Learned Hand once cautioned "not to make a fortress out of a dictionary."
I'd like to suggest a definition by example for "white privilege," in a slightly less charged context.
Two men in their 20s, one white and one black, are standing about 10 feet apart on 8th Avenue and 46th Street. Both are hailing a cab. It is a well-documented fact that the cab will, most of the time, pick up the white dude, even if he is farther up the street. That's white privilege. It's also white privilege that the white guy had no idea why he got the cab (because he had not given it a thought). Every black man in America knew. {You can extrapolate to a police encounter if you want.} |
