Quote:
Originally Posted by barbara
Disclaimer: this post is written with no malice intended.
Here are things I see and/or do that gives me evidence of discrimination and white privilege.
Ok.... I'll admit at... As a white female, there have been times that I have seen a man of color approaching me as he is walking somewhere, or get in an elevator with me, or sit next to me on a public bus and I tighten my grip on my purse. I have never ever done that in the same circumstances with a female if any color. Discrimination.
Early in my marriage I owned a deli and husband worked for me. Sales people (including females) would address husband when showing their products. Husband would tell them I was the owner and made purchasing decisions. They would give me a nod and continue to address husband. White male privilege.
I went to a well known college in my area and had a good friend who also attended. He was Vietnamese. When I told people where I went to college it was accepted as though there would be no doubt I would go to a good college. The response he got was,,, "you are going there! How lucky that you got accepted." As if the good grades he made had nothing to do with being accepted to this college. White female privilege.
There are many examples.... But my point is that discrimination/ white privilege is so ingrained in our society that we don't often recognize it and that only perpetuates it.
It is far easier to recognize when you are the recipient.
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I can recall running a VERY busy retail shoe store (a single shoe store with 50 employees)
The place was crazy busy, each salesmen was servicing several customers at a time.
Apparently a black women sat down without much fuss when a seat became available. She claims she sat and waited and waited as I hurried to get salesmen for countless other people.
After a while, I have no clue how long she came over to me, first time I noticed her. She explained to me that I had not gotten her a salesperson because she was black and that she lived on 127st, in Harlem and was gonna bring her entire apartment building back to "get me" after work.
A little more to the story. I was very organized and every chair in the store had a salesperson assigned to it. So someone did not do their job. I designed hings just this way so no mistakes like this would ever happen. Guess what. The sales person who did not take care of her was black.
Another time, different store, different environment (I saw this SEVERAL times over the years) I had black men/couples come and complain, yelling and carrying on typically, about the sales help following them around the store! This was a very upscale store and each person that walked in had and individual salesperson who waited in order for a customer to be assigned to. Commission was the lion's share of the salary. If they did not need immediate attention and wanted to browse, the salesperson was to be in constant surveillance for as soon as their body language suggest they now needed help. They could not take another customer till that one left.
So, in giving them the same upscale service they felt harassed and discriminated against.
So... anecdotal stories are great but how we interpret them often a miss.