By Sarah Goldman & Don Valentine
He-Said: I’m trying to understand what the phrase “White Privilege” really means. My query is it a canard, a myth? You know, like “QAnon,” the Klan, or the secret “Illuminati?”
She-Said: I’ve said this be-fore, but I think what we call racism is actually based on classism–in general, anyone not White is relegated to a lower class. Whites even recognize strata within our own gene pool to denigrate “White-Trash” and the homeless. Financial status is the key factor.
He-Said: That is an interesting and shockingly consistent definition I get from all the White people I have broached on this topic. All over the country, I keep getting the recitation that “White Privilege” is really just “Rich Privilege.”
Pal, I have to take issue with you on that definition. You don’t have the luxury/burden of having my level of melanin. Let me paraphrase from the classic book by Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird: “…until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
No matter your excess or lack of wealth, you wake up each morning as a White person. That is the magic key to immediate acceptance. Juxtaposed to you, myself and most of our readers wonder each morning what scrutiny, dispersion, or tribulation we will face.
An easy example to eradicate your definition is what happened to Oprah Winfrey. Oprah is easily one of the top 5 most recognizable Black people on the globe. Recall how she got snubbed at a fashion store in Switzerland. CNN reported “Oprah Winfrey says she was the victim of racism on a recent trip to Switzerland when a shop assistant refused to show her a handbag because it was “too expensive.” Now elaborate for me again how all you need is money to be respected