Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by jmorphy88 3605 days ago
> But maybe we shouldn't feel sorry for these people, who grew up in the richest country in the world blah blah blah ...

So, whites deserve nothing from the institutions of their own country, except the "privilege" to be permanently tainted by a kind of Original Sin, and neglected in favor of literally every other ethnic group? Got it.
1 comments
twblalock 3605 days ago
I didn't say anything remotely like that.
link
jmorphy88 3605 days ago
Sure you did. Your third and fourth paragraphs essentially say, "These people, by virtue of being white Americans, do not deserve help from our country's institutions, because they are evil. Everyone else on earth is more deserving of help, and therefore, our country should give money to foreigners instead of its own people."

And people wonder where working-class rage comes from...

link
twblalock 3605 days ago
You're way off.

First of all, I said that these people already get plenty of help, and are not entitled to even more help.

Second, I did not say that "everyone else on Earth" was deserving of help. I said that some people are, because they are poorer than the Americans we are talking about.

Third, I did not say that our country should give money to anyone. I said that I would prefer to give my money to the poorest people in the world, and they are not Americans.

Fourth, I never said that anyone was evil. I did not even imply it.

I suspect you are intentionally making an uncharitable interpretation of my words, because no reasonable person would interpret them in such a twisted way.

link
jmorphy88 3605 days ago
Fair enough, not trying to put words in your mouth, but here's the thing: the "white privilege" narrative that you rely on here IS actually a way of declaring a group of people as being morally unworthy. Granted you didn't use the word "evil" but if a group is permanently tarred with the accusation that their group interests are not legitimate and never will be, it's not a stretch to suggest that this group is being accused of a kind of eternal "Original Sin" from which they can never be cleansed.

And anyway, it's clear from your explanation that if these people were not white, you might have some sympathy for them. How else are we to interpret statements like: "they cannot point to any injustices visited upon them as an excuse for their current state of affairs" and that "these people have nothing to offer to anyone" a few lines after you elucidate how the US Govt did nothing to protect American manufacturing jobs? What exactly do foreign manual laborers "have to offer" that white Americans don't, aside from being cheaper?

link
twblalock 3605 days ago
> the "white privilege" narrative that you rely on here IS actually a way of declaring a group of people as being morally unworthy.

No, it isn't. It is simply a recognition that some people are treated better than others because of their race. It says nothing about the legitimacy of a group's interests, and it certainly has nothing to do with the concepts of evil or sin.

link
jmorphy88 3605 days ago
Well, the very idea of group interests MEANS that group will treat some people better than others. So, are white people allowed to do that, or not?
link