My blogs and this website concern themselves in large part with unusual types of discrimination. So I write about the discrimnation in favor of wealthy, smart, or talented people. For example, the criminal justice system is biased towards many celebrities. They essentially get away with murder, as I explain in my forthcoming book, Privileged Killers. But recent weeks have shown me that we must deal with the usual kinds of discrimination in the U.S. And it's not just the underprivileged … [Read more...]
‘Bombshell,’ #MeToo, and Hollywood’s inability to portray its own villains.
As promised I will share your questions and comments and update mine now that I’ve seen Bombshell and thought about the #MeToo tie-in. First, I was dazzled by Theron's spot on depiction of Megyn Kelly. And the movie kept my interest and my companion's. Mostly, though, my concern in my prior blog - that Bombshell might gloss over institutional #MeToo issues - was unfortunately borne out. Additionally, I kept thinking, is Hollywood the best industry to lecture us about #MeToo behaviors, … [Read more...]
Privilege, Power, and Race — Whiteness explained.
Allan Johnson, Privilege, Power, and Race. Privilege, Power, and Race. One of my favorite sociologists, Allan Johnson, died recently. I've been meaning to pay homage to him and one of his key books. His thoughts on privilege, power and race reflect notions I've expressed here and elsewhere. The following is an excerpt from Johnson's book Privilege, Power, and Difference, 2nd edition, which deserves being quoted in it's entirety. "Individuals and systems are connected to each … [Read more...]
Celebs & CEOs are likely to beat the rap in college fraud.
As someone who got into Yale the hard, old-fashioned way, the fact that celebs & CEOs are likely to beat the rap for bribing colleges outrages me. I've blogged about bias and discrimination in favor celebs and other elites before. Most recently, here and here. The defendants are a "catalogue of wealth and privilege,” U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said during his press conference announcing charges.Most importantly, he also said, "There can be no separate college-admissions system … [Read more...]
White supremacy increasing. Need civil rights activist heroes.
Calling the civil rights activist — wherever you may be. We need you now. Why" To combat the rise in hate crimes experienced worldwide. Data from multiple sources suggest this is so, not just info from news accounts about egregious crimes. The latest being the terror attacks on two New Zealand mosques, killing 50 and injuring 50. We need the likes of Martin Luther King, Jr. and many of the men and women in his orbit. We know a lot about the civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, for … [Read more...]
Understanding White Privilege – its sociological origins.
In an effort at understanding white privilege from an historical perspective, I wrote a post back in January. In this post, I'm into understanding white privilege from a sociological perspective. For a variety of reasons, one engaging perspective of this sort by sociologist Alan G. Johnson starts off with the notion that the British were instrumental in the development of the idea of racial superiority. According to Johnson's perspective, the British were not the first to believe that … [Read more...]
Am I privileged? Try these exercises.
I'm writing a book about how the American criminal justice system treats "privileged" murderers different from others. The murderers' privileges in my book (working title "Four Murders & a Funeral") start with being white males and in some cases end with being privileged in yet other ways.) Because of my book topic, people often ask me what I mean by "privilege." Well, here's a definition from a white male who's also gay, and you wouldn't be alone thinking 'maybe he's not privileged if … [Read more...]