
Level-headed and politically-conscious individuals around the world of all races, but in South Africa in particular, should all be aware of the phenomenon of ‘white privilege’ by now.
White South Africans, and to a considerable extent, black South Africans who disagree with the narrative, have been bombarded with accusations of white privilege, white monopoly capitalism, and white supremacy over the last decade. This has not come from ordinary South Africans, but from the intellectualist elite who walk the halls of South Africa’s universities and press media outlets.
With three recent events, however, I am convinced that reasonable people can finally put this nonsensical twaddle behind them and, with confidence, just roll their eyes when it is brought up again.
Before I get into those events, however, let me explain why the ‘white privilege’ argument is in itself problematic and void by default.
White privilege is a kafkatrap
According to feminist Wendy McElroy, accusations of ‘white privilege’ amount to a kafkatrap.
Kafkatrapping – named after Franz Kafka – occurs when someone is accused of some or other kind of bigotry, be it racism or sexism, to which they respond by, obviously, denying it. The denial in itself, however, is then construed as a confirmation of guilt. Writes McElroy, “You are now trapped in a circular and unfalsifiable argument; no one who is accused can be innocent because the structure of kafkatrapping precludes that possibility.”
By denying the guilt of white privilege, one is simply ‘showing’ how they are ‘blind’ to their own privilege. And privilege is never proven, mind you; the mere fact that one happens to be white is what gives them their privilege. Even if they are poor, they still benefit because, apparently, society is structured in such a way that whites can escape their poverty easier than those unfortunate enough not to be white.
An accusation of white privilege is inescapable. McElroy lists some of the things people usually say to deny their guilt, but all of those will be thrown back as a ‘confirmation’ of either bigotry or white privilege. So my advice: never deny white privilege. It is a concept that was specifically designed to entrap you. Engage your opponent on whatever else they are saying, but let the accusation of white privilege flow like water down your back.
Institute of Race Relations study
The first event which signaled the death of the white privilege narrative in South Africa was a study conducted by the SA Institute of Race Relations (IRR) asking ordinary South Africans, broadly representative of our racial makeup, what they were concerned about in life. Predictably, the results indicated exactly what I wrote above: the obsession with race is the domain of South Africa’s intellectualist elite (and their Twitter handles), not the man on the street. Writes the IRR (2017):
“The views of the overwhelming majority of South Africans are very different from the damaging vitriol to be found on social media and that often seems to dominate the race debate. Contrary to what many commentators claim, the 2016 survey shows that some 72% of South Africans report no personal experience of racism in their daily lives. In addition, more than half of respondents (55%) believe race relations have improved since 1994, while a much smaller proportion (13%) think they have worsened. Few South Africans regard racism as a serious unresolved problem, with 3% of respondents identifying it in this way. An overwhelming majority (84%) agree that the different races need each other and that there should be full opportunities for people of all colours.”
The study goes on to show that ordinary South Africans simply want to get on with life. They are concerned about crime, joblessness, and a lack of service delivery by an inept government.
Accusations of white privilege and white supremacy do not come from a majority of South Africans, even though the intellectualists would have you believe that they speak on behalf of the repressed masses. In effect: nobody cares – ignore them.
White privilege is apparently circumstantial now!
According to the purveyors of the white privilege myth, white privilege follows one around and permeates everything one does. This, however, does not appear to be true anymore, which upsets the very foundation upon which the privilege narrative is built.
This was written in response to the arrest, conviction, and imprisonment of American Otto Warmbier in North Korea.
As an aside, Sha, for some bizarre reason, assumes Warmbier was justly found ‘guilty’. However, North Korea’s criminal justice system is nothing to admire.
There is no reason to think that just because Warmbier was found guilty by such a kangaroo court that he was, in fact, guilty. The North Korean court system does not adhere to any respectable standard of evidence, nor is it quite as independent from political interference as one would like it to be.
Otto Warmbier has since died as a result of injuries sustained while he was hosted by the North Korean justice system.
But back to white privilege.
According to Sha, white privilege is circumstantial – which is a reasonable thing to suppose. It did not follow Warmbier to North Korea, and, based on that principle, there might be circumstances in America and South Africa where white individuals similarly have their privilege ‘revoked’.
It is obvious that in some circumstances, white individuals tend to be treated better than others, but in other circumstances, black or colored individuals are treated better. South Africans of all races have experienced both of these phenomenons. But this is not saying much: it’s just life, which is dynamic. I am glad the social justice left is waking up to this reality.
It’s a public relations scheme to help government save face
The most important one for last.
It is now trite that ‘white monopoly capital’ in South Africa is not an actually-occurring phenomenon, but a concept dreamed up in the bullpen of the British public relations firm, Bell Pottinger. Bell Pottinger is closely associated with the controversial Gupta family, which has been accused of ‘capturing’ the South African state and high-level politicians.
I won’t blame the firm, however. They are doing what they are being paid to do, and that is to shift attention away from the political catastrophes orchestrated by South Africa’s political class.
According to BizNews:
“The strategy to highlight the beast of white monopoly capital in the media and at political rallies is designed to build animosity towards critics of President Jacob Zuma and his clique and shift blame for the country’s economic woes away from those in political control.”
It has also been theorized strongly on the Rational Standard that Andile Mngxitama, the intellectualist doyen of radical anti-‘whiteness’ and the founder of the political party Black First, Land First, is also on the Bell Pottinger payroll in their effort to divert attention away from government.
Mngxitama is also heavily involved with (and likely the founder of) the racist publication Black Opinion where much of the more radical white privilege and white supremacy accusations are thrown around.
These revelations about Bell Pottinger undermine the whole white privilege/monopoly capital/supremacy narrative.
Conclusion
Next time you hear someone invoke “white privilege!”, your most appropriate response would be a chuckle. In light of all the above, it should be clear that this narrative no longer holds any intellectual or practical legitimacy anywhere, but particularly in South Africa.
jemevans
Thank you for drawing my attention to ‘Black Opinion’, about which i was not aware. I suspect it may be compiled by bots as it is governed by simple determination to the exclusion of reason or rhythm. The phrase ‘white privilege’ occurs just 109 times in its archive of over three thousand, while ‘white monopoly capital ‘features 1260 times. Fancy that – give Andile a Bells.
Ike
Hogwash! Would have liked to respond if I was not this wasted. Maybe tomorrow…
Zaggeta
We’re still waiting.
bengine
Some important points here
Have to disagree with this though
“I won’t blame the firm, however. They are doing what they are being paid to do”
Where does one draw the line – throwing grenades into baby carriages – is it ok if it is what they are paid to do? Don’t think so – they crossed a line when they decided to embark on a deliberate campaign of destabilisation and fabricated racial hatred and need to be held to account.
One aspect of “White Privilege” that needs to be explored is a bit of an abstract one and has to do with the fact that the White Male, almost by definition, does not have an excuse / reason to fail. Who do white men blame when things don’t go as expected – despite perceptions, they fail all the time – but are measured by the elite few that succeed who, in many cases, use their wealth to disadvantage others (of all colours) to increase their own wealth. Back to white man in the street – he has no excuse – so he has to keep going. PoC on the other hand can look at every setback and tie that to the fact that it is because they are non-white – as strange as it may sound this is a disadvantage in itself – for PoC to get on their feet in this country they have to stop seeing a tree as a fence, abandon the excuses as to why they are where they are and start focusing on exploiting whatever positive opportunity they can to better themselves. Even if every white person in the country stood up, apologised and handed over half their estate (which I think will surprise many as to how little this actually is for the most part) – the effect on the average non-white will be negligible – at some point PoC (those who have not already – and many have) need to take responsibility for not so much where they are – but where they are going.
Russ Wood
But isn’t that EXACTLY what Zille was saying in her (ill advided) tweet?
bengine
Not sure of the overlap with any specific tweet she made but definitely goes to the response to those tweets. HZ has said many things that were bang on – one could argue her timing is off – I will argue that the people of SA need to grow up and throw their crutches away because that is all this creating issues out of misinterpreted (deliberately often) statements is. We cannot move forward without debate we cannot debate if there are armies of individuals waiting to turn every single statement made by a white person into a racial insult. HZ may have done her party some short term damage with her tweets but the people of this country need to learn to stand independently of the past or the people in it if they have any hope of rescuing the country for their children.
T'challa
The use of the word “Anymore” in the title leads me to believe that it once had a leg to stand on. If this is so, when do you think that changed?
Because Bell Pottinger may have created the term “White Monopoly Capital” but they certainly didn’t create the term “white privilege”. They just capitalized on something that was already floating around.