Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
There's a difference between insults used by a person of a more privileged category, and one used among peers ....
People in positions of authority or social privilege should not abuse their power by insulting those who cannot react freely without potentially vile consequences.
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Are you calling whites in America a "more privileged category"? In what way? What "power" do they have over non-whites? Last I heard, the most powerful man in America and the whole world was black. What are the privileges that whites are allowed by law or tradition, compared to non-whites? Apart from the disgraceful "affirmative action" laws, which discriminate
against the whites, I'm not aware of any other laws that make a distinction based on the colour of the skin. As for tradition, the whites are not privileged - they are
underprivileged because they are now held to a completely different set of standards from everyone else on race or culture issues. People from ethnic minorities such as Alexie are free to slag off the "white culture" on TV, and no-one says a word. Meanwhile, for whites themselves the race issue is a minefield and the best strategy is to just shut up, lest something completely innocent be interpreted as "racial slur" - and then nothing less would suffice than a tumble of embarrassed disclaimers.