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Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is
11–16 of 16 posts
Re: Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is
#12They mean intelligent, tall, handsome, straight, white, male.
I think there's also a western bias. Put a white male outside their element and I'm not sure, an average, a white male would do much better than an equivalent local‡, if not worse. For example, I lived in SEAsia for two years. In some places, you cannot own a business (as any foreigner). If you do want to own, you marry (a local) or get yourself a (business) partner. Due to cultural differences, the white male wester…
In most of the world I got treated as well as a particularly high status local by being a white educated American male.
(in some cases, sure, a huge security risk too, but they basically assume the white foreigner can solve their problems for them -- at least in Asia, Middle East, etc., which are lacking in white people.)
In the middle east this could cause some serious problems where people from Iraq/Afghanistan assumed any idiot from the US who happened to be white actually knew what he was talking about on any issue. They'd go with a totally uneducated or domain-ignorant white guy giving advice he made up on the spot, over a non-white (local or South Asian) credentialed or highly experienced expert.
In China (and some other places, Thailand, etc.) this leads to hiring white guys to act as public faces for organizations. It's also one of the things international management consulting firms have to rely on in some markets. It's really stupid.
Re: Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is
#13Tell this to an unattractive, poor white male[1] who watches enviously as an attractive, middle-class black male is given a subsidized college education. "Your life is easier because you're white. Feel guilty . Feel sheepish about any of your accomplishments, because they were made easier due to your lack of melanin." Perhaps this white male – with his lack of melanin – has sun-damaged skin with several large, promin…
not buying. an "unattractive, poor white male" will still have it easier then an "unattractive, poor black male".
Re-read the article. People do indeed get different numbers of "points" to start with, and the variation within a group is still bigger then differences between the groups, so someone can be black, and yet attractive, physically fit, extremely intelligent and from a wealthy family - a very 'easy' difficulty level to play at, and yet, replace 'black' with 'white' and it will become even easier still.
Re: Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think there's also a western bias. Put a white male outside their element and I'm not sure, an average, a white male would do much better than an equivalent local‡, if not worse. For example, I lived in SEAsia for two years. In some places, you cannot own a business (as any foreigner). If you do want to own, you marry (a local) or get yourself a (business) partner. Due to cultural differences, the white male wester…
In most of the world I got treated as well as a particularly high status local by being a white educated American male. (in some cases, sure, a huge security risk too, but they basically assume the white foreigner can solve their problems for them -- at least in Asia, Middle East, etc., which are lacking in white people.) In the middle east this could cause some serious problems where people from Iraq/Afghanistan ass…
I think the ME is a bit complicated.
First, most middle easterners are white/caucasian (and classify themselves as such, even if some Americans erroneously might not), so I'm not sure race is a factor. On the other hand, I think power is a big factor. Imagine an alien (ET) race (but humanoid looking) came and took over the US (gov't). Yes, many people would be upset, many would take up arms, but on the other hand, many would assume they had something to offer (as they proved themselves superior militarily). Two, I don't think it's only white Americans they would indulge with this assumption, but rather, any American --not to say they exhibit no racism.
In China, yes, whites are used for company brochures and faces on web presences --but that's token. White guys (and actually, more white girls) are paid pretty low to have their images used for marketing reasons (to appear more international). Conversely, female white-slaves (trafficked peoples from E Europe) do get paid okay, I suppose, vis a vis locals. In most of E Asia, it's Japan that's looked up to and emulated, not so much the US or Europe --altho they are, just less so.
In Africa where China has a large presence and investments, likewise, China is held up to be superior (this also has generated some backlash in those places).
Re: Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is
#15Alexis Ohanian said it better and in a less incendiary way @ HN's event in NYC last year: Being a middle-class white male with loving parents is like playing the game of life on easy mode. One has an obligation to do good things for the world - in acknowledgement that there is more to be done and that others deserve the same environment you were born into. (Paraphrasing) That's a balanced viewpoint, one that's hard t…
I would argue that it is in fact easy to resent having one's accomplishments belittled on the basis of race, gender and sexuality.
Even if it is, generally speaking, a true statement when applied to the demographic as a whole, individuals will always bristle at such language.
Re: Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is
#16"Straight white guys don't react well to being told they are privileged. I will, therefore, come up with a condescending, stereotypical metaphor in order to tell them they are privileged, in hopes that this will... well, get some clicks anyway."
That would be the nail you just hit on the head there