds and people run away screaming
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May 1, 2014 07:08
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check THIS privilege biiiiiiiiiiitcccchhhh *wiggles balls in yo face*
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May 1, 2014 07:09
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King of Internet posted:thats my grandpa is going to gently caress UYO UP
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May 1, 2014 07:10
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I feel like if you go to Princeton you should just shut your bitch rear end up anyway. people have real problems
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May 1, 2014 07:10
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MotherFuckingT-REX posted:my grandpa is going to gently caress UYO UP ok ok i'm sorry really
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May 1, 2014 07:10
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Tiler Kiwi posted:gently caress i was expecting like, a sentence, and instead you posted an article, you fucker Attention Whore gbs thread flowchart -user Attention Whore reposts interesting but long as hell wall of text using attention tag -some nerds come in to firstpost the thread with "tl;dr" and make jokes about the thread title -thread gains visibility thanks to nerds bumping the topic -people start to discuss the content in the op -discussion goes on for several more pages interspersed with occasional emptyquote of the original tl;dr posts
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May 1, 2014 07:13
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could not read all those words because i am illiterate (this post is dictated, thanks mom) please check your literacy privilege
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May 1, 2014 07:14
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sasurai posted:Attention Whore gbs thread flowchart -your a big dumb weenie
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May 1, 2014 07:14
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LIBERALS!!!
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May 1, 2014 07:15
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sasurai posted:Attention Whore gbs thread flowchart this is okay with me, if people enjoy the ride
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May 1, 2014 07:16
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Attention Whore posted:It was their privilege to come to a country that grants equal protection under the law to its citizens, that cares not about religion or race, but the content of your character. The fact that this whiny honkey can unironically say that demonstrates perfectly that he's dense as gently caress
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May 1, 2014 07:22
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FOrtgang is like the name of some wannabe cowboy crew that steal cans from people's recyclables
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May 1, 2014 07:24
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yeah okay america is an unequal shithole i dont know if constantly reiterating it really does any good anymore, people would rather see half of all welfare money go to testing for drug offenders rather than making sure that the poor in this nation dont all die of tuberculosis and theres really no changing this mindset. we literally had the perfect storm of the wealthy completely destroying the economy for no real good reason and basically walking away and the current controversy is now about whether or not people should have the right to die uninsured
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May 1, 2014 07:36
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what the gently caress kind of name is tal fortgang
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May 1, 2014 07:37
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The guy quoted in the OP is annoying but I do kind of agree with part of his point. People get too focused on overgeneralized topics and tend to not realize that averages are just that, averages, most individuals are going to deviate from the average either positively or negatively. I'm a white dude sure and I benefit from that, but I was also raised in a household that earned poverty line income with just 1 parent which puts me far worse off in terms of statistical success than a middle/upper class two parent household of a minority girl or boy. I personally wouldn't attribute my success in life to just hard work and merit (and what is merit really, if not something you have more or less of due to nothing other than chance and genes?), but at the same time people who just want to handwave away everything everyone else does out of generalized arguments without ever looking to evaluate their circumstances on an individual basis are obnoxious. It's important to acknowledge that you get a lot of breaks in life due to factors entirely outside your control, but it doesn't at all help the causes you're working for to put people on the defensive about that kind of thing. I was a huge meritocracy humping libertarian in high school because I felt like I had succeeded despite realistically being dealt a lovely hand and generally resented anyone who tried to tell me I didn't earn what little I had which is all "check your priveledge" people really do. I grew out of that naive mindset not through the pestering of slactivism but simply by getting a better education and reading about systematic issues in an academic context. Books and papers made me change my views on stuff like privilege, not halfassed accusations or attacks. I guess that really boils down to a tone argument, but I dunno, if your goal is to shape people's views rather than just patting yourself on the back for being right then you're probably never going to change the views of people like that guy in the article just by telling him to check his privilege. ArbitraryC fucked around with this message at 07:41 on May 1, 2014 |
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May 1, 2014 07:39
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ArbitraryC posted:The guy quoted in the OP is annoying but I do kind of agree with part of his point. People get too focused on overgeneralized topics and tend to not realize that averages are just that, averages, most individuals are going to deviate from the average either positively or negatively. I'm a white dude sure and I benefit from that, but I was also raised in a household that earned poverty line income with just 1 parent which puts me far worse off in terms of statistical success than a middle/upper class two parent household of a minority girl or boy. I personally wouldn't attribute my success in life to just hard work and merit (and what is merit really, if not something you have more or less of due to nothing other than chance and genes?), but at the same time people who just want to handwave away everything everyone else does out of generalized arguments without ever looking to evaluate their circumstances on an individual basis are obnoxious. huh?
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May 1, 2014 07:40
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 16:21 |
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ArbitraryC posted:The guy quoted in the OP is annoying but I do kind of agree with part of his point. People get too focused on overgeneralized topics and tend to not realize that averages are just that, averages, most individuals are going to deviate from the average either positively or negatively. I'm a white dude sure and I benefit from that, but I was also raised in a household that earned poverty line income with just 1 parent which puts me far worse off in terms of statistical success than a middle/upper class two parent household of a minority girl or boy. I personally wouldn't attribute my success in life to just hard work and merit (and what is merit really, if not something you have more or less of due to nothing other than chance and genes?), but at the same time people who just want to handwave away everything everyone else does out of generalized arguments without ever looking to evaluate their circumstances on an individual basis are obnoxious. shut up
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May 1, 2014 07:40
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