Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
 

lumberjack_jeff

(33,224 posts)
30. Burden of proof and remediation.
Fri Jun 21, 2013, 11:20 AM
Jun 2013

1) No one can prove a negative. One can't prove that X privilege doesn't exist, so it's incumbent on those who believe it does to prove its existence.

2) I'm down with the idea that wealth brings privilege and that there are significant privileges associated with being a member of the majority racial group. I also agree that as the various factors intertwine they provide infinitely varying degrees of it.
... but social policy is a blunt instrument. All of the laws and social policies which would be invalidated by the Equal Rights Amendment are there to benefit women, to mitigate the believed presence of institutional preference for men.
For instance, scholarships for women long ago fixed the problem they were meant to address. It will be impossible to correct the gender imbalance in college so long as young men have access to only 35-40% of the financial aid.
Social policy works in generalities, and sex is not a meaningful indicator of privilege.

I think your comments are vague and contradictory because the conventional wisdom on which it is based is subjective and defended based on feelings. "Men don't have to worry about being raped! Men don't have to worry about cleaning the kitchen! Men don't have to worry about picking up the kids from daycare!". I have no doubt that many women feel that they have to worry about the kitchen. In my experience, when the kitchen reaches my discomfort level, I clean it up. The fact that my standard of clean is different from my wife's is not a form of privilege.
She doesn't "have to" clean the kitchen, she chooses to. The same holds true for men who have to work overtime to pay the bills. If the bills were as important to her as they are to him, she'd feel obliged to work overtime too.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Don't let others define you. NYC_SKP Jun 2013 #1
lol. i think its a riot, but I just want to get myself defined all proper like galileoreloaded Jun 2013 #2
or, you could just change the light bulb in the john. Warren DeMontague Jun 2013 #5
Ah, but when you play the game of thrones, you win, or you die. opiate69 Jun 2013 #13
Adding to the definitions: galileoreloaded Jun 2013 #3
I doubt that many who throw around the MRA label as a pejorative would accept the mirror argument Major Nikon Jun 2013 #4
I've been accused of being some sort of fucking MRA Grand Poop-bah, because I dare to say things Warren DeMontague Jun 2013 #6
Know what else apparently defies explanation? opiate69 Jul 2013 #34
To me the hallmark of an MRA is that he considers himself disadvantaged in society, as a man. nomorenomore08 Jun 2013 #7
I would agree, although pretty much everything I've learned about "MRAs" has come from people Warren DeMontague Jun 2013 #8
Exactly. Some people apparently feel the need to divide up the entire world into "good guys" nomorenomore08 Jun 2013 #15
Indeed. Warren DeMontague Jun 2013 #20
Let's explore this. lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #9
yeah but its not about equality is it. its about replacing an idea, male primacy or "patriarchy" galileoreloaded Jun 2013 #10
The main problem I have with it is selective primacy. lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #12
Which is why addressing gender inequality all by itself is never adequate. nomorenomore08 Jun 2013 #18
Sure, you can find legitimate exceptions to almost any "rule." Generalities are just that, nomorenomore08 Jun 2013 #17
"Men as a whole" = cop out. I asked about you. lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #19
Okay, sorry. I guess I misunderstood slightly. nomorenomore08 Jun 2013 #21
Privilege is not a feeling Major Nikon Jun 2013 #22
I know that. I was just trying to tie it to my own subjective experience, in a tangible way. nomorenomore08 Jun 2013 #24
If privilege is subjective, it is bullshit. n/t lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #27
I wouldn't say it's "subjective." But it is relative, and encompasses much more than gender. nomorenomore08 Jun 2013 #28
Burden of proof and remediation. lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #30
If you feel safer than the typical woman, it's irrational. lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #23
In terms of cold, hard statistics, you may be right. nomorenomore08 Jun 2013 #25
Subjective perceptions of the world are shaped by phrases like... lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #26
I think maybe *some* women's lives are held in greater value than *some* men's. nomorenomore08 Jun 2013 #29
women's lives, by biological necessity are more important than mens galileoreloaded Jun 2013 #32
Very true. And those who consider women so disposable - not on DU, but out there in the world - nomorenomore08 Jun 2013 #33
i dont feel disadvantaged at all, just not "priveleged" barf. i guess im not an mra then. nt galileoreloaded Jun 2013 #11
No, I don't think you really fit the profile. You're not paranoid or belligerent enough. nomorenomore08 Jun 2013 #14
lol. i do get assertive but it isn't rooted in insecurity galileoreloaded Jun 2013 #16
Join the resistance Major Nikon Jun 2013 #31
Latest Discussions»Retired Forums»Men's Group»After being called an MRA...»Reply #30