I wanted to make a statement about white privilege and its use to justify the behaviors of others. White privilege is a real thing, but I also think it is taken to an extreme. Racism is a pernicious evil in any iteration, but it is also an inescapable fact that virtually everyone who posts on this forum likely holds at least some racial prejudice. Since whites still generally hold the majority of the nation’s power, minorities still suffer from some unfortunate aspects of white privilege.
That said, it is not a universal situation, nor is it an excuse. I find it hard to believe that anyone here who justifies the wrongs of a member of a minority would believe that that individual is somehow inferior to whites. Yet, when you justify those actions, you are in fact dropping the average level of dialogue. You are lowering your expectations of minorities.
For instance, I may say that I do not approve of Malcolm X’s methods or the Black Panthers. I may say that I do not approve of racist comments by “Reverend” Jeremiah Wright. I may say that I think there is a certain amount of oversensitivity on certain topics, such as selling football players (of all races) on a fantasy football game. Yet, I have no say on these things because of white privilege. How does this argument elevate the level of dialogue. How does lowering the expectations of blacks (or Latinos, or Asians, or women, or LGBT) so that they actually are pardoned for glaring offenses, while I as a white man would be condemned for often unintentional mistakes, promote a nation of equality.
Really, pardoning such behaviors only furthers racial strain. It convinces black people to see malicious intent in even the benign, which decreases dialogue. It holds people to different standards, and people only live up to (or down to) what you expect of them. In other words, in the interest of racial equality and my love towards minorities, I am actually admitting that I expect less from members of a minority! It fosters feelings of unfairness among many whites. And yes, if a white man is insecure, he must be racist, I know, but the reality is not truly so simple. However, there are varying degrees of racism, and holding people to different standards will only drive those who may be on the fence on their racist views deeper into them.
Regardless of the extent of white privilege, we should never (or perhaps seldom, since only Sith deal in absolutes) hold whites and blacks to different levels of expectations. If we do, we prolong the divide. If we hold the same expectations, blacks (whom we all agree are equal to whites) will rise to meet those standards. Whites will come to see the equality and recognize it more. Instead of ostracizing those who fail to see the equal value, we give opportunities for all sides to come together and recognize the value on their own.
Whites are not genetically more prone to racism. Blacks are not somehow immune to it. We must fight it in all its forms and from all sources. Otherwise, those who claim to advocate for equality only continue to perpetuate inequality.