White Privilege

[Nickyjo]

Why should they?

Lees

Because they were human beings worthy of dignity and respect, and would be affected by any decision.

 

[Groogrux]

Context?

Post #182

 

[blur]

@blur Concerning your post #(616)

Of course they do. They represent two different races. So you think the NAACP doesn't think blacks are superior when they get preferential treatment over whites? Affirmative Action. Segregation doesn't mean 'superior'. It just whites want to live with their own kind, just like blacks do.

Affirmative action was about leveling the playing field, not about superiority. . Now, you don't even think black people should be treat the same as whites, so you're going to think affirmative action is bad regardless. So, we're at a stalemate there. White people have many more opportunities to be granted admission in schools based on something other than academic merit (see my post regarding athletic recruits and ALDC admissions).

So, you're expressing an opinion. No shortage of stupid whites to support black racist groups. That doesn't mean the NAACP is not racist. It is. It is not about helping the white race. It's about destroying the white race and it uses stupid whites to help do it. At least the NAAWP doesn't try and present a facade like the NAACP does. Why should the NAAWP hand out any awards to any blacks?

Not an opinion, the NAACP does not treat white people as inferior so I have no reason to believe they are racist. It's that simple. You're simply protecting racism onto to them to excuse your own, but again, you offer no evidence.

Bullshit. The Dred Scott decision was given by the Supreme Court. Your approval of it matters not one bit. It doesn't matter what Washington said. What mattered was the Supreme Court decision. No matter how you cut it, color it, the North was the traitor, not the South. Traitor to benefit the negro. Gee, that is supposed to make it right and the South wrong. What hypocrisy.

The Supreme Court also decided numerous cases that lead to Dred Scott being overturned. You can't play "appeal to authority" if you're going to cherry-pick when you decide to listen to that authority.

In other words, Lincoln didn't give a shit about the slaves. The Emancipatin Proclamtion was just a war measure to be used against the South. If Lincoln had no authority to free the slaves in the North, then neither did he have any authortiy to free any slaves in the South. But, at least you admit, the South obeyed the Constitution. And the hypocritical North that attacked the South for it's slaves, would not free their own slaves. Lincoln supported the orignal 13th amendment also, which would enslave blacks forever. Proving Lincoln, your great idol, didn't give a shit about blacks. Blacks and slavery were just a problem forced on him. Glory, glory...hallelujah...

Never claimed Lincoln was not racist or that he is a "great idol", you're just debating one of your fantasies now.

Well, I give you a reference and you just refuse to see it. Why should I give you more? Literacy in South Africa is declining. Just google that sentence. See UWC, 'Addressing South African Literacy Crisis' Gee, Africa is so great.

You need to read more carefully: The literacy crisis is referring specifically to Grade 4 children , not the overall population. The literacy rate for South Africa is still 95%. Nice try though.

I explained that when I gave it. And what post was that? And I gave you other references which you refuse to look at.

The quote is from this post: https://debatepolitics.com/threads/white-privilege.570294/post-1081597922

You never gave a source for it.

That is what you're saying. That is not what the author said that I gave the quote from. I gave the quote and referenced it.

Right, she said it in the 90s in a "letter to the editor." She did not write it in the 1619 Project, and it is not being taught in schools (the quote).

 

[FaithB]

I mean, yes. That is how it is being measured.
Like 13% of the population, but accounts for upwards of 50% of violent crime. ... etc etc

Illogical nonsense. That's a racist argument and racism is all about promoting violence, lies and fear. I shouldn't engage further because race and racism are based on complete lies with no evidence
Fact is, white people don't really get arrested for their crimes.
1. Arrest ≠ Actual Crime
Police data is about arrests and convictions, not actual crime rates. Areas with more patrols = more arrests. That doesn’t mean more crime is happening—it means more people are being watched.


2. White crime is under-policed
White people make up the majority of actual criminal activity—especially things like drug use, domestic abuse, and white-collar crime—but those cases often go unreported, uncharged, or unpunished.


3. Poverty and segregation drive crime, not race
High-crime areas reflect systemic conditions like poverty, disinvestment, lack of opportunity, and trauma. These conditions were engineered by policy—redlining, Jim Crow, mass incarceration—not created by culture or character.


4.

• White people are the majority of mass shooters.
• The most common drug users in the U.S. are white men.
• Over 80% of sexual abuse survivors are harmed by someone of the same race.
  But these aren’t weaponized as “white problems.”

Whiteness needs no enemy. In fact, the enemy needs whiteness, thus the name. Otherwise it wouldn't be called anything, it simply would be.

This doesn't make sense

The stuff you mention certainly did happen, in order to justify keeping a second class citizen, second class (or none at all). However, that is not in today's world and hasn't been for quite some time. Opportunities exist for all, if they are willing to grasp them, take responsibility for themselves and get to work.

More racist rambles that mean nothing but racism

I don't care what problems they encounter. We all face problems.
In fact, that is what personal responsibility does. It put the onus on SELF to fix/overcome/prioritize/succeed/ or fail.

Sans that though, you have groups clamoring to EXCUSE and justify the failings, and bad characteristics that lead to failure.

More racists talking points that have no basis in actual reality. This is expected in a nation built on genocide. No one is obligated to prove themselves or prove their humanity or prove their hard work to genocidal talking points

 

[FaithB]

So tell us, how has Affirmative Action helped white women?….(grabs popcorn)

Are you kidding me? I do not have to prove anything to people who believe in racism. It's practically impossible for people to change their racists views, no matter what happens to them and certainly no matter what any data says.

If you are genuinely interested in learning, and not in provoking, then that would be different.

 

[FaithB]

You're not addressing the specific example I offered. I didn't mention anything about "hiring" someone, I'm talking about accommodations in the workplace/school that help people with disabilities do their work. Do you think that's discrimination?

Many DEI programs included Veterans:

Federal VITAL Program Delivers Extensive Campus Support to Student Veterans | Insight Into Academia

Many higher education institutions offer support to active military and veteran students through designated offices and personnel, but these individuals may still need to go off campus to receive additional services through their local Veterans Affairs (VA) facility. A growing number of...

www.insightintodiversity.com

Atlantic Cape Community College Libraries: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Resource Toolkit: Veterans

Atlantic Cape Community College Libraries: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Resource Toolkit: Veterans

library.atlanticcape.edu

https://vets.umich.edu/events/veteran-status-part-diversity-equity-and-inclusion

Those services are available to everyone, but DEI allowed for specialized care that helped Veterans as their circumstances can be different than your average student. Not all mental health professionals are equipped to deal with all kinds of mental health issues, and special training can be required to deal with more specific ones. Mental health professionals on campus would collaborate with local VA hospitals to better help provide the proper care and resources to Veterans who might be dealing with PTSD or complex guilt or other issues more prevalent among Veterans. Additionally, there are many programs set up for Veterans to enter into different career paths, the DEI programs helped ensure that these programs would be offered to Veterans.

Absolutely. But many wealthy people inherit their wealth, and then may even accrue more wealth on top of it. For example, most billionaires in 2023 inherited their wealth as opposed to earned it: https://www.investopedia.com/more-b...heritance-overtaking-entrepreneurship-8409800

Shouldn't stop anyone from working hard, but many don't have to work hard to get it.

....

I have spent the better part of our discussion giving you stats on black students attending Ivy League schools. Where did you get that I thought that Ivy League schools were "white only"?

Black people face more obstacles in obtaining wealth than white people. So, it is still a race problem. You still have answered my question, do you think it's fine for recruited athletes to have admission preference? How about students from low-income backgrounds? Or students who's parents are faculty?

I'm not calling it "discrimination." I'm saying there are disadvantages to being a minority in a country even if you are among the majority in a town. I'm not blaming anyone, I'm just statin that is a fact, and that minorities deserve to have their needs taken care of even if they do not reflect the needs of the majority.

You are doing an amazing job with your posts! The problem is that people don't want to truly learn. Most people use the Internet to provoke and rage bait. I hate it and why I can't deal with social media. They don't care about learning and got the nerve to wonder why kids are struggling in school? Like really, you got whole grown folks who refuse to decipher peer reviewed sources using their own minds and own theories.
So much for those high literacy rates. Literacy does not equal comprehension

 

[FaithB]

if you give them weighted preferences based on ______________ its discrimination that's DEI

don't hire someone because they're got a disability .... hire them because they're the best for the job




that's not DEI all that is available for everyone isn't it ?

Giving weighted preference based on skin color or lack there if, is the USA. That's how it was founded and how it continues to work to this day. If hiring managers are racist, they will always find a way to work around any so-called policy like DEI/Affirmative Action. Racists always find a way...how you think they got control of the planet? They cared about treaties, kingdoms and policies then? Lol. Racists run the government, companies, hiring teams and everything in between.

Thus in most cases, Black people are best for the job. Overqualified but banned. Now what was the exact year where racists said they not gonna be racist anymore? I must have missed that meeting. Post it.

Nowhere will you find racists refusing to be racist, that's all they know, live, and will die for. Racism. If this country was based on equality, then Black people would run circles around whites. Let's just face the facts. That is why there is so much fear about a practically non-existent DEI & nonexistent Affirmative Action because many whites know that Black people are already outperforming them and don't deserve any extra help.

I get it. I don't agree, but I get the fear when I really sit and think about it.

Stop playing the victim and do like Black people did and start your own businesses.

Also, whites should work harder and study harder so that they will be the best for any job or college admission. But honest, hard work is not something that is embedded in this nation's white identity. If it were, this country and all the Americas would still belong to its original inhabitants. Even today Native Polynesians (Hawaii) have been trying to get their land back for years.

White have invented nothing except for race and they are thus brilliant at racism, I must admit.

 

[Lursa]

Context?

The result of urbanized poor from the Black people that moved north for jobs but didnt benefit as much from them as whites (didnt even get hired as frequently). The traditional family units broke down, they werent even allowed in many neighborhoods, and their culture changed based on poverty and fewer services, also denied on a wider basis. Do you object to any of this? It's more complex of course...but it appears many people in this thread find white privilege a "simple" thing and either dismiss it outright or do not know what it is, period. If you have objections, please explain them.

 

[FaithB]

@blur Concerning your post #(616)

Of course they do. They represent two different races. So you think the NAACP doesn't think blacks are superior when they get preferential treatment over whites? Affirmative Action. Segregation doesn't mean 'superior'. It just whites want to live with their own kind, just like blacks do.

So, you're expressing an opinion. No shortage of stupid whites to support black racist groups. That doesn't mean the NAACP is not racist. It is. It is not about helping the white race. It's about destroying the white race and it uses stupid whites to help do it. At least the NAAWP doesn't try and present a facade like the NAACP does. Why should the NAAWP hand out any awards to any blacks?

Bullshit. The Dred Scott decision was given by the Supreme Court. Your approval of it matters not one bit. It doesn't matter what Washington said. What mattered was the Supreme Court decision. No matter how you cut it, color it, the North was the traitor, not the South. Traitor to benefit the negro. Gee, that is supposed to make it right and the South wrong. What hypocrisy.

In other words, Lincoln didn't give a shit about the slaves. The Emancipatin Proclamtion was just a war measure to be used against the South. If Lincoln had no authority to free the slaves in the North, then neither did he have any authortiy to free any slaves in the South. But, at least you admit, the South obeyed the Constitution. And the hypocritical North that attacked the South for it's slaves, would not free their own slaves. Lincoln supported the orignal 13th amendment also, which would enslave blacks forever. Proving Lincoln, your great idol, didn't give a shit about blacks. Blacks and slavery were just a problem forced on him. Glory, glory...hallelujah...

Well, I give you a reference and you just refuse to see it. Why should I give you more? Literacy in South Africa is declining. Just google that sentence. See UWC, 'Addressing South African Literacy Crisis' Gee, Africa is so great.

I explained that when I gave it. And what post was that? And I gave you other references which you refuse to look at.

That is what you're saying. That is not what the author said that I gave the quote from. I gave the quote and referenced it.

Lees

You are living in a country built by Black people's minds, bodies and spirits, so everything you can ever imagine will indeed come down to Black people. You can't escape Black people. If you could, what reason would there be to exist?
White has no purpose and no identity without Black people. That is why a thread on white privilege is 99% about Black people. Very few of us are trying to get the focus on white people, where it should be.

To be a racist means one is incapable of comprehension, creativity, critical thought and change. Racism is about fear. And some of you are extremely terrified in this thread

And Lincoln is dead.

@blur Concerning your post #(616)

the South obeyed the Constitution.

Lees

Bingo. There's your white history. Told ya. Constitution = white only so there is no need to put white labels on colleges, laws, bills, hospitals, history etc
Constitution = for whites only. USA = for whites only.
400 years later, DEI = for some whites. Affirmative Action = for some whites.
And racists are terrified that it took 400 years just to get some weak policies that want to help "some" whites but not whites only

 

[PeacefulWarrior]

Any wealth accumulated through the ownership of homes and passed down through the family, which is quite a bit, is an example of white privilege.

OK well I dont have any "White privilege" then.

It sounds like you're talking more about "I had parents that took care of me" privilege?

 

[PeacefulWarrior]

Giving weighted preference based on skin color or lack there if, is the USA. That's how it was founded and how it continues to work to this day. If hiring managers are racist, they will always find a way to work around any so-called policy like DEI/Affirmative Action. Racists always find a way...how you think they got control of the planet? They cared about treaties, kingdoms and policies then? Lol. Racists run the government, companies, hiring teams and everything in between.

Thus in most cases, Black people are best for the job. Overqualified but banned. Now what was the exact year where racists said they not gonna be racist anymore? I must have missed that meeting. Post it.

Nowhere will you find racists refusing to be racist, that's all they know, live, and will die for. Racism. If this country was based on equality, then Black people would run circles around whites. Let's just face the facts. That is why there is so much fear about a practically non-existent DEI & nonexistent Affirmative Action because many whites know that Black people are already outperforming them and don't deserve any extra help.

I get it. I don't agree, but I get the fear when I really sit and think about it.

Stop playing the victim and do like Black people did and start your own businesses.

Also, whites should work harder and study harder so that they will be the best for any job or college admission. But honest, hard work is not something that is embedded in this nation's white identity. If it were, this country and all the Americas would still belong to its original inhabitants. Even today Native Polynesians (Hawaii) have been trying to get their land back for years.

White have invented nothing except for race and they are thus brilliant at racism, I must admit.

 

[blur]

You are doing an amazing job with your posts! The problem is that people don't want to truly learn. Most people use the Internet to provoke and rage bait. I hate it and why I can't deal with social media. They don't care about learning and got the nerve to wonder why kids are struggling in school? Like really, you got whole grown folks who refuse to decipher peer reviewed sources using their own minds and own theories.
So much for those high literacy rates. Literacy does not equal comprehension

Thanks! Media literacy is a big part of the problem as well. People don’t read books or articles, they just scroll through YouTube getting rage-baited, and think they’re receiving some kind of an objective view because it’s not the “mainstream media.”

 

[FaithB]

Affirmative action was about leveling the playing field, not about superiority. . Now, you don't even think black people should be treat the same as whites, so you're going to think affirmative action is bad regardless. So, we're at a stalemate there. White people have many more opportunities to be granted admission in schools based on something other than academic merit (see my post regarding athletic recruits and ALDC admissions).

Not an opinion, the NAACP does not treat white people as inferior so I have no reason to believe they are racist. It's that simple. You're simply protecting racism onto to them to excuse your own, but again, you offer no evidence.

The Supreme Court also decided numerous cases that lead to Dred Scott being overturned. You can't play "appeal to authority" if you're going to cherry-pick when you decide to listen to that authority.

Never claimed Lincoln was not racist or that he is a "great idol", you're just debating one of your fantasies now.

You need to read more carefully: The literacy crisis is referring specifically to Grade 4 children , not the overall population. The literacy rate for South Africa is still 95%. Nice try though.

The quote is from this post: https://debatepolitics.com/threads/white-privilege.570294/post-1081597922

You never gave a source for it.

Right, she said it in the 90s in a "letter to the editor." She did not write it in the 1619 Project, and it is not being taught in schools (the quote).

Great post. Especially about them cherry picking when to respect the Supreme Court's authority.

-This guy and his literacy BS, as if English is the only language that people speak. There are thousands of languages spoken in Africa. I met a lady from Kenya who spoke 6 languages and her husband spoke 12.

Like literally, after 400 years of whites/the police/the government being allowed to r+pe and unalive Black people and children for simply existing, these people are terrified over the NAACP? They think "colored people" gonna "advance" and do the same things to them. They are terrified. They feel guilty, disgusted and disturbed about what their people did, so they turn everything around and put it on Black people. They hate Black people because of what Black people remind them of...

And the NAACP is softer than Paw Patrol but racists are still terrified

-This Lee person is so obsessed with Lincoln, as if Black people were not fighting for their freedom for hundreds of years, killing and poisoning slave masters and killing slave master's children, burning shit, outsmarting whites, escaping, learning how to survive in caves and the woods, using the stars to find their way North, jumping off slaves ships, killing the slave ship crew, going to court to fight for their freedom and so on

 

[FaithB]

Post Civil War? And have you considered what many of these lychings were for?

Why don't you address Lincoln's support of the original 13th amendment which would enslave blacks forever? Why should I view a memorial for peace in Mongomery Alabama. Oh you visited it. Did it give you goose bumps.

By flawed do you mean a murderer? By flawed do you mean a terrorist? My how these yankees love to change the words to fit their political motivation.

Slaves have no choice but accept their fate.

Corey Booker is just another black racist.

Lees

You mad? Be mad at the elite

--------------
Poor whites in the antebellum South, though not subjected to the horrors of slavery, faced a complex and difficult existence. While not enslaved, they were often marginalized and exploited by the dominant planter class and the slave system itself. They were situated in a social hierarchy where they were above enslaved people but below the white elite, creating a precarious position.


Here's a more detailed look at their situation:

• Economic hardship:
  Poor whites often struggled with low wages, limited access to land, and unemployment, especially in areas heavily reliant on slave labor. They were sometimes forced to work in conditions similar to those of enslaved people, and even their labor was less valued than that of the enslaved.
  
  
• Social marginalization:
  Poor whites were often excluded from education, political participation, and social opportunities enjoyed by the planter class and other white citizens. They were considered a lower class within the white community, and their status could be further undermined by their reliance on slave labor.
  
  
• Dependence on slavery:
  While not owning enslaved people, poor whites often benefited from the system through lower-wage jobs and a sense of racial superiority, even if limited. This created a complex dynamic where they were both oppressed and privileged by the slave system.
  
  
• Resistance and alliances:
  Some poor whites engaged in resistance or formed alliances with freed people, challenging the planter elite and the existing social order. Others chose to withdraw from society and live in isolation.
  
  
• Legal and social control:
  Poor whites were subject to harsh legal and social control mechanisms, such as slave patrols, harsh penalties for minor offenses, and community surveillance.
  
  
• Post-slavery transition:
  After the Civil War, many poor whites continued to face hardship and social marginalization, while others sought opportunities in other parts of the country or formed alliances with freedpeople.
  
  
  ----------------------------
  
  

 

[FaithB]

White people have got to learn to discuss and examine white people's issues without always constantly obsessing over Black people's issues.

Here's some help:
The White American community, like any large demographic group, is diverse and faces a variety of challenges that vary by region, class, culture, and individual circumstances. While many problems overlap with broader national issues, some concerns are more pronounced or uniquely expressed in White American populations due to historical, economic, and cultural dynamics. Here are some notable and relatively unique or disproportionately experienced challenges:

---

1.​

Many predominantly White working-class communities in the Midwest and Appalachia have been hard-hit by:

• Deindustrialization (loss of manufacturing jobs)
• Decline in coal and steel industries
• Automation and globalization
  This has led to economic stagnation, reduced social mobility, and higher poverty in regions traditionally dependent on industrial labor.

---

2.​

The opioid crisis has disproportionately affected White communities, particularly in rural and suburban areas. Contributing factors include:

• Overprescription of painkillers in the 1990s and early 2000s
• Lack of access to mental health and addiction services
• Cultural stigma around seeking help

---

3.​

White Americans make up a large proportion of the rural population. These areas often face:

• Declining population and brain drain
• Limited healthcare access
• Poor infrastructure (broadband, transportation)
• Fewer job opportunities and educational resources

---

4.​

Sociologists Anne Case and Angus Deaton coined the term "deaths of despair" to describe rising mortality rates among middle-aged, non-college-educated White Americans, driven by:

• Suicide
• Drug overdoses
• Alcohol-related diseases

---

5.​

Some White Americans, especially those in more homogeneous or traditionally dominant cultural settings, report feelings of:

• Cultural displacement due to demographic changes
• Anxiety over loss of status or privilege
• Confusion or discomfort with shifting norms around race and identity

This has sometimes fueled political polarization and a sense of grievance or marginalization.

---

6.​

While educational attainment overall is rising, some working-class White communities show:

• Lower college enrollment and completion rates
• Skepticism toward higher education
• Intergenerational cycles of underachievement

---

7.​

Some parts of the White American population have been more susceptible to:

• Radicalization via online platforms
• Participation in far-right or nationalist movements
  This can be both a cause and symptom of broader social and economic frustrations.

---

8.​

In many traditional White communities, especially among men and in rural areas, there remains a stigma around mental health care, leading to untreated conditions and increased suicide rates.

 

[FaithB]

Appalachia is a complex and culturally rich region with deep historical roots, but it also faces a number of entrenched and unique challenges. While Appalachia spans 13 states from New York to Mississippi, most of its social and economic issues are concentrated in Central Appalachia — particularly eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia, western Virginia, and parts of Tennessee and Ohio. The population is overwhelmingly White (in some counties over 95%) and often economically disadvantaged. Here's a focused look at the region’s distinctive problems:

---

1. Persistent Poverty and Economic Decline​

• Historical reliance on coal: For over a century, Appalachia's economy was dominated by coal mining. As the coal industry has declined due to automation, environmental regulation, and competition from natural gas and renewables, entire communities have been economically stranded.
• Lack of economic diversification: Many areas never developed industries beyond coal, timber, and extractive sectors, making the transition to a modern economy difficult.
• Generational poverty: Limited job opportunities, poor infrastructure, and geographic isolation have created multi-generational cycles of poverty and dependency.

---

2. Health Crises​

• "Deaths of despair": Central Appalachia has among the highest rates of opioid overdoses, suicide, and alcohol-related deaths in the U.S.
• Limited access to healthcare: Rural hospitals are closing, healthcare providers are scarce, and transportation to medical care is often unreliable.
• Chronic illnesses: Higher rates of obesity, diabetes, black lung (among former miners), and cancer than national averages.

---

3. Educational Barriers​

• Underfunded schools: Many Appalachian counties suffer from inadequate school funding, outdated facilities, and difficulty attracting qualified teachers.
• Lower college attendance: Cultural factors (e.g., skepticism of higher education, desire to stay close to home), economic barriers, and limited access to universities keep post-secondary attainment low.
• “Brain drain”: Those who do get college degrees often leave the region, reducing the human capital available for local development.

---

4. Infrastructure Deficits​

• Poor transportation networks: Mountainous geography and sparse populations make building and maintaining roads costly and inefficient.
• Lack of broadband access: Many communities lack high-speed internet, making modern education, telehealth, and remote work difficult or impossible.
• Aging utilities and housing: Outdated plumbing, electricity, and heating systems are common in both private homes and public facilities.

---

5. Environmental Degradation​

• Mountaintop removal mining: This practice has caused deforestation, water contamination, flooding, and irreversible damage to ecosystems.
• Legacy pollution: Abandoned mines and industrial waste continue to pose health risks and deter development.
• Climate vulnerability: Extreme weather and flash floods — worsened by deforestation and infrastructure neglect — increasingly threaten lives and homes.

---

6. Cultural and Social Challenges​

• Distrust of outsiders and institutions: Long histories of exploitation (by mining companies, political corruption, and outsiders) have left some communities wary of government, media, and academia.
• Strong local identity but social insularity: Appalachian pride is deep, but it can sometimes contribute to social isolation or resistance to change.
• Underrepresentation in national discourse: Appalachian issues are often stereotyped or ignored in national media, leading to a sense of cultural invisibility.

---

7. Political Complexity​

• Populist shifts: Economic decline and cultural alienation have fueled support for anti-establishment politics.
• Limited civic infrastructure: Low voter turnout, underrepresentation, and few local advocacy organizations limit community agency in shaping policy.

 

[FaithB]

The Rust Belt is another historically vital but economically challenged region, distinct from Appalachia but sharing some overlapping problems. Here’s a detailed look at what’s happening in the Rust Belt — what makes it unique, and what challenges predominantly White working-class communities face there.

---

​

The Rust Belt generally refers to a swath of the northeastern and midwestern United States, including parts of:

• Pennsylvania
• Ohio
• Michigan
• Indiana
• Illinois
• Western New York
• Wisconsin

It was once the manufacturing heart of America — steel, cars, glass, textiles — but has seen sharp decline since the 1970s, earning its name from the "rusting" of its industrial infrastructure.


The population is majority White, especially in smaller towns and cities, though major cities (like Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo) are more diverse.

​

1.​

• Factory closures: The outsourcing of manufacturing jobs to other countries and states has devastated local economies. Entire towns once supported by a single factory or plant have been hollowed out.
• Automation: Even companies that stayed have replaced labor with machines or robotics.
• Loss of union jobs: The decline of powerful labor unions has eroded job security, wages, and benefits for blue-collar workers.

---

2.​

• Wage stagnation: Many jobs that replaced manufacturing are in the service sector, offering lower pay and fewer benefits.
• Long-term unemployment: Skills developed in factories don’t always transfer to today’s job market, leaving many older workers behind.
• Urban decay: Abandoned homes, blighted neighborhoods, and shrinking tax bases plague former industrial towns.

---

3.​

• Prescription abuse: Rust Belt states were heavily targeted by pharmaceutical companies pushing opioids in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
• Transition to heroin/fentanyl: Many who got hooked on pills turned to cheaper and more dangerous street drugs.
• Impact: High overdose death rates, strain on emergency services, and widespread trauma in families and communities.

---

4.​

• Outmigration: Young people often leave for better opportunities in the South or on the coasts.
• Aging population: The people who stay tend to be older, increasing healthcare and social service needs.
• Shrinking cities: Cities like Detroit, Youngstown, and Flint have lost half or more of their population since their mid-20th century peaks.

---

5.​

• White working-class resentment: Economic stress and feelings of being left behind have led to increased frustration with political elites and perceived favoritism toward other groups.
• Segregation and disinvestment: Many Rust Belt cities are sharply divided by race and income, with disinvestment concentrated in poorer, often predominantly Black neighborhoods — which can also fuel racial tension among economically struggling Whites.

---

6.​

• Swing state syndrome: Many Rust Belt states (e.g., Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin) have become ground zero for political battles.
• Shifts in party loyalty: Large parts of the White working class have shifted from traditional support of Democrats (due to union ties) to Republicans in recent years, often due to cultural and economic issues.
• Populist politics: The economic and cultural frustrations of Rust Belt voters have played a major role in the rise of populist figures.

---

7.​

• Depression and suicide: The combination of economic insecurity, drug addiction, and social decline has led to a rise in suicide rates, especially among middle-aged White men.
• Loss of community institutions: Churches, VFW halls, bowling leagues, and other social anchors have weakened or disappeared, leading to deeper isolation.

---

8.​

• Toxic sites: Many towns are still grappling with industrial pollution (e.g., lead in Flint, Michigan).
• Aging infrastructure: Roads, bridges, water systems, and public transit are crumbling in many areas.
• Blight and abandonment: Vacant homes and abandoned factories contribute to crime, fires, and psychological distress.

​

 

[FaithB]

I'm done after this, I promise
------------
Rural white communities face serious, systemic problems that rarely get talked about—and importantly, these problems are rooted in class, geography, and policy neglect, not race. Here are some key examples:

---

1.​

• Overwhelmingly impacted rural white communities, especially in Appalachia and the Rust Belt.
• Fueled by Big Pharma’s targeted over-prescription of painkillers like OxyContin.
• Resulted in skyrocketing addiction, overdose deaths, and long-term economic devastation.
• The response was public health–oriented, unlike the criminalization of Black and Latino communities during the crack era.

---

2.​

• Deindustrialization (factories leaving) devastated white rural economies in places like Ohio, West Virginia, and upstate New York.
• Jobs were offshored or automated, leaving behind poverty, unemployment, and shrinking tax bases.
• Unlike in urban areas, there are fewer social safety nets, transit options, or retraining programs.

---

3.​

• White men in rural areas have some of the highest suicide rates in the U.S.
• There's a stigma against seeking help, and a shortage of providers.
• Social isolation, joblessness, and cultural silence around emotions fuel this crisis.

---

4.​

• Dozens of rural hospitals have shut down, leaving communities with no ERs or maternity wards.
• This hits white rural families hardest, especially the elderly and chronically ill.
• Life expectancy has declined in these areas, even as it rose in cities.

---

5.​

• Underfunded rural schools with aging infrastructure, few teachers, and no broadband access.
• Brain drain: students leave for college and don’t come back, weakening communities further.
• Schools often become sites of despair, not opportunity.

---

Why This Matters​

These are white struggles—not because of whiteness itself, but because of class, geography, and systemic neglect. Just like Black and Brown communities face specific issues from systemic racism, rural white communities are facing the effects of a system that treats them as disposable too.


Solidarity means seeing the shared fight—and refusing to let racism divide us

 

[FaithB]

@Lees
white gangs absolutely exist, and some are among the most violent and dangerous in the U.S. The media and racist narratives often ignore or downplay them, even though they are highly active in organized crime, domestic terrorism, hate crimes, and drug trafficking.


White Gangs in America: The Ignored Side of Gang Violence

1. Aryan Brotherhood​

• One of the deadliest prison gangs in America.
• Formed in the 1960s in California prisons.
• Known for murder, extortion, and organized drug trafficking inside and outside prisons.
• White supremacist ideology: Nazi symbols, swastikas, racial killings.
• Responsible for a disproportionately high number of prison murders.

Note: The Aryan Brotherhood has offshoots and allies nationwide, including in rural areas and Southern states.

---

2. Peckerwoods & PENI (Public Enemy No. 1)​

• Active mostly in California, Texas, and rural Midwest.
• Peckerwoods are a loosely organized white prison/street gang that also mixes in biker culture and white supremacist beliefs.
• PENI is one of the most violent white gangs in the U.S.
• Crimes include meth trafficking, violent assaults, hate crimes, and weapons trafficking.

---

Skinheads / Hammerskins
3.

• Neo-Nazi gangs involved in both street violence and domestic terrorism.
• Infamous for hate crimes: assaults, murders of Black people, Jewish people, LGBTQ+ people, and immigrants.
• Hammerskins are highly structured with chapters across the U.S.
• Linked to mass shooters, including racially motivated attacks.

---

4. Biker Gangs (Outlaws, Hell’s Angels, Sons of Silence, Bandidos)​

• Predominantly white and deeply involved in:
  
  • Gunrunning
  • Drug trafficking (especially methamphetamine)
  • Violent crime and turf wars
• FBI classifies them as Organized Crime Syndicates.
• Some of the most violent shootouts and standoffs in recent U.S. history have involved biker gangs (e.g., 2015 Waco biker shootout).

---

5. Volksfront (and similar white nationalist crews)​

• A now-defunct white supremacist gang tied to hate crimes, murders, and bombings.
• While officially "disbanded," its members reorganize under new names.
• These groups are responsible for the radicalization of youth in rural white areas.

---

Truth Check: Why Don’t We Hear More About Them?​

• Media bias: Gang violence is often racialized — Black or Latino gangs are reported more heavily and with more sensationalism.
• Law enforcement complicity: White gangs have had documented ties with white police officers and prison guards, particularly in the South and Midwest.
• Narrative protection: Acknowledging white gangs breaks the myth that gang violence is a "Black problem."

---

Real-World Consequences​

• Domestic terrorism is more likely to be committed by white nationalist gang members or lone wolf actors, not Black gangs.
  (Source: FBI, DHS reports from 2020–2023)
• Meth epidemics in rural white communities are largely driven by white gangs.
• Gangs exist wherever there is poverty, disconnection, and racism — not wherever there are Black people.

---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------

@Cope Teen pregnancy:
Teen pregnancy is declining fastest among Black teens

• Between 1991 and 2020, the Black teen birth rate dropped by over 75%.
  (Source: CDC)
• White teens still account for a significant percentage of teen births in rural areas, especially in Southern states.
  
  
  ----------------------
  
  
  
  

 

[FaithB]

The Claim:​

“Black people are 13% of the U.S. population but commit 50% of violent crimes.”

FALSE — here’s why that stat is flawed and twisted.

---

FACT 1:​

That part is technically true. But what follows from it is where the distortion happens.

---

FACT 2: The “50% of violent crime” claim​

• This stat is pulled from FBI Uniform Crime Reports, especially the “arrest” statistics, not convictions, and not actual verified incidents.
• Arrests = who gets caught, not who commits the crime.
• Black communities are over-policed, so arrests are higher even when actual behavior may be similar across races.

Think about it:
If you flood Black neighborhoods with police and ignore white crime in suburbs, of course you'll catch more Black people.
That’s not justice — that’s surveillance bias.

---

FACT 3:​

• According to the FBI’s 2022 Crime Data:
  • White people made up about 69% of all arrests, including:
    • 62% of rape arrests
    • 66% of aggravated assault arrests
    • 70% of arson arrests

So while Black people are overrepresented in arrest stats relative to their population, white people are the majority of violent criminals by sheer numbers.

---

FACT 4:​

Poverty, unemployment, underfunded schools, trauma, and over-policing all drive up crime rates — regardless of race.

• High-poverty white communities (Appalachia, rural Midwest) also have high crime, but they’re less policed, so their numbers are underrepresented.
• This is why the “13/50” stat is a form of statistical gaslighting. It ignores:
  • Racism in the criminal justice system
  • Disparities in arrests and charging
  • The role of structural inequality

---

FACT 5:​

Correlation is not causation.

Imagine if we said:

• “White men are 30% of the population but commit almost all mass shootings and domestic terror attacks.”
• “White people make up the majority of opioid deaths, drunk driving deaths, and child sexual abuse cases.”

These are true, but no one uses those stats to define white culture as criminal. So why is it okay when it’s about Black people?

---

Final Thought:​

The "13/50" claim is not only misleading, it’s racially loaded propaganda.


It’s designed to:

• Justify racist policing
• Dehumanize Black communities
• Distract from white crime and structural violence

 

[FaithB]

​

• Study after study shows that the majority of mass shooters (especially school shooters, workplace shooters, and domestic terrorists) are white males.
  
  • According to The Violence Project (2023):
    
    • More than 50% of mass shootings (4+ deaths, excluding gang violence) are committed by white men.
    • Motives: Entitlement, workplace rage, domestic violence, and white supremacist ideologies.

Example: Columbine, Sandy Hook, Las Vegas, Uvalde, Parkland — all white male shooters (with some exceptions in recent years, but still majority white).

---

3. Mass shootings are overwhelmingly committed by white men.​

• DHS, FBI, and ADL have declared white supremacist violence as the #1 domestic terror threat in the United States.
• From 2010 to 2023:
  
  • Nearly all ideologically motivated terrorist attacks in the U.S. were by white men inspired by:
    
    • White supremacy
    • Anti-government beliefs
    • Incels (misogyny)
    • Christian nationalism
• Examples:
  
  • Charleston Church Shooting (Dylann Roof)
  • Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting
  • Buffalo supermarket massacre
  • Capitol insurrection (overwhelmingly white men)

---

4. White men are the most common perpetrators of domestic and family violence.​

• CDC reports that:
  
  • White women experience partner violence at slightly higher rates than Black women (because white women are more numerous).
  • In heterosexual relationships, white men are the main perpetrators of domestic abuse — simply because of population size.
• Also linked to:
  
  • Stalking
  • Mariticide (husbands killing wives)
  • Filicide (parents killing their children) — most common among white fathers.

---

5. White men lead in hate crimes.​

• FBI Hate Crime Data consistently shows:
  
  • Most hate crime offenders are white males.
  • These include attacks on:
    
    • Black people
    • Jewish people
    • LGBTQ+ people
    • Immigrants
  • Many are tied to white nationalist gangs, militias, or “lone wolves” radicalized online.

---

6. Sexual violence: White men are leading perpetrators.​

• Brock Turner (Stanford swimmer) is a face of how white male offenders are often protected.
• In the Catholic Church abuse scandal, most known abusers are white men.
• In college campuses, frats, military bases, and corporate environments — the profile of many serial abusers is white male, privileged, and protected.

 

[Lees]

Affirmative action was about leveling the playing field, not about superiority. . Now, you don't even think black people should be treat the same as whites, so you're going to think affirmative action is bad regardless. So, we're at a stalemate there. White people have many more opportunities to be granted admission in schools based on something other than academic merit (see my post regarding athletic recruits and ALDC admissions).

Not an opinion, the NAACP does not treat white people as inferior so I have no reason to believe they are racist. It's that simple. You're simply protecting racism onto to them to excuse your own, but again, you offer no evidence.

The Supreme Court also decided numerous cases that lead to Dred Scott being overturned. You can't play "appeal to authority" if you're going to cherry-pick when you decide to listen to that authority.

Never claimed Lincoln was not racist or that he is a "great idol", you're just debating one of your fantasies now.

You need to read more carefully: The literacy crisis is referring specifically to Grade 4 children , not the overall population. The literacy rate for South Africa is still 95%. Nice try though.

The quote is from this post: https://debatepolitics.com/threads/white-privilege.570294/post-1081597922

You never gave a source for it.

Right, she said it in the 90s in a "letter to the editor." She did not write it in the 1619 Project, and it is not being taught in schools (the quote).

Affirmative Action is nothing but racism against whites. Equality didn't work. And it never will, because we are not equal.

You don't destroy a peoples right to gain a job or go to a school because of their race and not their ability, and then claim they are not treated as inferior.

No, the War Between The States overturned the Dred Scott decision. Then the Supreme Court could do what it wanted. Which includes the dog and pony show with the 13th and 14th amendments.

No fantasy. Why doesn't the NAACP go after the Lincoln Memorial as they do the Southern monuments? Why do you excuse Lincoln of his racist views yet hate the Sourhternor for his? Because it doesn't benefit the black race, that's why.

The literacy rate is declining in South Africa. Grade 4 does not mean age 4. It means age 9-10.

Concerning the quote, I said that was something I remembered watching on T.V. I don't remember who it was that said it. If I do happen to find it I will be sure and give it to you. Every other quote was referenced. Post #(473), which you commented on in (541). Again, the writer is showing that she wrote what she did, and that her 1619 project is still allowed as curricula in American schools. Which it is. Just more black racisim allowed and accepted because it's black. The author I referenced was correct.

Lees

 

[stealthycat]

You’re talking about a small minority of whites. A majority are successful.

twice as many poverty whites are blacks ..... how are "the majority" successful ?

 

[stealthycat]

That's not at all what I'm saying. I think I'd great if you have a million dollar net worth, and I don't think it's "unfair." But you're not addressing the studies that I listed, which were comparing black and white people who were treated differently despite their similar/same circumstances. Everyone is responsible for their choices, but they are not necessarily always responsible for how they are treated.

I don't know that at all - its a study

Where did Biden say that?

"While I've been studying candidates' backgrounds and writings, I've made no decision except one: the person I nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity - and that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It's long overdue, in my view," Biden said.

 

[stealthycat]

I appreciate this discussion. I've learned a lot in the process. I do think we're having some issues with getting on the same page with what the other person is actually trying to say, so I hope to clarify.

I think we just have two very different views on it all. I appreciate the discussion as well

I'm giving you actual examples DEI programs. DEI and Affirmative Action are not the same.

not all DEI is helping handicap people and veterans either

No lies. I said "many", not "most." On the topic of students getting into private schools, most are able to do so because of their parent's money (i.e. inherited wealth).
I was offering an example of instances where wealth is not earned.

as I'm said, wealth privilege is real

I can list dozens, hundreds, thousands of blacks that are rich/wealthy and their kids have way way more privilege than many whites do - it aint skin color

I was speaking specifically to the example of healthcare: You can't "earn" your way out of sickle cell anemia. We shouldn't not put funding or research into it just because it doesn't impact the majority of the country, right? We should be trying to understand and help all demographics, because not all demographics experience the same things equally. Women, men, white, black, gay, straight, old, young, etc. We should have research and awareness raising for issues that impact the general population, and issues that are specific to particular demographics. Having research to better understand black health does not take away research to help understand white health. The reason why understanding the trends for particular demographics is important is because it allows doctors to inform their patients of conditions they might be more at risk for: black people are more at risk for sickle cell anemia, white people are more at risk for AFIB, and so on. But the research has to be targeted on specific demographics in-order for that kind of information to reach doctors.

yes and no

everyone will say yes because its real, its heartfelt, it makes moral sense and without factoring in anything yes, we should fund/research everything ... but

Niemann-Pick disease, Dravet syndrome, and Stoneman Syndrome ... ever heard of them? I hadn't - a quick google of the rarest diseases. Do we pour funding into them to help the very very ultra few that get those diseases, taking funding/research/discoveries from the most common of diseases? Can't have everything - there are finite fundings and manpower and facilities right?

maybe its not "white health" and "black health" but just overall health sometimes? SCA isn't ignored - maybe 100 years ago it was or even 75