It's a Matter of Privilege

I am a white female from an upper middle class family. Do i think that Anti-Discrimination laws are still necessary? Yes, I do. Do I think that I have the authority to pass judgement on such laws? Not so much. I suppose my mind is more on matters of race than other matters of discrimination, and perhaps I will address those after I have addressed race.

I think I will start with this comic that I found a little while ago, and had saved waiting for this topic to come up:

Over the past months I have exploring more into racial stuff and the issues of race today. It started back with the Whitewashing of the cast of The Last Airbender (from which the site Racebending.com was founded, which I find as a fascinating education on racial issues in Hollywood), and has been a gradual presence in the internet places I lurk at. But from what I have gathered, as a white person, I am privileged. I have less of a right to speak about racial discrimination because I can not understand and therefore I cannot pass judgement. From what I gathered persons of color still see racial discrimination as a problem, and therefore I believe that they are. 


I admit that at the concept of quotas still bothers me, because I like the idea that a person should be able to succeed by their own merit, not because of their skin color. But we do not live in a color blind world. Saying we should is great, but we don't and therefore Anti-Discrimination laws are still necessary. 


I was just in California, Los Angeles to be exact and it was really strange. I have lived pretty much all my life in a white dominated neighborhood and here was an area that could tell I was out of town because I was white. I felt out of place and wondered if that was anywhere similar to how minorities feel. If so, then Anti-Discrimination laws are needed because no one should feel out of place because of their skin color. 


Before I move on, I remembered one post I saw on Racebending's tumblr page (link here). It interested be because I never realized the degree of decoloring (for lack of a better term at the moment) was done in entertainment magazines and photos, and I think it speaks to the issues of race that are still present in our society. 


And I think that is all I will say on this angle of the topic and move on to my feelings on discrimination based on gender. 


As a female, I do believe I have more of a right to speak on this topic. I may have had more feelings back when it was politically more of an issue and laws and discussion concerning birth control and abortion were being made, but still I stand that men should not have the right to make decisions that specifically concern women. This topic is more concerning Anti-Discrimination laws (which are needed especially in concerns to pay), but the issue of women's health and laws pertaining to it fit into such discrimination. It's just that in this case Anti-Discrimination laws are not the answer, but that laws restricting it should stop. 


I will link a short story that I read back when discrimination against women's health was more of in the light issue, which was when the story was written. ILU-486 short story about a dystopian future with a summary that reads: "In the not-so-distant future of Virginia, the Personhood Act has outlawed abortion and chemical birth control. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist, though."

As a women, gender discrimination, especially when it comes to my health, bothers me a lot more. It's inevitable since it is affecting me. I think the fact that a equal pay act has not been passed by Congress, even though there have been attempts too, speaks to the need for it. There are facts all over the internet that show the earning differences that exist between men and women.

I remember reading somewhere that this difference, that women are overlooked for a promotion was because they were seen as eventually becoming mothers and leaving work. That therefore a man was a better "investment" because they were more likely to stick around longer and make the company more money. Perhaps with more women choosing careers over being a mother, perhaps that mindset will change. Though perhaps I am just being too optimistic.