I think this blog post is really interesting

seahorse01 · October 2013

And I would like your opinions please:

http://tressiemc.com/2013/10/29/the-logic-of-stupid-poor-people/

seahorse01 · October 2013

Because I PPH it and think it is one of the most eloquent explanations of white privilege I've ever read. Ever. I would love to meet Vivian.

transponster · October 2013

I really enjoyed that. I think it's a great article to help those who don't understand white privilege get the concept. I've read other articles from her before, and every time I learn something new that I hadn't seen before, and it's pretty awesome.

arj14 · October 2013

My DH believes in people being treated equally, but doesn't feel that white privilege (or male privilege) are valid things that exist. I am going to show him this blog post, thank you.

seahorse01 · October 2013

arj14 said:

My DH believes in people being treated equally, but doesn't feel that white privilege (or male privilege) are valid things that exist. I am going to show him this blog post, thank you.

I would love to hear what he thinks if you don't mind sharing.

LooneyLife · October 2013

I had a very difficult time following the writing style to really be able to understand the message the author was trying to convey. The only part that was really clear to me was this line, "You have no idea what you would do if you were poor until you are poor. "

arj14 · October 2013

@seahorse01 - I basically got treated to a half hour rant about how if he were a woman or any other race than white he would have had it so much easier and would not be so in debt from school; how her evidence is anecdotal and no better than any other anecdotal evidence; how if non-whites whine hard enough and cry "racist" it achieves the same results; how his supposed male privilege and white privilege have never helped him but yes racism and sexism still exist and it's horrible and shouldn't happen.

...it's about what I expected, really. $:\$

seahorse01 · October 2013

LooneyLife said:

I had a very difficult time following the writing style to really be able to understand the message the author was trying to convey. The only part that was really clear to me was this line, "You have no idea what you would do if you were poor until you are poor. "

This is very interesting to me. That is why I love it, I could hear it being spoken in my head as I was reading. So clear and compelling.

seahorse01 · October 2013

arj14 said:

@seahorse01 - I basically got treated to a half hour rant about how if he were a woman or any other race than white he would have had it so much easier and would not be so in debt from school; how her evidence is anecdotal and no better than any other anecdotal evidence; how if non-whites whine hard enough and cry "racist" it achieves the same results; how his supposed male privilege and white privilege have never helped him but yes racism and sexism still exist and it's horrible and shouldn't happen.

...it's about what I expected, really. $:\$

That's a shame. He could really benefit to being open to some different points of view. That is the nicest I can be about his attitude.

LooneyLife · October 2013

seahorse01 said:

LooneyLife said:

I had a very difficult time following the writing style to really be able to understand the message the author was trying to convey. The only part that was really clear to me was this line, "You have no idea what you would do if you were poor until you are poor. "

This is very interesting to me. That is why I love it, I could hear it being spoken in my head as I was reading. So clear and compelling.

I think you nailed what was actually the difficult part for me. I don't like storytellers. As I'm reading, my mind starts straying, thinking, "get to the point already". Same for IRL conversations. It's much easier for me to follow something in the format of statement-evidence-summary than statement-evidence-evidence-evidence-evidence-evidence-summary.

Writing style aside, I agree with the statement I could pick out from the final paragraph, which I'm assuming was the point of the blog post.

seahorse01 · October 2013

LooneyLife said:

seahorse01 said:

LooneyLife said:

I had a very difficult time following the writing style to really be able to understand the message the author was trying to convey. The only part that was really clear to me was this line, "You have no idea what you would do if you were poor until you are poor. "

This is very interesting to me. That is why I love it, I could hear it being spoken in my head as I was reading. So clear and compelling.

I think you nailed what was actually the difficult part for me. I don't like storytellers. As I'm reading, my mind starts straying, thinking, "get to the point already". Same for IRL conversations. It's much easier for me to follow something in the format of statement-evidence-summary than statement-evidence-evidence-evidence-evidence-evidence-summary.

Writing style aside, I agree with the statement I could pick out from the final paragraph, which I'm assuming was the point of the blog post.

No, it's about white privilege and why/how poor people use nice things to advance/gain opportunities.

Panderp · October 2013

LooneyLife said:

seahorse01 said:

LooneyLife said:

I had a very difficult time following the writing style to really be able to understand the message the author was trying to convey. The only part that was really clear to me was this line, "You have no idea what you would do if you were poor until you are poor. "

This is very interesting to me. That is why I love it, I could hear it being spoken in my head as I was reading. So clear and compelling.

I think you nailed what was actually the difficult part for me. I don't like storytellers. As I'm reading, my mind starts straying, thinking, "get to the point already". Same for IRL conversations. It's much easier for me to follow something in the format of statement-evidence-summary than statement-evidence-evidence-evidence-evidence-evidence-summary.

Writing style aside, I agree with the statement I could pick out from the final paragraph, which I'm assuming was the point of the blog post.

I think she's telling a life story, not writing a thesis. Each of her points is purposeful.

LooneyLife · October 2013

Panderp said:

LooneyLife said:

seahorse01 said:

LooneyLife said:

I had a very difficult time following the writing style to really be able to understand the message the author was trying to convey. The only part that was really clear to me was this line, "You have no idea what you would do if you were poor until you are poor. "

This is very interesting to me. That is why I love it, I could hear it being spoken in my head as I was reading. So clear and compelling.

I think you nailed what was actually the difficult part for me. I don't like storytellers. As I'm reading, my mind starts straying, thinking, "get to the point already". Same for IRL conversations. It's much easier for me to follow something in the format of statement-evidence-summary than statement-evidence-evidence-evidence-evidence-evidence-summary.

Writing style aside, I agree with the statement I could pick out from the final paragraph, which I'm assuming was the point of the blog post.

I think she's telling a life story, not writing a thesis. Each of her points is purposeful.

I didn't say they weren't. I said it was difficult for me to follow her writing style.

NotMrsSmith11 · October 2013

I thought it was interesting, and a way of thinking about "frivolous" spending that I hadn't considered before.

I generally think of this type of "illogical" spending the same way as I think of stuff like buying junk food with food stamps. One could argue that it's not the best way to allocate your limited resources, but like it or not, money buys happiness. Candy makes people happy, and so do designer clothes. Am I not allowed to buy skittles just because I don't have a fully funded retirement account? Can a "poor" person buy a beer? A ticket to the movies? Jeans from the Gap? A television? Where is the line? Basically, who am I to judge how someone spends their money? We all buy stuff we don't "need."

seahorse01 · October 2013

No Skittles for poor people NMS! You know that.

That is exactly it. I don't care that people can buy birthday cakes with food stamps, because people deserve to have birthday cake no matter how poor they are. I know a lot of people disagree with that, and I think they are shitty.

Panderp · October 2013

You didn't know that the poor are supposed to pull themselves up by the provide proverbial bootstraps?

They're not allowed to enjoy life or find ways to fit in unless the rich deem them worthy enough.

mseale · October 2013

Is it really white privilege when the last example was a supposedly rich (I say supposedly because, just because you are a VP does not make you rich) black woman shunned a poor black woman?

Also, the argument about people judging on spending habits goes both ways. Another board I'm on just got in a huge hissy fit because of people more well off talking about some of the purses they bought and others thought those were silly extravagant purchases.

Rich, Poor, Black, White, people judge others for things they do differently.

Panderp · October 2013

The article is highlighting recent racial profiling events by the NYPD. Rather than become outraged at why a black man can be presumed to not be able to afford a Ferragamo belt, some became enraged that a black man with a part-time job was spending his money on a Ferragamo belt.

This article was a direct retort to that sentiment.

Yes, everyone judges.

Yes, it is white privilege to walk into a store, purchase a belt with your part-time money and not have the NYPD stop, arrest and detain you and to not become the center of a media frenzy and social media debate.

mseale · October 2013

Obviously, I need to pull my head out of work a bit more. I had not heard a lick about that incident.

Panderp · October 2013

It happened to 4 black youth at Barney's in NYC. A belt, a bag and I can't remember the items from the other two incidents. All separate, all similar.

poppies717 · October 2013

Panderp said:

The article is highlighting recent racial profiling events by the NYPD. Rather than become outraged at why a black man can be presumed to not be able to afford a Ferragamo belt, some became enraged that a black man with a part-time job was spending his money on a Ferragamo belt.

This article was a direct retort to that sentiment.

Yes, everyone judges.

Yes, it is white privilege to walk into a store, purchase a belt with your part-time money and not have the NYPD stop, arrest and detain you and to not become the center of a media frenzy and social media debate.

It enrages me that people are focusing on someone buying a belt when they have a part-time job. Who cares? Seriously. I don't care how people spend their money.

My ILs moan all the time about people paying for certain groceries with their EBT card. No steaks for poor people, I guess. Add that to the Skittles.

My "favorite" was my MIL complaining about a woman with an EBT card and a Coach bag. I quickly retorted, "It could have been a gift, and even if she did buy it, maybe she saved up for a year for it. You can go buy a Coach bag any day and not even think about." Her face was priceless.

lilliesandvino · October 2013

arj14 said:
@seahorse01 - I basically got treated to a half hour rant about how if he were a woman or any other race than white he would have had it so much easier and would not be so in debt from school; how her evidence is anecdotal and no better than any other anecdotal evidence; how if non-whites whine hard enough and cry "racist" it achieves the same results; how his supposed male privilege and white privilege have never helped him but yes racism and sexism still exist and it's horrible and shouldn't happen.

...it's about what I expected, really. $:\$

If this is what I expected from my husband, he would not be my husband.

Panderp · October 2013

Roger that. Deal breaker.

arj14 · October 2013

seahorse01 said:

arj14 said:

@seahorse01 - I basically got treated to a half hour rant about how if he were a woman or any other race than white he would have had it so much easier and would not be so in debt from school; how her evidence is anecdotal and no better than any other anecdotal evidence; how if non-whites whine hard enough and cry "racist" it achieves the same results; how his supposed male privilege and white privilege have never helped him but yes racism and sexism still exist and it's horrible and shouldn't happen.

...it's about what I expected, really. $:\$

That's a shame. He could really benefit to being open to some different points of view. That is the nicest I can be about his attitude.

I agree, which is why I wanted to show him this.

I'm the first to admit, I don't like this attitude. I also admit that I'm probably the worst one to change his mind about it, because I am a horrible debater and the moment he starts in on his points everything flies out of my head and I can't even begin to refute him logically.

nfp147 · October 2013

1) It's none of my or anyone else's business how you spend your money. If your kids (or puppies) are fed and warm, do what you want.

2) I think a little something nice (be it a purse, belt, suit, etc, etc) can make a huge difference in how we feel about ourselves. And, feeling good about oneself can go a long, long way to achieving goals. Unfortunately, many of us judge based on appearance. If you use that last $100 to buy a suit for an interview, it may be money very well spent.

3) I hate this: "They wanted me to know how I had properly signaled that I was not a typical black or a typical woman, two identities that in combination are almost always conflated with being poor." I hate that she bore the burden of proving that, or that it even exists to be proven.

4) We need more Vivians.

I think this blog post is really interesting

Re: I think this blog post is really interesting

Choose Another Board

Search Boards