Check Your Privilege

[warpus]

Okay, aside from me not knowing what a "cishet male" is (I'm pretty sure that's not a real word, but what do I know), we were talking about someone who claims that racism doesn't exist at all, not someone who doesn't have to deal with it on a day to day basis. That's a huge difference and would change what I'd have to say on the subject substantially.

 

[sophie]

Okay, aside from me not knowing what a "cishet male" is (I'm pretty sure that's not a real word, but what do I know), we were talking about someone who claims that racism doesn't exist at all, not someone who doesn't have to deal with it on a day to day basis. That's a huge difference and would change what I'd have to say on the subject substantially.

cishet: cisgender heterosexual

The latter is more often the way it is used, or at least should be used. It's basically the diversity equivalent of the douchebag jar:


Link to video.

 

[luiz]

There are people on this very forum who think racism isn't a problem and is essentially dead.

Are there really?
It's pretty self-evident not only that racism is not dead but that it will never be completely dead. I don't think anyone in their right mind would every make the claim that racism is dead. If they do it's a matter of insanity or stupidity, not "white privilege".

What some people do say is that racism is not an all-dominating feature of society, and that in most civilized places it doesn't define how minority lead their lives. Some people also say that often unfounded accusations of racism are thrown around in order to score political points, win debates or interdict uncomfortable debates. All of those are very different from saying "racism is dead".

 

[Daw]

Can I claim that racism is dead in me (and it stinks)?

Edit:
And if yes, will it save me from being accused of racism for something I did (not do), and making up all the reasons I really had for (not) doing that?

 

[Ryika]

cishet: cisgender heterosexual

"Normal person".

 

[NovaKart]

I honestly was confused whether check your privilege meant examine it or check it like its a piece of luggage.

 

[Daw]

"Normal person".

Just checking: that wasn't politically correct, was it?

 

[Ryika]

Just checking: that wasn't politically correct, was it?

Not politically correct, but in line with my normal person privilege.

 

[useless]

Good to know everyone who isn't white or cis or straight isn't "normal".

 

[Farm Boy]

cishet: cisgender heterosexual

The latter is more often the way it is used, or at least should be used. It's basically the diversity equivalent of the douchebag jar:


Link to video.

Wait, so somebody being the gender and sexuality that they are is douchebaggy because reasons? They didn't put on enough flair? And this is weird. Because I've definitely had cops coming after me like I was up to no good and I've gotten shadowed through grocery stores plenty of times. It's not that hard to notice if you start looking for it. A lot of what gets classified as "cishet" privilege reeks of economic privilege. The same sort of privileges I see educators lecturing upon privilege enjoying themselves. Perhaps they've presumed an awful lot from their own lenses and experiences when they lecture down the rungs at people?

 

[Ryika]

Good to know everyone who isn't white or cis or straight isn't "normal".

With the exception of white this is correct.

normal

conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.
"it's quite normal for puppies to bolt their food"

I'm glad you learned something from my post.

 

[Daw]

Good to know everyone who isn't white or cis or straight isn't "normal".

Normality is a statistical thing, not qualitative. It also doesn't apply to the whole, but to some characteristics only. There's nothing bad in being abnormal, yet it doesn't make abnormality normal.

E.g., I am abnormally tall (because most people are shorter than me). So what?

Stephen Hawking is abnormally clever and abnormally immobile. Both characteristics are statistical and neither makes him good or bad. It's just what he is, there's no point in freaking out about it.

 

[sophie]

Wait, so somebody being the gender and sexuality that they are is douchebaggy because reasons? They didn't put on enough flair? And this is weird. Because I've definitely had cops coming after me like I was up to no good and I've gotten shadowed through grocery stores plenty of times. It's not that hard to notice if you start looking for it. A lot of what gets classified as "cishet" privilege reeks of economic privilege. The same sort of privileges I see educators lecturing upon privilege enjoying themselves. Perhaps they've presumed an awful lot from their own lenses and experiences when they lecture down the rungs at people?

it occupies striations of class just as much (if not moreso) than striations of gender, race and sexual orientation.

Just checking: that wasn't politically correct, was it?

Words have connotative meaning beyond their strict denotative definition. It's why "[REDACTED]", "Jew" and "black" (used substantively) are not strictly speaking accepted parlance today.

It's also why it's ok to say someone suffers from "mental retardation" when referring to a specific medical diagnosis but not ok to call them a "[REDACTED]"

 

[Farm Boy]

it occupies striations of class just as much (if not moreso) than striations of gender, race and sexual orientation.

Ok, so then, the term "cishet" specifies gender and sexual orientation and then is dbaggy because economic class? Where is the economic qualifier in the term? Or is it mostly to bandied about between the well-to-do when arguing their cred?

 

[sophie]

Ok, so then, the term "cishet" specifies gender and sexual orientation and then is dbaggy because economic class? Where is the economic qualifier in the term? Or is it mostly to bandied about between the well-to-do when arguing their cred?

It's more a useful shorthand than anything else, but one can (and many do) denote rich/educated white cishet male in the label. It's merely an acknowledgement of positions from which individuals gain access to advantages which they may not necessarily be cognizant of.

The video was intended as an amusing analogy; not an incorporation of the phrase or label. In the same way that Schmidt's friends inform him when he is being a douchebag without realizing it, "check your privilege" is a way of informing an individual that, due to their advantaged status, they may not be considering other experiences.

I mean you can just as easily make the statement in reference to someone making a generalization about college experiences or shaming someone for not having read certain types of literature or even computer literacy.

 

[Daw]

Words have connotative meaning beyond their strict denotative definition.

Yeah... and that's what I've always been hopelessly bad at.

It's why "[REDACTED]", "Jew" and "black" (used substantively) are not strictly speaking accepted parlance today.

It's also why it's ok to say someone suffers from "mental retardation" when referring to a specific medical diagnosis but not ok to call them a "[REDACTED]"

Right, but "[REDACTED]" (or "[CENSORED]" I use as something culturally closer to my heart) can be pretty much anything, can't it? So it's up to the reader to substitute it with something. And if I was the reader, I'd sure use something really pleasant.

Besides, since "Jew" and "black" are not very appropriate, there must be some better synonyms. I can come up with "Israeli" for "Jew" and "Congoid" (if my dictionary does not fail me at this anthropological term) for "black", but given that words have connotative meanings I've always sucked at, I'm not sure... In fact, how can anyone be 100% sure they're not insulting someone by saying "Hi" for a greeting?

 

[Farm Boy]

It's more a useful shorthand than anything else, but one can (and many do) denote rich/educated white cishet male in the label. It's merely an acknowledgement of positions from which individuals gain access to advantages which they may not necessarily be cognizant of.

The video was intended as an amusing analogy; not an incorporation of the phrase or label. In the same way that Schmidt's friends inform him when he is being a douchebag without realizing it, "check your privilege" is a way of informing an individual that, due to their advantaged status, they may not be considering other experiences.

I mean you can just as easily make the statement in reference to someone making a generalization about college experiences or shaming someone for not having read certain types of literature or even computer literacy.

Weird. I'll think about it.

 

[sophie]

Yeah... and that's what I've always been hopelessly bad at.


Right, but "[REDACTED]" (or "[CENSORED]" I use as something culturally closer to my heart) can be pretty much anything, can't it? So it's up to the reader to substitute it with something. And if I was the reader, I'd sure use something really pleasant.

Besides, since "Jew" and "black" are not very appropriate, there must be some better synonyms. I can come up with "Israeli" for "Jew" and "Congoid" (if my dictionary does not fail me at this anthropological term) for "black", but given that words have connotative meanings I've always sucked at, I'm not sure... In fact, how can anyone be 100% sure they're not insulting someone by saying "Hi" for a greeting?

It's more about use. Modern English frowns upon reducing an individual to a single characteristic. It's ok to call someone "black" as in "a black person" (i.e. a person who also happens to be black), but it is not ok to call someone "a black" or "the blacks over there". Likewise it's frowned upon to call someone "a Jew", and English today much prefers something like "she is Jewish".

As to [REDACTED]: it's just what I use when there is a specific word I would like to use but cannot due to the autocensor or infraction. In that case [REDACTED] was a substitution for a specific 6-letter word beginning with the letter r which trips the autocensor.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/check-your-privilege

So here's my question: Should I NOT accept such a label that may be consigned to me by theists? That there maybe is a God, and if there is, because I am not a "believer" I am probably somehow "less good" or whatever than a believer? Should I instead be "standing up for myself" and be actively trashing the religious views of my "oppressors"?

Thoughts?

This is a horrible definition of privilege-checking.

The purpose of privilege-checking is, in interpersonal relations, to abrograte or otherwise correct for power relations in the conversation. If a man and woman are talking, then power relations are in favor of the man; cis and trans, straight and LGB, abled and not...there is a tendency for people in positions of power to try and dominate people who aren't, and the social structures that those relations create cause this behavior to play out even on a sub-conscious level. The purpose of privilege-checking is to recognize these relations and correct for them so that the conversation is more equal.

Religion or lack thereof is not an axis of oppression, so the person who said this is full of it.

 

[Daw]

It's more about use. Modern English frowns upon reducing an individual to a single characteristic. It's ok to call someone "black" as in "a black person" (i.e. a person who also happens to be black), but it is not ok to call someone "a black" or "the blacks over there". Likewise it's frowned upon to call someone "a Jew", and English today much prefers something like "she is Jewish".

Okay, I think I'm getting it. Let's check: if you overheard me explaining this stuff to someone and telling them that this knowledge of cultural usage came from "an American", you would think I wasn't nice about you, and I should have used "an American person" instead, right?