And while I'm being all political...

[layla]

This guy makes some damn good points about white privilege. Regardless of how I feel about the McCain-Palin and Obama-Biden tickets, and how the media's been treating Sarah Palin (and about Tim Wise as well *cough*) ... if you flip it around and postulate a black candidate with Palin's particular set of qualifications and disadvantages (unwed teenage daughter, shaky collegiate history, gun-toting future son-in-law, strongly religious and belongs to a politically-charged church), and consider how such a candidate would be viewed by the American mainstream -- makes kind of a contrast, doesn't it?

Comments

[vogelein.livejournal.com]

Just out of curiosity, how has the media been treating Tim Wise? I thought the essay was excellent, so I assume you mean they're fawning all over him as the white guy who can finally speak clearly about racism, regardless of how many people of color have done so with equal clarity.

[laylalawlor.livejournal.com]

Oops, no, my wording is unclear; I meant how *I* feel about Tim Wise, which is ... conflicted. Basically he's a white guy who makes a living off other people's oppression, as their self-appointed advocate. I'm very uncomfortable with that, and I think of his essays as, basically, a secondary source on racism and oppression, not a primary source. He makes some good points, though.