Privilege, Prejudice, and the Difference

I am posting this because it's something society as a whole needs to better understand. I am NOT posting it in the spirit of making anyone feel bad for who or what they are. This is something I've addressed before, but in a much more emotional- and therefor provocative- way. I chose to do so then because I wanted honest reactions and feelings, instead of clumsy attempts at political correctness. This time I'm going to spell it out as matter-of-factly as I can instead, but I still hope people will respond as authentically as possible, because that is what makes discussions like this worthwhile.

REG: White and Male Privilege in America.

Before I go any further, it needs to be clearly understood that 1.) Privilege is a product of society, not the individual. 2.) Those who enjoy it in one form or another are usually not even aware that they do, which brings us to 3.) Calling someone privileged is NOT the same thing as calling them a racist, sexist, etc.

Ok, then, here we go.... 

Here's this white girl's basic explanation of what White Privilege is, using "Driving while black" as the main example. To put is as simply as possible, white folks, unless they already have problems with the law and aren't sure if they have current warrants out for them, DON'T need to worry about getting pulled over for made-up reasons. They also don't then have to worry about going to jail for not "acting right". White teenagers typically DON'T have to be taught a long list of very specific rules (always keep both hands on the wheel, make eye contact, say Sir or Ma'am before everything, don't argue that you didn't do anything wrong, even when you didn't, etc.) in order to stay out of jail, just for rolling through a stop sign. That's the simplest example I can give of White Privilege in action, and note that it has everything to do with what white people don't have to worry about, as opposed to any alleged perks we supposedly get. 

Now, Male Privilege also comes down to the things men DON'T typically have to worry about in their day-to-day lives. I'm going to base this one on rape, not to be provocative, but because women actually DO have to worry about it almost constantly. Dudes don't, for example, usually have to worry about how far they park from the mall entrance after dark. They don't have to think twice about going on a solo camping trip, or even about taking a simple walk or jog alone. Dudes don't have to bring other dudes with them to Comic Con, karaoke, or even just to have a simple drink and meal at a pub, because the perception is that any woman doing ANYTHING alone is obviously looking to get laid.

Sadly, when I say these kinds of things, I usually get at least a couple dudes screaming at me about how unfair it is to assume every man is a potential rapists. First of all, that's not what we think. We just know that it's impossible to tell who is and ISN'T a rapist, because they come in all different stripes. Yes, it can be that shady guy in the parking lot who doesn't seem to have a car parked there, but it could also be Ted Bundy (highly educated, articulate, handsome, well-groomed, etc.). To make it all the more frightening and confusing, a good majority of rapes are actually committed by people the victim already knows. Add to that the fact that our own fathers, brothers, and husbands are constantly warning us not to do any of those things I mentioned alone, and there you have it. Note that once again, the privilege lies in what men DON'T have to worry about, not in the advantages that they do enjoy.

In summary, though sometimes they do go hand-in-hand, privilege and prejudice are actually two entirely different things. I CAN talk about Male Privilege and acknowledge its existsence without being a man-hater, a lesbian, etc. I can also talk about White Privilege without being a bigot or a racist. If we could just hammer out and establish that much, we could get a LOT more accomplished.