[orn688]

There isn't an assumption that all white men are racist here. Instead, I think the reasoning is that the vast majority of white men have benefited (probably unknowingly) from structural racism to the detriment of other groups. The training is intended to make these men aware of that in an effort to chip away at structural racism and its harmful effects.

[ab7675226]

It has taken us millennia to understand that the burden of proof is on the accuser, not the accused.

To claim that someone benefits from Structural Racism is an accusation. Yet Structural Racism is poorly defined and is - in practice - used as a grab-bag to contain any disparity, any grievance, and any complaint. Thus, it is impossible to defend against. Indeed to defend against it is to 'benefit from White Privilege.' Hence the Kafka-Trap book, 'White Fragility.'

There is nothing good about this sort of stuff and it needs to go away.

[nobody9999]

>The training is intended to make these men aware of that in an effort to chip away at structural racism and its harmful effects.

I can't speak for anyone else, but as a middle-aged white man, I am well aware (and have been for decades) that I've been the beneficiary of white male privilege.

But aside from treating all humans equally, I'm not sure what else I can really do.

Should I interrogate potential employers as to their hiring practices and turn down job offers if the employer hasn't sufficiently included non-white, non-male candidates?

What does "sufficiently" mean in the context of the above sentence? And how should I interrogate potential employers about this?

What if I really need the job to pay my bills? Should I refuse to work at all and end up on the street so I can ensure that I don't receive any special privilege/treatment?

Should I give $20 to every non-white, non-male person I see to "pay them back" for the preferential treatment I (never wanted or asked for) received?

I'm not claiming that institutional and individual racism and sexism don't exist. Quite the opposite, in fact.

And I believe that folks should be (if they aren't already) made aware that these issues are real and negatively affect many people.

That said, unless I'm an employer/hiring manager, all I can do is treat all the humans around me with simple respect and judge people based on their actions, rather than their melanin content or type of genitalia -- traits which are irrelevant to the value of a person.

Edit -- I guess this isn't going to happen. More's the pity:

  Perhaps I'm missing something in this discussion.  
  If so, I hope someone will enlighten me as to 
  what that might be.

Additional Edit: Apparently, I was wrong. Thank you to those who chose to respond positively rather than just rejecting my point of view out of hand. It's appreciated.

[david38]

You are lucky. Untold millions of whites do not live fortunate lives.

Good on you for judging based on actions. I believe it will come back in fashion.

[metajack]

> I am well aware (and have been for decades) that I've been the beneficiary of white male privilege

Excellent. Either you got this training at some point or you figured it out yourself. The point of such training is to make sure that all of us white men understand that benefits we've gotten from systemic racism.

This is not really different from other aspects of education. I spent plenty of time in computer science classes where I already understood the material. I had some exposure to this kind of education about systemic racism early in college, which I completely bounced off of and missed the point of. Future exposure eventually got the message through. Sometimes repetition is needed.

> But aside from treating all humans equally, I'm not sure what else I can really do.

That's a big "aside from". There are many times in my career where I have decision making power or influence on a decision that involves other humans. Being aware of systemic racism and unconscious and conscious biases help me make more equitable decisions. If you are doing similar things, then congratulations, you are probably helping solve the problem. I don't think anyone is asking you to do more than that.

[nobody9999]

>Excellent. Either you got this training at some point or you figured it out yourself. The point of such training is to make sure that all of us white men understand that benefits we've gotten from systemic racism.

No. No training about this except more than fifty years of living in this world.

I'll summarize in a negative way as that's generally better understood:

  There are assholes *everywhere*.
  They are men and women.
  They are of all ethnicities, creeds and levels of 
  melanin content.
  They are also a pretty small group compared to the 
  larger population.
  But they are well mixed within the population and 
  appear with some regularity.

Pretty much everybody else are decent, kind people. As such, I give folks the benefit of the doubt unless and until they show me they don't deserve it.

[dfxm12]

I think you're missing the audience of this training. This isn't about you (and I think that's another issue white men have to get over).

As a "nobody" :), you likely have no power to undo structural racism. Key executives of a company like Lockheed Martin, however, have some power in that regard.

[nobody9999]

>I think you're missing the audience of this training. This isn't about you. I think that's another issue white men have to get over.

Actually, I think it's about all of us. In the sense that as long as people ignore the issue (or insist upon being deliberately obtuse about it), we're not going to fix it.

I choose to do what I can.

As to whether or not that will make a difference that's larger than just my own personal interactions, I don't know. I'd like to hope so, but it seems pretty unlikely.

But that doesn't invalidate what I do or encourage.

I prefer to model the world as I'd like it to be and act accordingly.

>As a "nobody" :), you likely have no power to undo structural racism. Key executives of a company like Lockheed Martin, however, have some power in that regard.

As I said:

  And I believe that folks should be (if they aren't 
  already) made aware that these issues are real and 
  negatively affect many people.

No, I can't change the ideas and attitudes of everyone around me. And no, I can't make institutional racism/sexism go away all by myself.

However, I can continue doing what I already do (treat others with respect regardless of their immutable traits) and encourage others to do the same.

[telendram]

That's not the reality. Once they arrive, these kind of trainings become Compulsory for everybody. Those who refused are fired, with cause. Well, everybody "white", of course, thus worth being "reminded" of their "privilege". And also their flaws. I mean, if they are white, they are necessarily racist. If they seem not to be, they are just hiding it. If they defend themselves, it's a proof of their privilege, and by extension their racism. If you are a man, you are also a rapist in hiding. Etc. Just pass a few hours receiving such kind of "training", get it repeated every year just in case, and we'll see how you think about it afterwards.

[darkhorse22]

When I start answering these hard questions about my ethnicity, one result is strong sense of white pride. It's hard to tell if that's the desired outcome or not; I'm skeptical of the sincerity of these people looking for "allies" through insults.

[benjohnson]

Perhaps 'pride' isn't a long-term useful label. I have chosen 'appreciation' for my ancestors that worked hard and contributed to our civilization.

Once viewed though that lens, you being to see kindred spirits in a lot of other races and cultures. For me, it came to a growing realization that as a white male, I often have much more in common with a new immigrant than I do with a trust-fund white kid that burning the downtown.

[injb]

>>Instead, I think the reasoning is that the vast majority of white men have benefited (probably unknowingly) from structural racism to the detriment of other groups.

That's not reasoning. That's an unfounded claim or assertion.