The Strange Career of White Privilege.

The Strange Career of White Privilege. By VICTOR DAVIS HANSON

https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/07/strange-career-of-white-privilege/

I sometimes point out that Italians, Greeks, and Portuguese were not considered White until well into the 20th century. My paternal grandfather was cursed at when he worked on a railroad in the early 1900s, for "taking a White man's job". Irish were not called colored, but were heavily discriminated against for many decades. Generally Brits, Scots, Germans, Scandinavians, and French were accorded "Whiteness" when they got here. Most of them adapted and learned English, kept their cuisine and culture and religion, but didn't make big waves. Of course, they were all part of Judao-Christian values, so that did make it an easier transition. Has there been such a thing as White privilege? Sure, and there still is in some ways, but it's now much more about class distinctions, where you went to college, who your family knows, how much money or power they have. Most corporations, given the choice between a White boy from Notre Dame or a minority girl from Harvard, will go for the girl if her qualifications are anything like the boy's. Will there still be remnants of bias even in industry and other places, where some people doing the hiring will look without enthusiasm at a Black, a gay, a woman, a Sikh, or some other subgroup? Sure, but the vast bulk of the society knows better now. (Of course, if the candidate shows up for the job at the bank wearing a tie dyed shirt, jeans with holes in them, and flip-flops, plus maybe some big tatoos and a ring in the nose, they may not show up high on the possible hiring list. Even if they're very White.) Bottom line for me is that subdividing everyone into smaller and smaller specialized groups is really a bad idea. Let's go back to the content of the character. And maybe enough smarts to show up neatly dressed for the interview. --Del