He’s presented some good info as have others. Not sure how he decides his opinion is fact but that’s ok too. I’m not saying there isn’t privilege, advantage and disadvantages everywhere. I just don’t agree that white privilege exists in the manner presented and applies to all whites.
Good point. It does not apply to all whites, but allow me to give you an example of circumstances that vastly changed a lot of people's lives. You're probably too young to have experienced this.
College students graduating from college in 1973 saw a very different landscape than those graduating in 1968-71. Recruiters were on campus earlier to recruit employees. Big companies, IBM, Colgate, big banks, etc. The prevailing thought in the late '60's, early '70's was that we'd all go to college and, graduate and get a good job.
A series of events, particularly the oil embargo, changed the economy drastically. The recruiters quit coming, we all had to literally pound the pavement to get a job. I had to go to the therapeutic side of recreation because there were no jobs in the private sector, nor the government sector.
Many of my friends just a few years older just breezed in, being hired by J&J, IBM, Pfizer, big banks. They weren't any smarter, nor any better than the rest of us. We just had a bad economy, and combine that with Viet Nam, it was not a fun time. It was one of the reasons I went to Brazil.
We had to take jobs as "assistants, aides", etc., that did not require a degree, because we "didn't have significant work experience, 2 years in the field." It took 18 months for me to get a job as an RT at Sunland, because there was only a director and 3 "aides" in the department. Until we received a grant, there were no therapist positions, but we 3 "aides" all had degrees. The grant provided us with two positions.
It's just the way it happened. Personally, to me, there were bigger issues. Women were paid less than men, women didn't get positions, etc. One place where I applied in metro NY, the International big guys told me they would like to hire me, but I needed to be aware that my immediate boss was opposed to working with a woman, so they were leaving the decision up to me. They were willing to tell the guy that he would just have to accept it. But, I realized the futility in working with someone who resents your presence, so I turned it down. And, I would have loved that job.
Sometimes its just the way life turns out, and it's no one's fault. It's a set of circumstances at a time that governs the outcome.
In today's world, my boss in 2000 would not have been able to get rid of all of the women over the age of 40. But, he got away with it in 98-2000.