Free House. Near Whole Foods. Subaru Needs Work.

Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:

If you are a Minnesota White Male who sincerely believes that white privilege exists, that it arises from the vestiges of slavery still persistent in our society, and that you are tainted with it solely because of your race, then you must concede it would be immoral for you to continue to exploit your white privilege at the expense of other, more deserving persons of color and gender.

Having conceded it’s immoral for you to keep your job, your house, your car and your retirement account, shouldn’t you quit your job, give away your house and car, close your retirement account and distribute it to the people holding cardboard signs at stoplights? Shouldn’t you pull your kids out of STEM school so they don’t grow up privileged and thereby perpetuate the inequalities in society?

Shouldn’t a person of moral integrity immediately act to redress existing injustice and avoid causing more?  If you fail to do so, doesn’t that make you a hypocritical lying crap-weasel?  Why would I listen to anything a person like that says to me about privilege or race?

I’m waiting for all the “Free House, Volvo Included” signs to pop up in Mac-Groveland.

You and me both ,Joe.

23 thoughts on “Free House. Near Whole Foods. Subaru Needs Work.

  1. Joe, it is not necessary to give up everything one holds dear just to make racial amends. That is what Twitter is for.

  2. I’m a pretty conservative Minnesota white male, and I know as a matter of wisdom that white privilege exists. Its less a pure racial mechanism than the normative assumptions of dominant European culture. And I like most of those assumptions, by the way….

    But where I think the SJWs have a point is all the dumb white people calling the cops on black people because they assume they don’t have a good reason to be wherever they are… the coffee shop, at the apartment complex pool, whatever.

    That’s a malignant white privilege thing.

  3. But where I think the SJWs have a point is all the dumb white people calling the cops on black people because they assume they don’t have a good reason to be wherever they are…

    911: What is your emergency?
    White Sounding Voice: There is a person hanging around the park. Probably up to no good.
    911: How do you know they are up to no good?
    White Sounding Voice: Something about their attitude.
    911: Attitude?
    White Sounding Voice: Yeah, kind of aggressive.
    911: Can you describe this person?
    White Sounding Voice: Sure, a female Asian in her 20’s.
    911: Female Asian? Really?
    White Sounding Voice: Yeah, I think her name is Sarah Jeong.
    911: Hold tight, squads are on the way.

  4. Because double standards irritate me to no end, while ALL this focus is being pointed at the white/Caucasian/Eurocentric side of the argument, why is no one looking at the other side of the argument?

    If, using a broad brush stroke generalization, “white” society is “more successful”; or at the very least, “less oppressed”, maybe it’s because, on a societal level, the behaviors of “whites” are more inclined to match what would lead to a “more successful”; or at the very least, a “less oppressed” life. (Apologies for the horrific run-on sentence). Things that would lead to the ability to live a “more successful” or “less oppressed” life would include:

    Staying in school and graduate (and granted, inner city schools are horseshit, but that’s a different discussion).

    Not commiting crimes/not getting involved with gangs/not running from cops, or pointing guns at cops.

    Getting a job. Being good enough in that job to not get fired for bad performance. Bettering yourself and improving your worth to the company so you can advance in a career.

    Getting (and staying) married.

    Not getting pregnant (or getting her pregnant) until you are married. If you get a girl pregnant, sticking with her and being a father to the child.

    Not living beyond your means.

    Doing those things will, for the most part, allow you to live a fairly happy life in today’s society.

    There is no excuse for not following those guidelines/suggestions. For the most part, except possibly in cases of extreme poverty, no one forces a kid to stop going to school or to get kicked out of school. Those are all choices made.

    No one forces a girl to allow herself to get pregnant, or a guy to get a girl pregnant (rape notwithstanding, but I doubt most pregnancies that result in a parent needing to go on government assistance are as a result of rape). Two people made a choice.

    For the most part, gang membership is by choice. Plenty of kids don’t join gangs, don’t commit crimes, and don’t point guns at cops resulting in getting shot and killed. Hell, a black man just spent 8 years as president. There are “successful” people of every minority. Everyone has the opportunity to avoid those behaviors that lead to living a “less successful” or “more oppressed” life.

    Let’s start seeing the people who are screaming that they are victims of white privilege, being held accountable for the choices THEY make.

  5. Yeah, those are those Euro-normative assumptions that I like that I was speaking of.

    This is a lost cause though.

  6. Yeah, those are those Euro-normative assumptions

    Which explains why the Chinese, Koreans, Japanese and Vietnamese are so much better at them than are the Europeans and those of European heritage.

    So it must be something other than white privilege.

    But I think you are onto something there, John. How can society make opportunity and optimism a “normative assumption” for everyone?

    Maybe by focusing on lifting people up rather than trying to tear successful people down. If “acting white” is what reaps rewards, shouldn’t everyone be acting white? Even unsuccessful whites?

  7. Being an amateur photographer, one thing that appears to be a sticky spot in terms of race is that black faces simply reflect less light, and if you’re dealing with someone after dusk, you’re going to miss the facial expressions that communicate a LOT of information. The tractable part off this for blacks (other dark skinned people) is to understand that if they wear hoodies or a hat, they can say “let me take off my hat so you can see my face” and defuse a lot of situations.

    The intractable part is that in the same light, you’re going to still be more difficult to “read”, and that’s going to lead to some bad decisions.

  8. You’re calling me out for a position I didn’t take.

    I agree with the observation there’s kind of a pathetic class of people out there who complain about their material bereftness and yet are not on the very navigable path that confers societies privileges, that path of getting their first productive job, to be followed by their second job….which pays adult money…to be followed by their 3rd job, which pays senior level wages. And on and on.

    I get that bemusement / disgust, whatever, totally.

    I also think its true there’s some corrosive ‘privilege’ phenomena that are the result of the predominant ethnic / social culture in this country having systematically marginalized the predominant racial underclass.

  9. Malignant White looks out window, sees Black people . . .

    “911, what’s your emergency?”

    “President Obama is walking down my sidewalk with Beyoncé. We don’t want Blacks in our neighborhood. Send the police dogs and fire hoses.”

    Seriously? You believe the call is about race, and not about behavior?

  10. Joe is it your assertion that this is not a thing that’s been happening, that black people get the cops called on them for no reason at times? Lots of video out there in recent years.

  11. Joe is it your assertion that this is not a thing that’s been happening, that black people get the cops called on them for no reason at times? Lots of video out there in recent years.

    Young people get the cops called on them too. Most notably, skate board kids, who tend to be young and suburban.

    But what you mentions certainly is a thing but like all things that allow the liberal elite to blame something other than what is blazingly obvious, it is less a thing than social media would have us believe.

  12. One more thought about “black people get the cops called on them for no reason at times”.

    There are over 300,000 Calls for Service (911) calls in Minneapolis every year, statewide there are over a million. People call for all kinds of stupid reasons.

    “There is a raccoon in our alley.”
    “Something thumped in my attic.”
    “The MacDonalds is closed.” Yes, this actually was a 911 call.
    “Turkeys have surrounded my SUV.” (Maple Grove 2008, the dashcam video is cool)
    “My brother will not let me have the remote.” Another actual call.

    Considering that 30% of black males have a felony record, a call that states, “there is a suspicious black man walking in our neighborhood” may or may not be as silly as the calls listed above, however, if one is looking for racism, the call is always racist.

  13. Nah, it is actually silly & worse if police interdiction is argued as justified for black male pedestrians because 30% of them are felons.

    You’re arguing / justifying an apartheid state. One cant help but get the feeling that you think blacks people are sub human. We get it, alright.

  14. The people who think Blacks are sub-human are the ones who believe they shouldn’t be held them to the same standards of civilized behavior as everybody else, the people who insist on giving Black people a pass on bad behavior solely because of the color of their skin. That’s the “soft bigotry of low expectations” that leads to muddled thinking on topics like racial disparities in prison sentences and Only Certain Lives Matter.

  15. You’re arguing / justifying an apartheid state. One cant help but get the feeling that you think blacks people are sub human. We get it, alright.

    John, you are a racist. Only you get the feeling that I think black people are sub-human because it serves your racist purposes.

    I might be pushing the boundaries of what Mitch find acceptable on his blog, but frankly, John, your attitude is disgusting.

  16. Boy, if not for that caveat, “I’m a pretty conservative Minnesota white male”, I would’ve thought I was getting a lecture as someone who should feel guilty about being “a pretty conservative Minnesota white male”.

  17. I am very conservative. I’m a very advanced gun guy, 2nd amendment and pro life absolutist… Kevin Williamson is my favorite writer…. I could go on

    I also think white privilege is a real thing

  18. White privilege is a real thing? Okay, but is it a BAD thing?

    If White Privilege is a Bad Thing like sloth, gluttony, and wrath, then a Good Person would work to purge himself of the Bad Thing. Give me your address, John, and let me know when you’ll be moving out so I can give the panhandlers on the street corner a heads-up.

    If White Privilege is the natural and inevitable consequence of engaging in responsible and productive behavior, it’s not a Bad Thing. Rather than punish it, society should encourage it.

    That’s the point of the column, which seems to have been lost in discussion.

  19. I assert, as uncontroversial wisdom and knowledge:

    White privilege is real.
    That its a product of in group / out group societal dynamics. IE, not ‘racism’ actually.

    So to the extent you guys are talking to me like I’m a a naive delicate flower… that’s not necessary, I am not a sensitive guilted up guy. I’m saying white privilege exists like the rain exists, and no one should feel personally guilt about rain.

    But there are some structural and dominant group cultural behavior things that it would be good were addressed in the name of alleviating ‘white privilege’ a little bit.

    K.

  20. n the name of alleviating ‘white privilege’ a little bit

    Alleviate. Make more bearable. Something otherwise unbearable or bad. So, “white privilege” is asserted to be a bad thing. Got it.

  21. That its a product of in group / out group societal dynamics. IE, not ‘racism’ actually.

    The problem, my dear fellow, is your laser focus on race. If one were to analyze “privilege” in all of its forms, one would find that there are advantages (privileges) to being intelligent, attractive, tall, slender, athletic, personable, detail oriented, well-located and articulate.

    But for you and your ilk, only one privilege means anything. RACE! It is your religion. It is how you signal your virtue. It is your obsession. It is your white whale.

    And being the ideological jerk that you are, you accused me of conveying the feeling that “blacks people are sub human”. You did this because it reflects your vision of the world, not your knowledge of me.

    Well, some of my favorite brother-in-laws happen to be black and some of my favorite nieces share German and African heritage. They happen to be intelligent, attractive, tall, slender, athletic, personable, detail oriented, well-located and articulate, and as a consequence, do quite well in life.

    They also enjoy a privilege that their cousins do not. Being in part African-American means that people reach out to them and afford them advantage that others do not have. Thus they enjoy an informal privilege that consists of introductions, project selection, information, assistance and promotions that are not available to others. While there may be someone, someplace, who wishes to see them disadvantaged, those who would give them advantages out-number those who do not.

    Should they feel guilty about this? Absolutely not.

    I suppose one could call this “black privilege” which raises an interesting question. If black privilege exists why does the entire demographic not get to enjoy it?

    The answer is quite simple: one must position one’s self to take advantage of privileges. In other words, you don’t blame others for having wasted your privileges.

  22. Probably the biggest thing to say about “racial privilege” is “Pareto Principle”. Sure, there are different ways that people treat people depending on their race, ethnicity, religion, and the like, but all in all, the bulk of our issues have to do with how we behave.

    Did we learn something in school? Did we find a job and do it well? Do we commit crimes? Did we marry the girl we loved before having a baby with her? Get the answers to those right, encourage others in your community to get those answers right, and send signals through how you care for your property right, and you’re going to find that most discrimination against “your type” disappears.

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