Can we really appeal to white people’s morality: Of Power and Privilege

I realize that, fortunately or unfortunately, a lot of people aren’t going to fight too hard against their own self interests and against any advantages that they and their children may have, despite how unfair or wrong it may be. That’s just the way it is!

As an example (and no, it’s not a perfect example or analogy, because I’m well aware that the system of white supremacy and white privilege is a lot worse and causes a lot more damage, so don’t step to meet with silliness), let’s consider the women in Germany, for example. I have been told that the women in Germany LOVE American black men/soldiers. So if I was interested in dating German women and realize that I have a 50% chance (if not more) in dating them just by showing up due to their desire for black men… would I really want to go out of my way to say, “You know, I’m glad you all have a preference for my type and all, but don’t you think you should give ALL guys a chance? It’s not right! You need to give other men as much opportunity to be with you as much as you give me”? Doubt it.

Another example may be if a someone was sleeping with someone who they knew was married. As immoral as it may be, many simply won’t say, “You know, I’m glad you like me and all, but don’t you think it’s wrong the way that you are doing your spouse? Why are you giving me all this passionate attention when you could be giving it to them?”

And so it may be when it comes to white privilege. A lot of white people probably know that it’s not right or fair that they have it. They understand that they (as individuals) didn’t earn it. They may even talk a good game about how it’s unfair how black people and other people of color are and have been treated.

However, how hard are most of them REALLY going to fight for equality, knowing that they and their children have a 50% or more of a chance to succeed just by being white? If they know that, even a white person with a felony might get a job over a black person with a misdemeanor (or less), would they really want to give that up? If they know that their kids will always have a better chance of getting a job AT LEAST over people of color and that they and their children will be seen as authorities on subjects just because they are white… do they really want to give that up?

That being the case, how much is appealing to their morality really going to work? Granted, it may be that some people in power may actually do some self reflection and realize the error of their ways. However, it seems that for many people, doing the right thing is difficult, especially if it conflicts with their own self interests or gets in the way of what they want. And asking people to give up power and privilege might be a hard ask.

By the way, to those people who seem to be ignorant as to what white privilege actually is, it doesn’t mean that white people can’t have a hard life or go through hard times.

It just means that, generally speaking, it won’t be because they are white and it also means that a lot of times, being white can still work more as an advantage then a disadvantage. Perhaps a better phrase would be “white advantage” if it helps people to comprehend it more. I like to use height privilege as an example. Just because a man is 6 feet tall in itself doesn’t mean that women are going to be throwing themselves at him left and right. However, height tends to be an advantage when it comes to attracting women in a lot of cases (though there are apparently some exceptions). So another phrase for height privilege would be height advantage.

The same thing as pretty privilege. Yes, pretty women may have hard times and, unfortunately, may suffer from things like sexual assault, harassment, and different things, but by and large, people are aware that they also get certain privileges or certain things handed to them based on being considered attractive, however unfair it may be.

In any case, power generally isn’t conceded or given up just for the asking, not even due to an appeal for morality or out of the goodness of their hearts or anything. For example, think about a school bully. He could bully another kid, put their heads in the toilet, take their lunch money, and all kinds of stuff. Now granted, the kid who is being bullied could come up to them and say, “You know, what you did to me wasn’t right. I didn’t do anything wrong to you, I’m just trying to get an education like you and I don’t think it’s fair that my money was taken. It would be the right thing to do for you to give me my money back. So how about it?” If you are familiar with bullies (perhaps you were even one yourself), how well do you think that would work in order to get the bully to give the money back? Well, there you go.

So, fortunately or unfortunately, I am not sure if appealing to white people’s alleged sense of morality in itself is going to be what brings change. I’m not sure exactly what other options there are though and this isn’t to say that there aren’t white people out there who are moral enough beings to fight against racial injustice and oppression. I’m sure that there are quite a few of them, at least quite a few who know that it’s not right. It’s just that giving up power and privilege is not an easy thing for a lot of people.

Yes, one can say that people should just be fair, just, and do right by other people out of the goodness of their hearts simply because it’s the right thing to do. They can say that all night. Unfortunately, it seems that for a lot of people, the concept of being a good person or doing the right thing in itself simply isn’t enough motivation for them to do or not do anything. In fact, just being good for goodness’ sake probably motivates a lot fewer people than one would like to think. Generally speaking, people are motivated to do things for other reasons. Yes, some people do things for others out of love and out of the goodness of their hearts, a lot of times for people who are their family, friends, and loved ones. Although it is true that some people may do nice things for even strangers out of the goodness of their hearts, so I suppose people aren’t total monsters.

That being said, unfortunately, it seems that a lot of people are typically only motivated to do things due to a couple of other different reasons: fear or reward.

“Power concedes nothing without a demand.”

“A person is only motivated by two things, self interests and fear” — Napoleon Bonaparte?

A lot of times, if people aren’t afraid of the repercussions of doing the wrong thing or if they don’t feel that they will get rewarded for doing the right thing, a lot of people simply have no interest in doing or not doing certain things. This may be the case for a lot of white people. Sure, you can tell them that it’s not right for them to have a 70% chance of getting a job over another person based on skin color. You can tell them that it’s not right for their kids to have a better chance at getting ahead just by their family name, etc. They may even agree with you, but asking them to give that up in the name of rightness or fairness is probably a big ask that they simply don’t want to give into unless they feel that there is going to be some type of reckoning or repercussions in some way or unless they feel that they are somehow going to get something out of it.

This is where we’re at folks. Make no mistake, some white people are suffering under this system to. It’s a hierarchal system, after all. There are the elite capitalist whites at the top who have pretty much thrown everyone else under the bus, it’s just that they have given other white people a little more privilege than their darker counterparts. After all, even a man known as Lyndon B. Johnson once said:

So when it comes to the fight for justice and equality, somehow, some way, you have to let the people in power know that you’re not asking, you’re demanding. How you choose to do it is up to you. There are things that can be done, such as organized mass boycotts, etc. (since one way to hurt the elite is to hurt their money), but appealing to their morality and asking for them to give up power and privilege probably shouldn’t be the only method. You have to let the people in power know plainly, “Respect existence or expect resistance.”

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