I find it interesting how we are getting distracted again. An LFR editorial

[patrice]

43. The problem, especially with this issue, may be a matter of priorities, both sets of

priorities: those of "white male privilege" message initiators and message recipients.

I have the flu today, so I'm having some trouble thinking it through, but what motivates me to wonder about the issue of priorities is the very likely fact that BOTH sides of the question can and do claim prejudice and whether that's valid or not it must be a factor interfering with message reception.

That's the stinking elephant in the room: is what we perceive as prejudice always prejudice and is it unilateral? It's not hard to recognize that some cohorts do in fact have a higher probability of experiencing prejudice, but, since it is incividuals who have to change, what happens to individuals and how they understand whatever happens should be where we start. Trying to tell someone that s/he should respect individual persons isn't going to work if s/he feels s/he is not being respected as an individual person.

The fact of "white male privilege" should be validated, but if individuals regard it as a DOMINANT priority, that's going to be a problem, whether it should be or not.