I read this email from a reader, and now I’ve spent the whole day checking all over my house to find my privilege. I don’t know, I must have misplaced it:
Hi Matt,
First I’d like to say that you are the absolute worst. I’ve got you blocked on Facebook and I’ve unfollowed anyone who Retweets your horrible bull sh*t. I think you’re a genuinely bad person who somehow stumbled upon a way to make a lot of money writing hateful sh*t on the internet. Congrats. You’re one of the internet’s most famous douchebags. Your mother must be so proud. I just want to tell you that the world has had enough of cisgender white guys whining about all of the evil women and minorities. Even though I’ve done everything to avoid your articles, for some reason I still come across them. I decided to read your last couple of posts, and all I saw was a privileged white middle class man telling women how to live our lives. You’ve been so protected and coddled that you don’t even realize how stupid you sound.
It’s easy when everything is handed to you in life. It’s easy when you don’t have to worry about rape, discrimination, microaggressions, and systematic oppression. It’s easy when OUR ENTIRE SOCIETY is set up to give you, the Straight White Man, all of the privileges and advantages. The patriarchy exists to elevate you above everyone else, and you still have the f*cking nerve to complain that women are allowed to use birth control or gays are allowed to love each other? Life is easy for you. You sit at home and blog all day. You have no idea what it’s like for the rest of us. You have no idea what you have to go through when you don’t have the benefit of being a privileged white suburban male. I know you like to laugh about all of the “silly girls” in gender studies classes, but maybe you should actually do some research on the subject yourself. I can send you my textbooks if you want. White males have been responsible for the worst oppressions from the crusades all the way to f*cking slavery, and now you cry that your “religious freedom” is violated because women are using birth control? You’re f*cking disgusting. Check your privilege, assh*le.
-Kira
Hi Kira,
Fine.
Go ahead and assume that everything has been handed to me.
Assume that I was issued a White Dude Membership Card, and I can pull it out in any situation — job interview, traffic court, airport security, Six Flags, etc — and automatically receive first class treatment.
Assume that I’m privileged.
Assume that I’ve been protected and coddled.
Assume that there’s a thing called ‘the patriarchy’ and its single goal is to push me and my ilk into positions of power and prestige (I’m still waiting — apparently there’s been a backlog over at Patriarchy Headquarters).
Assume that life is easy for me.
Assume that I’ve never struggled.
Assume that I’ve never been discriminated against, or abused, or oppressed.
Assume that the term ‘microaggressions’ actually means something, and that I’ve never experienced it, and that it makes sense for you to call me “f*cking disgusting” in the same email where you say that nobody’s ever insulted me.
Assume that everything I have — even my blogging success — is the result of my privilege.
Assume that I just sit in my house and blog all day, even though that isn’t true. A lot of the time I sit at Starbucks.
Assume.
And I suppose I could make assumptions about you.
I could assume that mommy and daddy paid for your college education.
I could assume that you’ve never had to support yourself.
I could assume that you’ve never had real responsibilities.
I could assume that you’ve never lived hungry and broke and tired, like I have.
I could assume that you sneer and dismiss other people’s accomplishments, even though you have no accomplishments of your own.
I could assume that you blame your misery and failures on the ‘patriarchy’ and ‘male privilege’ because you’re too cowardly to take ownership of them.
I could assume that, in real life, you’re as bitter and hateful as this email seems to indicate.
And, in the end, what have we accomplished? You assume that by the mere fact of being a Caucasian male I’m as privileged and elite as the wealthy son of an oil tycoon, and I assume that you’re an oblivious, sheltered, brainwashed, insufferable liberal college student. We both negate the other based on the caricature we’ve painted, and then we go on with our lives. This whole exchange proves utterly pointless, but at least we get to stay in our comfort zones where our ideological opponents are narrow and manageable categories, rather than dynamic and uncontainable individuals.
But I guess that is the point, isn’t it? The ‘white male privilege’ shtick wasn’t invented to foster a dialogue, it was invented to suppress it. You tell someone to ‘check their privilege’ because you want to discount everything they just said. It’s a Get Out of Thinking card. It allows you to push wide swaths of people into a nice little box labeled ‘privileged’ and summarily disqualify every thought and idea they bring to the table.
This is what I hate about progressivism. It’s such a dry, gray, joyless thing. It leaves no room for anyone to have an actual identity of their own. It doesn’t illuminate. It doesn’t enlighten. It doesn’t encourage open expression. It simply turns the lights off and tells everyone to shut up and play along.
Kira, life is much deeper than your college professors told you. People are vastly more complicated than you give them credit for. It’s absolutely laughable, in a pathetic sort of way, that you think you can write someone’s autobiography just because you’ve observed their skin color and their gender. Check my privilege? Check your arrogance, ma’am. Check your prejudice. Check your assumptions. Check your ignorance. Check your intellectual cowardice. Check your complete inability to prove that I have ‘privileges,’ because you know nothing about me or my life story.
Check your habit of shoving people into groups and categories.
Check your preconceptions.
As a matter of fact, check your dictionary.
Privilege means “a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most.”
Can you name me one particular right or immunity that I possess and you do not? What is one specific and tangible benefit that white males universally enjoy, while all other people are deprived of it?
I can think of many privileges (though the list is quickly dwindling) inherent to living in a first world constitutional republic. But you, I think I can safely say, are not emailing me from a third world dictatorship. So in this country, what is it that all white men are given which all women and minorities are not?
Men can be drafted and women can’t, but I’m not sure if that’s necessarily a privilege. More like a responsibility or a duty or, in some cases, a death warrant.
What else?
Go ahead. Give me one. Just one. And remember, you have to think of a benefit given by society (not nature, not God) to ALL white males.
And before you answer, consider the fact that millions of males have been sexually abused.
And consider the fact that millions of white males are impoverished, disenfranchised, unemployed, hungry, homeless, and suffering.
And consider the fact that millions of ‘privileged cisgender white men’ are depressed, distraught, and downtrodden.
And consider the fact that plenty of white males have been victimized, beaten, robbed, and murdered.
And consider the fact that 40 percent of domestic violence victims are men.
And consider the fact that affirmative action makes it legal — sorry, I mean mandatory — to discriminate against white males specifically because of their race and gender.
This white male privilege, whatever it is, better be evident even in spite of these realities, and it better hold up even when comparing trailer park Joe to Paris Hilton, or Jim the janitor to Kanye West.
(Continued on next page)
443 Comments
Leave a commentI was born in a rather economically troubled country, in a poor family, in a disreputable dsitrict. What do you think I should do? Try and make the most of what I have? Or keep whining: “Oh, if only I was born as a good-looking American in a yuppie family! Check your not-being-me privilege!”
When you think about it, EVERYONE are “privileged” compared to someone else. If Ajaya was born as a daughter of illiterate beggars in Calcutta, Barry was born as a black boy from a low-income family in a poor neighborhood, Charlie was born as a white man in an average middle-class family, and Don was born as a (white) heir of succesful bankers, then why is Barry the only one allowed to complain about Charlie and Don’s “privileges”? And just what are Ajaya, Barry and Charlie going to achieve by angrily blaming those “above” them for not being born as underprivileged as possible?
Some men just plain don’t care. They aren’t interested in fairness, they are just fighting for dominance. If they already have it, they will just laugh, ignore reason, and carry on until some force threatens their power.
The funny thing is that you didn’t actually list any privileges.
A) Jesus, okay so I think it is well known that Jesus is often inaccuracy portrayed as a looking white. So how is that a privilege? I mean has anyone ever gone to an interview and been told “hey I wasn’t going to hire you but hey you look like a painting of Jesus I once saw so welcome on board”? You could argue that it has some subconscious effect but I think if you where being honest with your self you would be unable to ID an actual, tangible, privilege. and it is not like non-whites cannot have a depiction of Jesus that looks like them. I have seen plenty of black and even Asian Jesus images.
B) “I got into Stanford without having my peers suspect that I only got in because of my race.” is white privilege?
Okay well first you are getting into assumptions territory that Matt was talking about, but I will get to that in a minute. Even if this is true, it still doesn’t equal a tangible privilege. This will not alter anyone’s grades or ability to succeed. I suppose a potential employer might not hire someone if they think they only got into school because of their race, but this is doubtful because A) Regardless of why they got in they still graduated from Stanford and B) If affirmative action is in place (officially or unofficially) then they are still more likely to get the job than their white counterparts. Of course, this all exists because of a privilege given to minorities. Why would people wonder if that person might have gotten in because of their race? Hmm, probably because it is known that some races get preferential treatment in regards to admission. Then there is assumption that no one makes assumptions (or wonder about) what others have gotten. After almost 7 years in college, I can say that students make many assumptions about each other, good and bad. These may cause problems they may not, but I see no evidence that minority students are disproportionately affected. Of course, none of this matters because your statement is contradicts its own assumptions. If people wondering if a minority got something because of race is a privilege for whites, then isn’t people looking at whites and wondering if they got something from white privilege a privilege to minorities…. I think the answer is that this is all non-sense.
I get what he is saying. There are millions of white males who don’t benefit from being the group in control of the world’s policies and economy. But to say there is no stereotypical bias in the hiring process in the U.S. where black people are painted as lazy and a bad hire after hundreds of years of them being painted as such. Is kind of absurd. And you don’t have to look far to find White people who promote that their “race” is better than all others. And they are much more common in the white race than any other group of people. the irony is the people who pushed this idea onto us all wouldn’t find themselves in the same location as the vast majority of white people. let alone any other group.
Well said. Every bit of it, including all the PSes at the end.
I am pretty sure that if we look at statistics, white males have the highest rate of suicide of any other group in this country. I would hardly call that “privileged,” in fact, I call it horribly, terribly sad, and a far worse struggle than some women who can’t get free birth control or a homosexual whose love for someone of the same gender is not openly accepted by all of humanity. Maybe the problem here is that people like this woman who wrote the email think that somehow there should be no suffering in the world, that everything should always be exactly even, fair, the same. It’s impossible, and reality needs to be accepted! All we can do is help minimize people’s suffering – but it will always be there.
A friend of mine recently told me how her husband was passed over for jobs due to women and minorities being hired ahead of him. Sounds like they have been given a privilege, unless it was a coincidence every time it happened. Speaking as a female, I bet it is pretty darn difficult to be a man!
Never heard the term “cis” before. Is that a hard C or a soft C? Is it a kiss or a sis? Kira is the perfect example of the end result of messing with and manipulating language; of trying to label everything to make it more “real”. Little wonder we live in a world populated by her ilk. Ilk. Now there’s a word.
‘cis’ is a prefix that’s mostly used in chemistry: “Denoting or relating to a molecular structure in which two particular atoms or groups lie on the same side of a given plane in the molecule”.
A ‘trans’ molecule then has a molecular structure in which two particular atoms lie on the opposite sides.
So cisgender means your gender identity is the same as your biological sex while transgender means your gender identity is the opposite of your biological sex.
Also, soft C, as in ‘sis’.
@ EvaM
“So cisgender means your gender identity is the same as your biological sex while transgender means your gender identity is the opposite of your biological sex.”
In other words, a term for psychologically healthy people, as opposed to deeply mentally ill people who think they are or can ever become the opposite sex.
It’s tragic how many people have been destroyed by this lie, this delusion. And yet people keep on promoting it.
Horrifying.
Mo,
“In other words, a term for psychologically healthy people, as opposed to deeply mentally ill people who think they are or can ever become the opposite sex.”
No. No ‘other words’ to forward your own ridiculous, bigoted, ignorant views. Just the actual definition of a condition that real people have and that real people have to deal with – and something they don’t need you giving them crap for.
“It’s tragic how many people have been destroyed by this lie, this delusion. And yet people keep on promoting it.”
You seriously make me sick. Supporting people’s personal decisions and listening to them and opening our minds to understanding what they’re going through on a basis beyond our own experiences is….’promoting a delusion’?
The only ‘delusion’ here is yours. This little world you live in where anyone who isn’t cisgenderend or heterosexual are ‘mentally ill’ is much much more delusional than understanding the complexities of gender identity and construction.
It’s amazing how when certain “progressive” people can’t contradict the statements made in this blog (because they are absolutely true!), they cry foul…saying Kira is made up. Good intelligent argument since the topic of the blog is faceless, nameless keyboard warriors…not! The truth is a bitter pill to swallow, so rather than face it, let’s discredit something else. Give me a break liberals! Go find one of your own’s blogs and preach to the choir over there! Buh-bye!
What “truth” does Matt offer here? Assuming the letter is genuine, Matt rips on the author for making assumptions about him… in turn, he makes an assumption that she is a liberal.
Personally, outside of the media and this lame blog, I’ve never heard of white man privilege; leading me to believe it is a made up thing. So, if Matt is arguing, with himself, that he’s not privileged, I would have to believe that he is privileged in order to argue against his claim. I don’t think Matt Walsh is privileged and I doubt anyone here is arguing that he is. In fact, I don’t think anyone uses the word “privileged in this day and age. A privilege is a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others. “Leftists” as you people call us, believe in equality… so why would a liberal write a poorly written letter to Matt claiming he has benefits or rights that aren’t extended to others.
I honestly find this blog to be void of any intellectual content. I think anyone commenting negatively isn’t arguing with the logic of the post because the post isn’t logical. a) you have believe there is such a thing as white man privilege, b) you have to believe that Matt, as a white male, is privileged, c) you have to buy his argument that Matt isn’t privileged.
He lost me at a).
Seriously, you pinpoint the absolute truth contained in this blog post and I’ll do my best to counter.
PWW, the mods weed out 75% of the “progressive” comments; especially the ones with substance. What you see is a small percentage of anti-Matt arguments; and only the really dumb ones. If anyone is afraid of “truth” it is your fearless blog author.
@ Thumper
“PWW, the mods weed out 75% of the “progressive” comments; especially the ones with substance. What you see is a small percentage of anti-Matt arguments; and only the really dumb ones. If anyone is afraid of “truth” it is your fearless blog author”
Now that’s a new one! (Notice how you can’t provide any actual arguments either. Just more baseless accusations. Typical leftist tactics.)
Thanks for the laugh!
What “truth” does Matt offer here? Assuming the letter is genuine, Matt rips on the author for making assumptions about him… in turn, he makes an assumption that she is a liberal.
Personally, outside of the media and this lame blog, I’ve never heard of white man privilege; leading me to believe it is a made up thing. So, if Matt is arguing, with himself, that he’s not privileged, I would have to believe that he is privileged in order to argue against his claim. I don’t think Matt Walsh is privileged and I doubt anyone here is arguing that he is. In fact, I don’t think anyone uses the word “privileged in this day and age. A privilege is a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others. “Leftists” as you people call us, believe in equality… so why would a liberal write a poorly written letter to Matt claiming he has benefits or rights that aren’t extended to others.
I honestly find this blog to be void of any intellectual content. I think anyone commenting negatively isn’t arguing with the logic of the post because the post isn’t logical. a) you have believe there is such a thing as white man privilege, b) you have to believe that Matt, as a white male, is privileged, c) you have to buy his argument that Matt isn’t privileged.
He lost me at a).
Seriously, you pinpoint the absolute truth contained in this blog post and I’ll do my best to counter.
I don’t know the percentage, but I have noticed posts with dissenting opinions are heavily filtered, to expose the easiest to argue with. Some of mine have been deleted for no apparent reason, and I’ve seen other posters claim the same.
@Thumper
I really like this blog, but I kind of agree with you: the person who wrote him that letter is a bit of a straw man (woman?). This isn’t to say that I agreed with anything that she said…I just feel that Matt could maybe pick a fight with someone his own size?
Thumper,
I’m not a fan of this blog, and the comment section seems to be nothing more than an avenue for Matt Walsh fans to pat him on the back, but mod filtering seems a bit farfetched. The comments show up right away, which means the blog is not moderating comments before posting, unless of course you’re inserting foul language. I think it’s just a badly programed comment section with a mix of browser caching.
As someone who posted a “progressive” reply, I take offense to your remark. Now that you’ve made it through the mod wall… care to enlighten us?
@Leila. I don’t see any comments to me. Sorry. Try again?
@Doug
Hmm, it seems the mods deleted my comment. I’ll try to remember what I wrote:
“Because minorities are not as successful as whites due to past oppression that has affected their standing in society today.”
What? Minorities aren’t successful? Asians, India nationals, Pakistanis etc. all do exceptionally well as a group.
Second, your statement is illogical. In America, no one has to be a victim of his ancestors misfortune. With appropriate effort, attitude, and decisions, anyone can rise above it. Stop the victimhood. No one is locked into doom.”
Asians, Indians, and Pakistanis are usually immigrant groups that already arrive to the US with money and/or education. That does not mean that they do not face their share of discrimination or stereotyping, but it is simply easier for them to succeed because they have not suffered oppression in this country. Plus, you are forgetting blacks, hispanics, and native americans, who are not as successful as whites.
Also, if you think this country is a meritocracy, you are living in a fantasy. Some people are born with more privileges than others and live in an environment where it is far easier for them to succeed. The son of a wealthy white businessman has more opportunities than a black woman living in poverty. Not everyone can rise above it. Some do, but they are the exception to the rule. People are largely a product of their environment. To expect the poor black woman to get out of a ghetto on her own is unfair because you are asking her to be exceptional on a level that most people cannot achieve. Instead, we should recognize our privileges and work together to help people of all races and genders to achieve equality.
@ Laila
“Asians, Indians, and Pakistanis are usually immigrant groups that already arrive to the US with money and/or education. That does not mean that they do not face their share of discrimination or stereotyping, but it is simply easier for them to succeed because they have not suffered oppression in this country.”
Asians most definitely HAVE suffered oppression in this country. During World War II Jim Crow laws were in effect. Black people could not eat at certain restaurants, use certain bathrooms or water fountains and generally had to sit in the back of a city bus or give up their seat for a white person. This was inconvenient for black people and a bad thing to be sure, but not so terribly awful that black people lost their freedom. At the same time during WWII anybody of Japanese decent in America was rounded up and forced to live in concentration camps. And let’s face it, this was a racist time and Asian people have a lot of physical similarities. Without studying more in depth I can’t prove this, but I would put money on the fact that Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and Korean people were also put in these concentration camps. I also highly doubt that the people in charge of these concentration camps cared much for the differences between a Chan (popular Chinese surname), a Seong (Korean surname) or a Nakamura (Japanese surname). Let’s also not forget the incredibly racist propaganda of the time that made Asian people out to be pointy-fanged, yellow-skinned monsters. After the war any Asian people would still be feeling the effects of such propaganda and likely find it very difficult to gain employment.
“Plus, you are forgetting blacks, hispanics, and native americans, who are not as successful as whites.”
What about the Irish? They suffered persecution at the same time as slaves. Sometimes they were treated worse than slaves.
“Some people are born with more privileges than others and live in an environment where it is far easier for them to succeed. The son of a wealthy white businessman has more opportunities than a black woman living in poverty.”
And Will Smith’s children have more opportunities than Matt Walsh’s will.
You’re very focused on what blacks, hispanics and native americans have suffered. Other groups of people have suffered just as much. The Jews are probably the most historically persecuted people group worldwide, but the Jews, as a whole, have risen above that and become successful. People should be treated equally no matter what race they belong to. Nobody should get special treatment. Not even special treatment designed to somehow make up for past injustices. Let’s move beyond what happened in the past and focus on the present. Everyone can succeed in life, no matter their social standing, if they work hard enough. That’s what America has traditionally stood for, hard work and determination. Not handouts and special gifts as half-meant apologies to something that happened in the past.
I recall mentioning that Asians did experience their share of discrimination in this country. Though tragic, their placement in concentration camps was a few short years. It was dehumanizing for sure, but it did not last last long enough to affect Asians’ social standing for generations to come. It was not the same as the 200+ years of systemic racism against blacks.
“Black people could not eat at certain restaurants, use certain bathrooms or water fountains and generally had to sit in the back of a city bus or give up their seat for a white person. This was inconvenient for black people and a bad thing to be sure, but not so terribly awful that black people lost their freedom.”
I think you should do some research on the effects of Jim Crow laws. Segregation was not just an inconvenience, it was dehumanizing. They lost their freedom to vote, to feel safe, to be seen as equal to the majority of the population. If a black person set up a business in a white neighborhood, they were lynched. If they dared to exercise their freedom to vote, they were lynched. I could go on and on, but you can look it up yourself. If that isn’t a loss of freedom, I don’t know what is. Please do some research before you make incredibly insensitive and ignorant statements.
“What about the Irish? They suffered persecution at the same time as slaves. Sometimes they were treated worse than slaves.”
I know the Irish were heavily discriminated against, but I wasn’t aware that they were treated worse than slaves. Do you have any evidence for this?
“And Will Smith’s children have more opportunities than Matt Walsh’s will.”
Just because you can point to a few successful black people, doesn’t mean systemic racism does not exist. You will always find exceptional people who were able to get out of poverty, but the majority will never have the opportunity. Individuals like Will Smith, Obama, and Oprah are the exception to the rule. By this logic, Frederick Douglass was evidence that “with hard work and perseverance” slaves could free themselves. We are largely the product of our environment.
“You’re very focused on what blacks, hispanics and native americans have suffered. Other groups of people have suffered just as much. The Jews are probably the most historically persecuted people group worldwide, but the Jews, as a whole, have risen above that and become successful. People should be treated equally no matter what race they belong to. Nobody should get special treatment. Not even special treatment designed to somehow make up for past injustices.”
Yes, Jews have risen above it, but in the past they were as disadvantaged in Europe as blacks are in America. They had their own ghettos (not referring to the WW2 ghettos) and were persecuted heavily, maybe even worse than blacks here. They lived in poverty for hundreds of years because of this, and SLOWLY were able to get out of it. I hope eventually blacks will be able to do this too, but we can speed up the process by enacting legislation that will help them achieve equality.
“Let’s move beyond what happened in the past and focus on the present. Everyone can succeed in life, no matter their social standing, if they work hard enough.”
You need to look at the historical context of poverty in the US. If poverty is largely experienced by minorities, it is not because they are lazy, it is because they were discriminated against in the past. Oppression has a ripple effect. If you fall into poverty because you were denied opportunities, your children will grow up in poverty as well, and so will their children. This is what is happening in America. Affirmative action exists so that EVERYONE can be recognized for their merits and be equal, regardless of the color of their skin. Right now, many minorities are not recognized for their achievements, or they lack the opportunities to display them. The funny thing is conservatives want a society that rewards people based on their talents and not their race, but so do liberals. We are not there yet, but we can be if we work together to raise up minorities so that they are on equal standing with whites.
@Laila: The son of a wealthy white businessman has more opportunities than a black woman living in poverty.
The son of a wealthy white businessman has more opportunities than a white boy living in povery, too. So?
The son of a wealthy BLACK businessman has more opportunities than a black woman living in poverty. So?
The son of a wealthy (anything) businessman has more opportunities than a black woman living in poverty….BUT, the children of that black woman DO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES that are only available to them in a free economic, free society. A socialistic society or a (European) society would sentence them to stay in their economic level. That woman’s children can do things: get an education (less so if school choice isn’t instituted); can open a business; can get an internship and learn a trade etc. No reason to be sentenced to victimhood.
PWW, Kira is not an elected spokesperson representing all people who identify as “progressive.” Real or fake, it is a hand-plucked example deliberately representing a negative “progressive” caricature. I don’t know what “pill of bitter truth” you’re talking about here, it’s just a response to a random email that’s very easy to pick apart. No one but her need answer for her.
@ Woman Who Knows Her Place
“Kira is not an elected spokesperson representing all people who identify as “progressive.””
She’s a great spokesperson for the leftist worldview. This is what leftists do and say all the time. All you have to do is look at the comments on this blog! (Unless those are faked by Matt too.)
Thanks for the laugh!
Woman Who Knows Her Place-
I am actually commenting on your earlier comment about how often comments with a dissenting opinion are rejected. This happens to me quite often. I have attempted to make comments numerous times that are rejected; they have no profanity, name calling or anything other than a dissenting view that would warrant them to be rejected. To me it is further proof that Matt wants to rig the discussion in his favor. This is why he uses his “hate mail” in his blog posts and erroneously states that they are representative of any people who lean to the left.
you are spot on!!!! His mockery tones and the decision to post this (hardly a gracious thing to do) it clearly done to pad his own opinion of himself. I’ve also noticed comments disappear when they go against Matt’s opinions. Cognitive dissidence at its best.
I think a lot of comments get lost in general: pro and con.
I think this blog’s server is weak.
@ Doug
“I think a lot of comments get lost in general: pro and con.
I think this blog’s server is weak.”
Generally I’ve noticed that longer comments take disproportionately longer times in moderation than shorter comments. I’ve had a longer comment take about 24 hours to make it through moderation while shorter comments made after the long comment make it onto the site hours before the long comment appears. I think sometimes people assume their comment is lost because it’s taking a long time to get through moderation.
@ Katrina
“you are spot on!!!! His mockery tones and the decision to post this (hardly a gracious thing to do) ”
Comments as illiterate, poorly written and content-free as this one deserve mocking.
Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You’re saying he shouldn’t have posted this letter from Kira? But if he had not, wouldn’t you continue to whine about not allowing opposing views?
“it clearly done to pad his own opinion of himself.”
Too funny!
“I’ve also noticed comments disappear when they go against Matt’s opinions.”
I guess I’m just hallucinating right now as I respond to yours?
“Cognitive dissidence at its best.”
What can you even say to that?
(Thanks for the laugh!)
You go Matt, you go.
I am dying laughing.
Well said. Evil prevails when good men do nothing and say nothing.
haha, i came across this article because some conservative family member shared this on facebook and agrees w/ this horseshit and i can’t stop laughing. matt, having social “privilege” doesn’t mean that your life is supposedly perfect, or that you are completely free from struggle, or that you can’t feel bad about bad things that happen to you. you’re thinking myopically and you have to think bigger than that. social “privilege” means that, compared to other historically oppressed groups, you will receive social benefits that will be granted to you simply because you have a certain skin tone, gender, and/or sexual orientation. for example, you will receive higher pay for the same amount of work done, you will never be racially profiled by the police or the TSA, you will have majority representation in all media (books, tv shows, etc) and, among many, many other things, you will have the privilege to be completely ignorant of your privilege and still consistently receive social benefits that not everyone else receives. anyway, thanks for the chuckle. stay pressed.
Lee,
Matt’s response was dead on considering what Kira directly accused him of. He’s responding to the content of her email, not the notion of “privilege” in general. The lesson is, I’m sure, duly appreciated. However, you render your argument lame by claiming Matt’s argument laughable. If you had anything substantial to say beyond the sociology lecture, full of important sounding yet statistically false assertions, great. But you didn’t. (Except for the hip way you recommend that Matt keep on hating. Reread Kira’s email, then Matt’s response, and decide which of the two qualifies to “stay pressed.”) In other words, laughing off someone else’s point of view makes it seem like you’ve got nothing of value to add to the discussion besides maybe some tired platitudes. And that’s pretty much what you brought to the table. Haha.
I have a problem where to put Kira in which box?
Should I put her in with the schwarzas, or the choesenite tribe or just the stupid shabus goyim box?
Kira which box do you belong??
Thumper,
I’m not a fan of this blog, and the comment section seems to be nothing more than an avenue for Matt Walsh fans to pat him on the back, but mod filtering seems a bit farfetched. The comments show up right away, which means the blog is not moderating comments before posting, unless of course you’re inserting foul language. I think it’s just a badly programed comment section with a mix of browser caching.
As someone who posted a “progressive” reply, I take offense to your remark. Now that you’ve made it through the mod wall… care to enlighten us?
BP, my comment was blocked but i’ll summarize… first, I don’t believe there is such a thing as “male privilege.” I’ve never heard of it outside of this blog. Second, i don’t believe Matt is privileged.
I would have to belive both of these things — that there is such a thing as male privilege and that Matt is privileged — to defend the writer of this hate mail. It seems to me that Matt is simply arguing with himself — defending himself against a ridiculous claim.
Finally, Matt’s only argument seems to be that people shouldn’t make assumptions… he then makes the mistake of assuming she is a liberal.
In short, I find the entire post pointless and absurd.
It wouldn’t be the first time Matt Walsh talked out of both sides of his mouth.
I’ve finally figured out Matt’s thing. He picks the most rude and ridiculous mail, and then responds in the same manner. It seems like Matt wants to say this stuff anyway, but uses the guise of hate-mail from a “liberal” (who else would it be?) to give him the “right” to be just as inflammatory. I hope I’m wrong, but that’s what it looks like to me.
[…] to say that either side isn’t a valid conclusion, but as some other bloggers have suggested using such remarks are really not intended to state a point so much as to quell debate. By saying […]
Acknowledging a problem exists is the first step to addressing the problem and ultimately eliminating it. If one refuses to acknowledge the problem, one is unlikely to ever act in a manner to address the problem. It is much like a person who refuses to acknowledge the differences in pay which still exist in the corporate world between males and females, as well as between different races. Does this mean that all women make less than all men, or all Blacks make less than all Whites? Hardly. A privilege need not be universally enjoyed to be prevalent. Furthermore, a privilege need not be availed of to still exist. Freedom, even unrealized freedom, is not universally enjoyed, and yet it is prevalent.
Lately the lines are getting blurred between white male privilege and race and sex based discrimination, but I believe it is a distinction worth mentioning. Privilege is enjoying something extra and undeserved, whereas discrimination is being denied something everyone deserves or has the right to enjoy. It is true that many people noticing racial or sexual discrimination mistake it for privilege on the part of those who are not its victims. This is a dangerous perspective as it normalizes discrimination at the expensive of the perception of privilege on the part of a scapegoat group which normally is not a victim and in some cases a perpetrator of such discrimination.
If I enjoy something that is undeserved, I don’t feel guilty or ashamed, nor do I feel obligated to apologize for it. I appreciate, and I hopefully avail myself of every advantage or opportunity it affords me; I’d be a fool not to. Being born in modern America is a privilege. I didn’t do anything to deserve it, I was simply fortunate enough to be born here. I am also privileged to be the child of college educated parents. That I am a white male is not a privilege, nor is it a right, it is merely a fact. That as a consequence I am almost never a victim of institutional racial or sexual racism is likewise not a privilege, it is merely a fact. That others are victims of institutional racism and sexism more frequently than I am is a disturbing and in many cases disgusting injustice.
Progressivism, like Conservatism, tends to speak in polarizing absolutes all the while denying that it does whilst simultaneously imputing such behavior to the other when it serves the argument and imputing the opposite behavior when that serves the argument. Sometimes they’re too absolutist, other times, they’re too wishy-washy and gray. The truth is, of course, that each disagrees about what the other person ought to be gray on and what they ought to be black or white on.
The fact is, institutional racism and sexism still exists in society. Such institutional racism is discrimination, it’s absence is not White Male Privilege. Those who are not victims of discrimination have every bit as much responsibility to ensure the elimination of institutional racism and sexism from society as those who are not victims, perhaps more so, especially if such individuals unconsciously perpetuate the discrimination, and most especially if they consciously contribute to it.
When someone tells me to check my White Male Privilege, my response is invariably… “The absence of discrimination towards me is not a privilege; it is something everyone should be able to enjoy.”
It is a fact that all people have not been oppressed equally. It is also a fact that historically–the main oppressors of each race, have been those of the same race/from the same continent. If we actually take the time to look throughout history we discover that the majority of black oppression was by other factions of black people in Africa. The majority of Native American oppression was by other factions of Native Americans. The whole “white privilege” issue is laughably generalized to: White=Oppressors of all races and Non-white=Oppressed. Did you know that slavery was huge amoung central/south American continents even before whites started in on it? Why are Latin Americans not considered “privileged” over black people? Did you know that certain factions of Native Americans had oppressed other factions of Natives for significantly more time than whites ever did? Why aren’t those with the oppressive ancestry considered “privileged” over other factions? With todays technology we could easily take a DNA sample of each person–look into their history and determine to a T exactly how much oppression the experience or committed.–and we would all be guilty….Non-whites included. The whole “white privilege” vs. everyone else is generalized to a almost laughable degree.
On another note “male privilege” does not exist (In this country). Males are not privileged over women in this day and age. In some ways yes, in many other ways females are “privileged” over men. We all know that the justice system largely favours women in cases of: divorce, domestic physical fights, children, child support, restraining orders, ect. The jails are overall filled with men, not women. This is not to say that the justice system does not favour men in some ways, or ever provide women with injustice—but men are definitely NOT privileged.
‘m always bothered by my own inability to address attacks like this – especially in the moment they are made. Einstein used to say “Let me think on this awhile.” It would have taken me more than awhile. I would have eventually come to the same conclusions – but could never have been as funny. Thanks for sharing your articulate answers with the rest of us.
So much wrong with this post.
This response pretty much nails it though;
http://antimattwalsh.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/ill-check-my-white-male-privilege-right.html
A very good read; a well thought-out, mature response. Worth reading.
@ EvaM
How hilarious! Someone actually made an anti-Matt site? Just because they couldn’t refute his ideas here?
And then they promote it here, so that people will go there?
Too funny!
@ Mo
“How hilarious! Someone actually made an anti-Matt site? Just because they couldn’t refute his ideas here?”
The anti-Matt site has been running for a while. Sometimes people do promote it here as a ‘rebuttal’ against whatever article of Matt’s they took offense to. The one article I actually read from some time ago was full of quotes from Matt’s article divorced of context of meaning and then beaten down. In short, as much as people love to rail against Matt for perceived strawman arguments that site put up their own strawman argument against Matt.
@ That Guy
“The anti-Matt site has been running for a while. Sometimes people do promote it here as a ‘rebuttal’ against whatever article of Matt’s they took offense to. The one article I actually read from some time ago was full of quotes from Matt’s article divorced of context of meaning and then beaten down. In short, as much as people love to rail against Matt for perceived strawman arguments that site put up their own strawman argument against Matt.”
Hilarious! I figured it was something like that. Heaven knows the folks here can never refute Matt’s points or at least thoughtfully engage with the content of what’s said. Good grief, how pathetic.
Well, at least they’ve made their own site instead of cluttering up this place even further. (I’m almost curious, but I’d rather not give the site any hits!)
Mo,
Yes, they did. They started their own blog so there was no chance of their comments not getting through ‘moderation’ – something many commenters have had done to them. Have you read it?
That Guy,
This article in particular is a very good read. Have you read it? No strawmans. No projections. Just an analysis of his arguments and their responses.
Interesting enough, while this response addresses the prison-industrial complex utilizing non-white races (which is true, absolutely) It fails to address that prisons are largely filled with MEN in general as opposed to women. Would this not be an example of male “privilege”? (And yes, this includes white men, as I have seen the justice system in action first hand against many white male friends.) Not to mention as I stated above: the justice systems obvious siding with women in a majority of: domestic fights, custody and child support, restraining orders, divorce, ect cases…Is this an example of “male privilege”? These would be examples of how Matt is in an “underprivileged” subset of the population. Why is this never mentioned by those liberals who are always screaming “check your privilege”? We all, whether liberal or not, can easily see that certain groups are statistically oppressed more in certain ways—but the idea whole “check your privilege” slogan is nothing more than a HUUUGE generalization—oftentimes not even based on actual statistics. What it is from what I have deduced: A way for those who are considered “underprivileged” to excuse poor decision making and to excuse themselves from trying hard in life. I never viewed myself as “underprivileged” because I am a female. To get my current job I went out almost every single day to places inquiring. All the while one black man I know claimed he could not get/hold onto a job because of “racism” He lost jobs because of lateness and missing work–due to staying up and drinking. He was having difficulty getting a new job because he wasn’t actively seeking one at the level that I was. (He mostly looked online, and only went out to places once every couple weeks as opposed to my every day) Yes, I realize that people may find me more desirable in some ways because I am a white–just as they may find a white physically fit male more desirable than me. –but I would not use my femaleness as an excuse for not trying hard or an excuse for irresponsible decision making.
Nicole, I don’t really know enough about the prison system to comment on it.
As far as court systems though, I believe that certain gender binaries and social stereotypes are at least partly to blame for that.
Men are seen as the physically superior sex (as Matt himself has pointed out on a few occasions) and so any fights between a couple would be largely seen as him being abusive, simply because he is the big strong male and she’s the weak little female. I wouldn’t call this female privilege at all. ‘Yay, we’re more easily construed as victims!’ hardly a privilege…
I would call that male privilege backfiring. The fact that men are seen as stronger, more naturally aggressive and more sexually dominant is the reason we have a huge problem with rape culture. The general social picture of what men should be means boys are acting out, raping girls and putting it on the internet (ever heard of #jadapose?) they’re competing amongst themselves to see who can have the most girls, they’re blaming ‘blurred lines’ of consent (i.e victim blaming) and somehow this is being turned around on the victims by labelling rape victim as the ultimate ‘coveted status’ (thanks Fox News…)
I’d argue that’s a prime example of male privilege.
Meanwhile women hear so many stories on the news and from their friends and it’s so normalised everyday on the Internet and social media that it’s just become part of being a woman; learning to deal with constant objectification. How many professional men are judges by the public on their appearance and ‘fuckability’? How many men are bombarded with rape threats the moment they say something vaguely woman oriented? How many men are told to dress more modestly in schools because they’re distracting the girls? How many men feel that rush of fear when a stranger at a bar won’t leave you alone? How many men walk home or to their car with their keys in their fist? How many men are told that self-defence classes and a rape alarm are their top priorities before they go to college?
As far as jobs go, I know I certainly haven’t had any problems getting a job. But while I’ve been able to find work very easily in bars, restaurants and hotels, my black friend was only ever successful in getting a job in housekeeping for the university halls. Maybe it doesn’t mean anything, maybe it means a lot, I don’t know.
I come from Glasgow and of you look at any section of the city, the richer it is, the whiter is. A lot of the time the non-White residents are immigrants and are very unlikely to be able to afford to live in the richer parts, but other times they’re born and bred Glaswegians who just can’t seem to get out of there. Many of them are smart kids that oils do very well at university bit either can’t because they can’t afford to move away and actually go, or have gone to university but have either dropped out due to debts or graduated and been in so much debt that they have to move bak home and work to pay it off. Other times they may be smart enough but they’re so beaten down by society due to their colour or their living that they have no motivation. They’re told that where they live now and the colour they are are WHO they are and that’s a very damaging mindset. It’s a very prevalent cause of the high crime rate in these parts of the city. It’s the reason many people would cross the street towards the strange white man rather than risk the strange black man.
Something for the Left to understand. income inequality is less harsh in free economies vs. centralized economies (Europe i.e.). Also minorities rise up into wealth and success much more freely in U.S. and free economies over, say, Europe and centralized economies. Also, ‘the poor’ is not a steady group. In free economies people tend to rise out of poverty and out of wealth cyclically. ….unlike Europe and centralized economies.
So a poor, minority has a lot of opportunity that s/he would n’t get elsewhere.
Hmmmm….yeah….totally cyclical, in that white males have always had all the wealth. Name a time when women were in power, on a real level. Or a time when anyone that wasn’t white was powerful. So far, history has always been the same soooooo, something that the Right needs to understand is that you can’t say things like they’re fact as an argument. You need substance. Proof. That’s Argument 101. Things that aren’t fact are not arguments. You’d be better off not saying them.
Here’s an idea. Everyone who doesn’t like Matt and his views can just go away.
I don’t read articles and blogs about feminism, politics, or trigonometry because I don’t like that stuff. I certainly don’t go on those websites and bash those who do.
I love this guy.
@ Heather
“I don’t read articles and blogs about feminism, politics, or trigonometry because I don’t like that stuff. ”
Hee!
Oh, if only they would. How pathetic it must be to sit day after day at a site you hate, reading ideas you hate (because they’re full of facts and reason that you cannot counter), among people you hate!
But they never will go away.
@mo
“In other words, a term for psychologically healthy people, as opposed to deeply mentally ill people who think they are or can ever become the opposite sex.”
We’re talking about real people, not the ones you hallucinate/make up. The only people who think they can change their biological sex exist only in your delusional mind.
Eva, I am definitely not about to argue with you by saying that women always have it easier, or women are always benefiting from “privilege” That is not the case. Just as it is not the case that men in general are the always recipients of “privilege” (In our western world) The point is that the liberal “check your privilege ideology is extremely black and white and also laughably generalized. I have given you some good examples of how men are not privileged and how women would be considered the privileged ones. Now, I’m not saying that women are privileged in all ways—but I would certainly not make laughable assumptions and generalizations which liberals are currently in their “check your privilege” culture.
I know very well what it feels like to not want to leave the house and go out for a walk without my handgun and a clip on the side. But I also know how saddening it is for men (of every race) when they are out alone and are afraid to even say hi to a strange child because the parents view a lone man as an automatic pedophile. I know of the favoring of women in cases of: restraining orders, children, divorce, child support, ect. I also know that when a woman and a man both have physical signs of violence–the man is significantly more likely to be booked and prosecuted–despite equal stories and equal evidence. Oftentimes immoral women feel that because of their size they can get away with violence–which unfortunately is oftentimes true. You say that it is okay because the male is generally larger than the female? There are races (black, Pacific Islander, ect) who are generally larger than other races (white, asian). Would not a favoring of the latter races by the justice system simply because of their inferior size be a sign of “privilege”? Also when a man is raped, or a teen boy is molested–the victim is oftentimes outright laughed at. (And I know of many cases where females have not gotten justice for sexual assault–I am definitely not trying to argue that women are never oppressed here–only showing you that men are also oppressed).
Now, as for the last paragraph about we women in the workforce. I could very well have been discriminated against in my job searching–being that I am in culinary which is generally considered a mans work. The point is that I did not use that as an excuse for: failing to try hard, or the consequences of irresponsible decisions. Which is what I am frequently seeing by the “check your privilege” crowd. “Check your privilege” basically means to them: “Shut up and don’t you judge a single one of my actions.” That is the problem I have with it….not admitting that we all have varying degrees of hardness in life. And of course the 2nd problem: the extreme generalization and presumptuousness of it all.
I remember reading a story about a guy who was sent to jail for almost a decade because of rape. Then the woman comes out 10 years later and says that she made the whole thing up. Guess who didn’t get arrested immediately…
“Oftentimes immoral women feel that because of their size they can get away with violence–which unfortunately is oftentimes true. You say that it is okay because the male is generally larger than the female?”
That is not at all what I said. I said that stereotype (which has been given as a ‘defence’ of women by many conservatives, including Matt Walsh himself – see his article about men hitting women) is at least partly to blame for favour given to women in legal cases of domestic abuse. Also there’s the fact that it is mainly women who are the victims in these cases.
“Also when a man is raped, or a teen boy is molested–the victim is oftentimes outright laughed at.”
I’ve noticed that too. I’ve also noticed that reaction tends to come from MEN. I did group therapy for a while after I was raped and one of the men I met there had been raped as a child by another man and it wasn’t until he was in high school that he managed to find the courage to tell his friends what had happened and what did they do? They laughed at him and said ‘well at least you lost your virginity!’ And he had to laugh it off and pretend it was no big deal.
Yet, when he told his girlfriend a while after, she hugged him, cried with him and did everything she could to help him.
Now, that’s not to say men will never understand rape unless they go through it themselves. The first person I told after my attack was my male best friend. The point is that women have to live with the threat of it to a much larger extent than men do. That’s why it tends to be men who laugh about it and make jokes about it.
“I could very well have been discriminated against in my job searching–being that I am in culinary which is generally considered a mans work. The point is that I did not use that as an excuse for: failing to try hard, or the consequences of irresponsible decisions.”
And who says these people are? I never blamed any men for my failures. I’m a medical student and I do very well, I’m certainly in the top end of my class. The lowest mark I’ve ever had was 70%. So why do I still have snotty male medical students (a lot of whom are American funnily enough…) telling me to ‘go back to nursing school’ when I get a question wrong? Or that they’d choose me to give them a physical if I was their doctor? (Said while looking me up and down/staring at my ass.)
But if I get questions wrong, or if I lose an ethics debate, or I forget a part of my clinical examination, I don’t blame it on them. I will definitely report them for harrassment when they harrass me and I will address their behaviour and call them out on it, and I will occasionally tell them to ‘check their privilege’, but that doesn’t mean I’m projecting my problems onto them.
Some men don’t care? You think Paris Hilton gives a shit about Feminism or the plight of women as a whole?
To imply that only “some men” are the ones who don’t care. Is just as ignorant and idiotic as ignoring the vast majority of men who aren’t cared about.
Why would you go through the trouble of emailing someone you already admitted blocking? Why is it ok for you to omit a person’s input on a subject. But you make sure they hear yours?
If Someone started an email with Hey just so you know I blocked you and anyone who agrees with you.” I would stop reading right there. Because clearly I couldn’t rebut their argument and they wouldn’t care to consider mine. What is wrong with this world where people think their input is so important even people they refuse to listen to should her theirs?…
I don’t agree with everything here, but that’s cool. We don’t have to agree on everything, because that would be lame and boring. Nicely written article – definitely made me think. Thanks, Matt
Here’s the funny thing.. If the liberals within this comment thread had read Kira’s email alone they would be making comments such as “Yeah Kira! Right on! You tell him” “I completely agree!” However.. since Matt has provided a strong and convincing counter argument, the comments instead claim “This is fake!” “You picked the weakest email to debate!” “This email is the worst example of how we really feel!”
I believe this is due to the cognitive bias of the framing effect. Would make for an interesting psychology experiment.
what happened to human respect and the diversity we all claim to worship
So, in America, men shouldn’t have opinions about abortion because their gender means they can’t fully understand the issue and form conclusions about it (unless they support abortion, of course. Then it’s never mentioned), but minorities can use the “white privilege” card to degrade a white person’s position on a topic because their ethnicity means they CAN fully understand the issue and form conclusions about it?
Anyone else seeing the contradiction here?
I generally enjoy reading your blog, but today I am disappointed. Here was a prime opportunity to answer the writer in a Christ like manner and use the soft answer that Solomon recommended. Instead the lady was met with sarcasm and no effort was made to see her point of view, especially those regarding white male privilege. You probably were not going to change her mind, but you probably have now solidified her negative opinion of Christianity in general and Christians in particular. In all likelihood, you also changed the opinion of any person of color who may have agreed with you previously. I do not agree with most of what she said or how she said it. However, what I and other people of color want to bring to light is that there is a hierarchy in our society. White males, although maybe not you specifically, do get better consideration in life – even over white females and certainly over males AND females of color. I am speaking as a college educated, professional black women who grew up in a middle class, midwestern home. I have seen it with my very own eyes, not read or heard about it in the media but have lived it. We do not blame you for it, or consider you racist because of it, we just want you to acknowledge it and our point of view.
I don’t think people understand the concept of white privilege or male privilege. It really irritates me when people go off on these rants to white people or men about it and bitch them out and judge them instead of educating them on what it actually is and encouraging them to work on elevating others to have the same privileges they have when they see that others are deprived of them. The way people go about it basically is ranting that other people should have those privileges taken away so others can have them instead. It’s bullshit and counterproductive. Research it people. It’s a serious issue and an excellent way to help achieve a more egalitarian society.
Wow, you idiot….”40 percent of abuse victims are males”……what do you think the other 60 are…..