Ah, so by "silence" he really means "poke holes in." Which is a convenient way to define things, since then anytime an argument is refuted, he can scream "stop trying to silence me!" and play the victim card.
The problem here stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of what sociology is about. Sociology doesn't care about an individual's feelings. Sociology is not concerned with what is going on in an individual's mind. That is all in the realm of psychology and related disciplines. Sociology is uniquely equipped for the study of race and racism because recent developments in biology and genetics prove that concepts of race have no basis in science. There is actually more genetic variation among "black" people than there is between "black" and "white" people. Race itself is a social fiction. When a sociologist says that white people enjoy a privileged position in society, she doesn't mean that every person with white skin is living the good life, nor that no people with darker skin display racist attitudes toward white people. All it means is that society is structured in such a way that "white" is the default condition and that anybody with an alternative racial identity has to work a lot harder to achieve the things white people take for granted.
Your first mistake was being "sorry for being white" in the first place. I mean, being white is a pretty dumb thing to be sorry for. It's just stupid.
I never claimed I or anyone else was being silenced. I pointed out that the "check your privilege" phrase is a meme used by SJW in an attempt to silence arguments they didn't agree with.
Well, if you're just talking about the phrase "check your privilege," then I agree it's annoying and has a tendency to shut down discussion. It sounds too much like "…and STFU" is tacked onto the end of it. Still, thinking about the ways people's varying backgrounds might affect their opinions can be valuable.
Oh, "check your privilege," which Captain Anime has now retconned his original claim into being about, is plenty obnoxious. But acknowledging the impact one's background has on one's life doesn't silence jack, outside, of course, of certain white male conservatives' desperate need to feel like victims.
My original post, for the record, which was in response to the OP's topic. "White privilege" is generally the type of privilege being referenced by those utilizing the phrase "check your privilege," so there's no retcon. I have to admit, I'm rather disappointed, because while for the most part you can come off as being pretty reasonable, your line of argument in this thread doesn't make any sense and seems to be mainly serving as an attempt to be a contrarian. I'm curious, do you have a Tumblr blog where you rant about social injustices, or is this just part of the fairly typical liberal need to feel guilty about something you have no control over (in this case race)? Edit: Oh, wait, were you the one that a while back tried to argue with me that racism wasn't racism because of alleged positions of power or some shit like that?
OK, I'll try to explain this one more time. 1. I feel no guilt about being white. I didn't choose it, and even if I had, there's nothing wrong with it. 2. I am, however, capable of acknowledging that my race has benefited me and made my life easier in any number of ways, without feeling threatened or flying into paroxysms of rage or vehement denial. Why is it so hard to grasp the idea that both of these things can be true at the same time?
Because the second one is in disagreement with the first one. Also, the second one isn't really true. The thing everyone who wants to make it a racial issue is so focused on race that they completely miss the economic aspect. But then no one gives a shit about poor white trash, because they're poor white trash.
No, it really isn't. Look, try it this way: Is your life easier because you don't have, say, leukemia or cystic fibrosis? Yes. Do you feel guilty for not having them? Probably not, because you didn't personally determine what the symptoms of leukemia or CF would be. Not that being black is equivalent to having a disease, but the point is that it is entirely possible to acknowledge the fact that you have advantages without feeling guilty about it. Again, no. Economic privilege exists too, but that fact doesn't erase other forms. The existence of one kind of disparity doesn't magically wipe all others from existence.
I would guess to point out that saying "we're all equal, and we can equally pull ourselves up by our bootstraps" is not really true.
Why be sorry for being white? Being white is awesome. If I wanted to I could strap an AR-15 or whatever I wanted to myself and have some lunch at Applebees.... Then head over to Target to do some decent shopping..... Grab a quick snack on the way out...... No hassle, just enjoy another great day. I mean if I was black then I'd pick up a BB gun at Wal Mart and get shot. That sucks! Not to mention there'd be no repercussions for the cops who shot me! Bum deal, bro. [yt] Link
And frankly I'm shocked you made the comparison. It's a form of prejudice being used by some people as an excuse to tell other people to shut up. Except that the economic aspect is the only real aspect to it, and the negative stereotypes associated with poor white people serves to illustrate this. And frankly, the attempt to mitigate the injustices other groups have suffered who also happened to be white just serves to illustrate the prejudice on the part of the people who do it, even if it is directed against their own race/sex/etc.
One of the best things about WF is when a dumbass OP morphs into a really good discussion. Where's Tererun?
Just tossing this out there: of the total numbers of armed robberies in America what percentage (not total numbers, talking about percentage here) of these armed robberies are committed by black people? They are 15 or so percent of the population, thus (I'm not a math wizard) 15 or so percent of armed robberies would be committed by blacks. WTF? The percentage of robbers is not equal to the population? The hell you say! So that would dictate (again not a math wizard) that a black person with a gun would be more likely to be an actual armed robber versus just carrying a weapon. Yes I know, no math in the Red Room, but please set me straight on my line of thinking. I'm...just...a.....caveman!
No, you're a boring bigot who not long ago claimed that 95% of the murders in this country were committed by black people. When presented with data that refuted you, you left the thread. You're not interested in information, just in repeating the same ignorant bullshit. You should change your name to DaytonToo.
That's freaking redneck as hell. Why do people always gotta ruine a perfectly good SKS by trying to make it look all tactical?
Thanks for your non-quantifiable and totally predictable opinion Garamet. Now please explain the confusing conundrum of why a black person with a weapon might be considered a threat by law enforcement versus a white person.