2744: Privilege

[Mermaid]

The conversation always seems to get "convoluted" when marginalized groups point out their differences. Funny how that works.

Even when adjusting for income there is still health disparities between races due to differences in access, education and stressor.

Gender only got brought in cause men do in fact lose weight easier than women due to muscle mass and hormone differences.

Also because its harder to try to explain privilege to a white man than a white woman. White women have more experience with discrimination and loss of privilege, therefore it's just easier to make the connection.

[Lanfear]

Originally Posted by Apia

I don't understand. I mean by that she is the black woman I mostly see and talk.to. That's who I imagine first when I think about black women because I don't know so many.

The other one was working in a bakery and loved my cute dog. These are the two black women I talked to last month. ( because there were no more black women here)

My dear.
We are the silly foreigners on here with the European privilege of healthcare, good public schools and an okish government that is not currently fucking up terribly.

Yes even you growing up in Eastern Europe. And not having bananas is not comparable to famine in the 90s in North Korea. It just isn't.

Keith is not the only one that is ignorant about having privilege.

[lizzy1e]

Originally Posted by Mermaid

The conversation always seems to get "convoluted" when marginalized groups point out their differences. Funny how that works.

You’re right, that must be it.

[Mermaid]

It never fails.

*Someone brings up privilege*

Person with said privilege: I too have experienced hardships! *gives whole life story*

__________

Lemme try to illustrate how this looks:

Person in wheelchair: Differently able people get paid less and get less job opportunities. Able bodied people have privilege.

Able bodied person: What are you talking about?! It's not easy for anyone to get a job! I get paid pennies! It has nothing to do with my body!

Able bodied person #2: The economy is bad for everyone. You are just convoluting the conversation by bringing up disability discrimination. Let's just focus on the topic at hand.

[Lanfear]

Originally Posted by Apia

It was just an example. Life wasn't easy in Poland ok not like North Korea, but when I was born we lived with 6 people in a two room apartment without a bathroom. A toilett was only in the hall and was shared with the neighbors. Add political oppression and the real danger of landing in prison for speaking up. No possibility to travel. Ban of foreign tv and radio. Of course we had no telephone. Extremely pollution of the environment and diseases because if it. Being forced to participate in political manifestations or face problems. No birth control besides illegal abortions.

When you this was privilege I find it interesting

Yes it was bad, fucking bad, super bad not great at all. I know my history lessons.

But that's not happening now here, we overcame we got shit done
Because society is meant to improve and we did and stuff is still bad for some people.

But currently the US is backsliding into a tailspin of horrendous education/obesity/healthcare/racism/religion bullshit that a current democracy really shouldn't experience.

I find that super scary and as much as I like to fight on these forums about all kinds of topics - saying 'oh why don't you just eat right from the gardens you can plant in your free time in your huge backyards and then order some healthy food from Amazon you lazy sillygoooses' is not helping.

[Mermaid]

Originally Posted by Apia

Hardships. Funny.
So my experiences in my childhood are uninteresting because they don't show white privilege and I should shut up. I'm pretty sure most of you had nicer experiences .
As I said often I do great now and have no reason to complain.

Your Polish childhood is not relevant to a discussion on obesity and poverty/race in America.

Especially when you only bring it up to show that "Look! Things happened to me too! That means race is not connected to poverty!"

I'm sure it is a fascinating story.

I googled. Germany does not keep race statistics. But Google is full of anecdotal stories from brown and black immigrants facing discrimination. Poverty may indeed be connected to ethnicity/race in your country they just don't track it like the US. Ive read a lot of articles through the years from African and Caribbean people experiencing discrimination in Europe. When I was in London this past summer I met a Kenyan man who was upset because they do face discrimination but don't have the networks/communities/etc that African Americans have to do anything about it.

Europe is not a racial utopia. You just have to watch a few people throw bananas at black players in soccer games to see that. Sure... They'll throw a banana then go back and pay the one black girl at work the same as everyone else...

[Mermaid]

It's not just about sports fans. The banana throwing shows how much racism is accepted in Europe.

How many time do you think American football fans would be allowed to throw bananas before bananas got banned from stadiums?

How many times before they would just get their ass beat by the crowd?

The fact that it happens so often at such large sporting events is indicative of something much greater.

[Lanfear]

Originally Posted by Apia

I never said it was utopia and we have racism for sure here.
But the dynamic is different and by us having good public schools and health care for everyone we don't have the same problems. And from sports people I expect the worst.

I only remember banana throwing in context of a white player here. But I don't follow sports so I believe it.

Race is not connected to.poverty in countries where everyone is of the same race.

Wow bitte denk mal für drei Cent mit, daß nur weil wir aus gutem Grund das Wort Rasse hier nicht so gerne nutzen wir nicht die exakt gleichen Probleme habe.
Meine Güte gehts noch? Hallo? Du stellst dich doch sonst nicht so doof an.
IMG_0577.GIF

[Mermaid]

I don't watch sports either but the blacks like to show worldwide solidarity when it comes to racism so the stories get written about in black media.

Every few months I see a story with a fine ass brown or black soccer player crying cause a stadium full of people are throwing things and yelling racial slurs at him.

I do follow Serena Williams and she's had a life time of that while playing in Europe.

[Lanfear]

Originally Posted by Apia

What do you think lanfear where I am on this chart? Or my family?
Now we are doing great but it wasn't always so.
And I faced enough discrimination at my beginnings in Germany.
And by making the best of the situation I could escape the poverty trap. So I know it first hand.
Luckily. In the first 10 years in Germany we were for sure as poor on this chart.
" insert sad story here nobody wants to hear"
We were poor, poor, poor.

My point exactly - you should fucking know better.

That's the exact same statistical blindness Keith is showing when he says that listeners wrote him that they lost weight and he knows what to eat and that's the proof that everybody who fails at dieting is a weakling.