[Non-political] News that makes you Laugh/Cry/Both...

[Maj]

Talking about Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches is an example of "white privilege."

I'm stunned. What the hell.

[Prak]

Oh for fuck sake....

[Ancient History]

Man, I'm glad somebody never heard of fluffernutter.

[Koumei]

Maj, I would take anything from that site with a kilo of salt. Just look at the other shit there. Also "political correctness gone mad!" is such an established old meme that you can totally make shit up and people will read it and agree.

[Maj]

I made my comment based on the quoted text. Here's the original article. I get that she's trying to be all diverse and stuff... But what if a culture doesn't have a history of peanut butter?

She's mistaking white privilege for American privilege, and in her attempt to be thoughtful, she just ends up being thoughtless. Unfortunately, that just alienates people from the conversation, rather than bringing them into it.

[Prak]

Technically it's something more like "Western Privelege" as I'm pretty sure most of western civilization has bread and peanut butter.

Honestly, the whole privilege thing gets pretty fucking stupid. I have white and male privilege, but I'm also transgender, so do I not have male privilege even though I grew up identifying male and still present that way? Or do I still have it, even though I don't identify as male?

Also, I would contend that there is such a thing as gay privilege, because whether people like them or not, it can be a lot harder to be pansexual than gay, because even a lot of gay people don't think bi/pansexuality exists.

What I'm trying to say is "it's privilege all the way down."

[Koumei]

The idea that "you were born with a penis, therefore you get paid 20% more and are just more likely to get a promotion" is an actual thing and men should actually remember this, that's quite valid. Likewise "you are white, therefore in this country you are less likely to be harassed by police and more likely to get a job." is a real thing and it's good for me to remember that.

But it was blown out of proportion, firstly by serious people who thought they had a valid point to make, and then by people who specifically want to strawman all attempts at equality as "crazy fringe movement that wants to ban sandwiches". Note: that second group was entirely successful.

So I cringe when I hear people talk about privilege, and I don't use the term, and there's usually stupidity surrounding it. But the basic idea is worth keeping in mind.

[Prak]

Well, what I mean is, yes, if I can manage to get a job, I'm statistically likely to get paid 20% more and more likely to get a promotion. However, if I actually transition, my penis actually makes me statistically more likely to be killed by hateful idiots because it's beneath a pair of tits.

[Chamomile]

Your penis is also more likely to get you killed generally, but a vagina is more likely to get you raped so I guess we can call that one a draw.

[sabs]

Technically it's something more like "Western Privelege" as I'm pretty sure most of western civilization has bread and peanut butter.

Honestly, the whole privilege thing gets pretty fucking stupid. I have white and male privilege, but I'm also transgender, so do I not have male privilege even though I grew up identifying male and still present that way? Or do I still have it, even though I don't identify as male?

Also, I would contend that there is such a thing as gay privilege, because whether people like them or not, it can be a lot harder to be pansexual than gay, because even a lot of gay people don't think bi/pansexuality exists.

What I'm trying to say is "it's privilege all the way down."

Peanut Butter is an American thing. It's the american version of vegemite. You find it around the world at PX's pretty much, or in specialty stores selling to ex-Pats. She points out about Somali in the article, but there isn't an american kid who doesn't know what a pbj is. It's really just 0 and 1st generation immigrants who are baffled by pbj.

[Fuchs]

Technically it's something more like "Western Privelege" as I'm pretty sure most of western civilization has bread and peanut butter.

Honestly, the whole privilege thing gets pretty fucking stupid. I have white and male privilege, but I'm also transgender, so do I not have male privilege even though I grew up identifying male and still present that way? Or do I still have it, even though I don't identify as male?

Also, I would contend that there is such a thing as gay privilege, because whether people like them or not, it can be a lot harder to be pansexual than gay, because even a lot of gay people don't think bi/pansexuality exists.

What I'm trying to say is "it's privilege all the way down."

Peanut Butter is an American thing. It's the american version of vegemite. You find it around the world at PX's pretty much, or in specialty stores selling to ex-Pats. She points out about Somali in the article, but there isn't an american kid who doesn't know what a pbj is. It's really just 0 and 1st generation immigrants who are baffled by pbj.

Yeah, I have never even seen peanut butter for sale over here in Switzerland. I have never seen anyone eating it either.

[TheJerkStore]

Mental note: when visiting friends oversees, bring Peanut Butter to bring as a gift.

[Maj]

That's exactly what I mean... It's not white privilege because there are white people in the world who don't eat peanut butter. It's American privilege.

[erik]

Mental note: when visiting friends oversees, bring Peanut Butter to bring as a gift.

My mom does that with her friends in Chile.

[Maj]

And for your amusement... Moar American privilege!

[CatharzGodfoot]

Maj: it's not American privilege, because there are apparently Americans who are ignorant of it. Otherwise it wouldn't be an issue. Similarly, knowing how to answer math questions about how many points a person is getting in a particular sport is not American privilege (or white privilege), because knowledge of all sports is not universal among Americans.

The point is not that sandwiches are racist. The point is that teachers need to teach--rather than assume--culturally specific knowledge, or their assessments become biased.

[Maj]

Oh, click the article about fried chicken scented candles already!

[Shrapnel]

I know many people who would kill for one of those.

[Cynic]

I remember living in India and getting Peanut Butter from my a visiting aunt. It really wasn't my cup of tea. I think I only started liking Peanut Butter several years after I came to America.

But, yeah, that article is strange. I mean we all know that white people are evil but white bread or peanut butter has nothing to do with that.

It's because you steal our women*.

*The opposite doesn't work seeing that I stole a white woman for my wife. That's not racist, I'm brown.

[Cynic]

FBI confirms that Hell is other people.

[Maj]

Well, this is highly offensive.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Well, this is highly offensive.

Well, what did you expect from propaganda produced by a former Walmart executive?

[Maj]

I knew that, but it still amazes me. I don't know why.

[Chamomile]

Can I get one of these professional protesting jobs? It sounds way easier than any job I've ever had.

[Maj]

Americans suck at math

I knew this, but this tidbit from the article is just appallingly bad:

Only 18 percent of American adults can calculate how much a carpet will cost if they know the size of the room and the per-yard price of the carpet, according to a federal survey.