I'm surprised how many DU'ers think aknowledging white male privilege is somehow bigoted

[frustrated_lefty]

134. thoughts

It helps that you’ve identified the data source you’re suing to draw your conclusions.

Let me preface this by saying I think it’s hard to identify a societal ill that doesn’t have at least part of its basis in WMP. It may be difficult for your average white guy to recognize or acknowledge WMP because many, if not most, are primarily passive beneficiaries of a system whose most tangible benefits are increasingly reserved for the financial elite and a handful of professions still steeped in good-ole boy networking. The passive benefits remain real, though. Our cultural imagery alone constantly reinforces the white male ego, presenting “whiteness” and “guyness” as the very definition of success. I do think white guys have a particular responsibility to recognize the influence of WMP and, at the very least, do what they can to not perpetuate the system.

That said, I’m skeptical of your claim that WMP and rural white guys are at the heart of gun problems in the US. One issue with the data you’re relying on is that it relies on self-reporting of gun ownership which does not necessarily present an accurate measure of actual gun ownership in this country. Another problem is that the numbers presented don’t jibe with data on gun violence. A 60% gun ownership is self-reported in rural environments, for example, but 60% of gun violence in the US occurs in urban and metropolitan settings. More white households self-report gun ownership, but the strongest demographic correlation with gun violence is with young African American males.

The numbers I’m looking at come from several sources, but these two links are reasonable summaries:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/jan/10/gun-crime-us-state
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/12/geography-us-gun-violence/4171/#


About the only connection I can see between WMP and gun violence in the US is that a bunch of rich white guys have fucked up the economy and there is a really strong correlation between poverty and gun violence. That strikes me as a circuitous path if your endpoint is blaming rural white guys more than any other demographic.