As a black man I can tell you that the major stumbling block for blacks today is not racism.  But this insistent need to see themselves as victims, and the chip many have on their shoulders that says, “whites owe me.”

How many white James Byrds do you think there are every year without so much of a peep from the media?

The quote 'white men can't jump' itself is an indication of the racism that white males have to endure every day by the sports media(notice how it doesn't talk about white women or Asian people who can't jump any better), which means if you are black then you can automatically play basketball better than a white person(black privilege).

Also by claiming racism is the same as white supremacy, you are also giving black people the privilege to be as racist and discriminatory as they want because in most people's minds the KKK symbolizes racism while the New Black panthers symbolizes your every day friendly socialists that just want to kill white people because of all the suffering they supposedly went through.

What about channels like VH1 that have shows where black musical superiority is thought to be a given and somehow white people automatically can't keep rhythm or 'don't have soul'?

Don't even get me started on the new sexual stereotypes that white men now face without so much as a chance to prove anyone wrong(I have had this happen to me, so I imagine it is extremely common if a non social person can experience this)

To talk about white privilege in a clearly anti white world that tramples any white person who dares to demand that they should be treated equally, is mindless.

Thank you so much for making the point I was hoping to make, in a much more succinct, eloquent manner.  This is precisely what I was getting at.

I intended it as an exercise in awareness, as you've said, and I think that thinking critically about the realities that surround us (versus just our own reality) is crucial for growth. 

Thank you for this.  I appreciate you taking the time to comment.

What interesting points you make here!  I wasn't aware of what you had mentioned here with albinos–fascinating.  Religion, on the other hand, is a tricky subject–while I think that most stereotypically “religious” persons genuinely mean well, there is an unspoken (or sometimes spoken) marginalization that naturally evolves with the group-think mentality.  Whether or not that's something that can ever be avoided is up for debate, but I think that naturally, humans form groups in order to find that sense of belonging…therefore, by marginalizing others, we're somehow reinforcing our own group, and hence our own identity, which is really bizarre because it would seem to suggest that things like racism aren't necessarily a function of other people, but rather a reflection on ourselves. 

Thank you so much for stopping by with your fantastic input! Welcome to the site.  Glad to have you here!

I remember reading a little article written by Quest Love of the Roots.  He talked about how as a big black man, just about every time he flies, he gets strip searched and interrogated.  That's just the territory that comes with being a big black man at an airport.  So, there's one example of white privilege for you.  You can fly without getting harassed.

David says we're a group, but that we should think beyond groups. I don't get it.

I agree that we should all be thinking as one, but the world just isn't ready for that, and as long as we propagate the race stereotypes, then we'll never move beyond this wall, which is exactly what it is.

Racism is a wall created to protect people from what they fear or don't understand. As long as people don't jump the wall, then for the most part, things remain fine. The problem occurs when you try to knock down someone's wall and they aren't ready for it. The initial response is aggression and animosity, which is normal.

There are always going to be groups because that's how we relate to the world…it gives us perspective and a place to call home. Wildebeests hang with others like them, just as Elephants hang out with other Elephants. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

In my opinion, the problem lies at the top. The government creates dividers because it's easier to manage the people. It's all about balance. This is why the NAACP is “OK,” but the NAAWP is racist.

Eventually, this will either shift to the opposite side of the scale, or someone brave enough will step up to rally people not towards forced acceptance, but to understanding.

By the way, I know your post didn't go here, and I'm not labeling you as the problem…I'm just making my full case so I can finally say my peace and walk away.

Have a happy Thursday!

Try lifting people up instead of bringing yours down.

Sent from a Blackberry

Saying that is like saying the only difference between a man and a woman is their genitals. (It's not… it will be a very long time before the average man is not physically stronger than the average woman… science has unequivocally proven that men make more testosterone and testosterone makes you physically stronger)

It just simply isn't the case – The reason there are races are because in different parts of the world humans evolved differently due to different selection pressure.  It is biology and it is pretty limited to think the only selective pressure differences between Africa and Europe was the amount of sunlight.

A couple of examples -
Asians never had selective pressure to be tolerant of lactose and alcohol and in general they are significantly less tolerant of lactose and alcohol.
Tibetans have selective pressure to be tolerant of high altitudes = When a Tibetan breaths their blood absorbs more oxygen than the average human.
Native American's are FAR more likely to develop alcohol addiction – They are more likely to have the gene combination which creates a predisposition towards alcoholism.  Native Americans never had a selective pressure against acquiring that gene because they didn't traditionally drink alcohol.  Europeans had selective pressure against it because they did an alcoholics were less likely to have successful offspring than non-alcoholics.

Look at football/basketball – Black people greatly outnumber white people in positions like running back or receiver (white people are far more likely to be offensive linemen) at the elite level.  Considering the stakes at the elite level why would that be the case OTHER than because for whatever reason black people experiences stronger selective pressures towards athleticism than europeans? (I would argue that the selective pressure has something to do with agriculture).
Is it that hard to imagine that the type of agriculture possible in Europe was different than in Africa – and that those differences meant that the fastest Africans had the greatest likelyhood of reproductive success whereas in Europe speed didn't make you more likely to reproduce?

I'm not saying that all differences except skin are genetic, that would be ignorant of me… to say all differences except skin are cultural is equally ignorant in my opinion.

One last note – Red heads have a higher tolerance to pain on average – their bodies produce more endorphins than people with other hair colors.

Interesting how things work.

Mind you, as soon as Ian opens his mouth, he's deemed as “that foreign boy” because he has a sexy South African accent. Again, interesting how things work.