I think the psychology of privilege is very interesting. I assume you've heard of the Stanford Prison Experiment back in the 1970s where they randomly assigned student volunteers to be either prisoners or guards, and within a few days the "guards" had become so abusive toward the "prisoners" that the whole thing had to be shut down.
I also read an article about president Obama's ancestry once that had a very interesting little tidbit embedded in it. Apparently on his (white) mother's side one of his ancestors was actually one of the first Africans to be enslaved in this country. Somebody named Bunch or Punch? Anyhow, this guy was black, but I believe he was married to a white woman... which (the interesting part) was not actually considered scandalous at the time (early 1600s). The article went on to say that people didn't really consider blacks to be inferior until AFTER they started enslaving them en masse. So it wasn't that they thought blacks were sub-human and therefore they could justify enslaving them... it was the other way around. They started enslaving them, and then decided that they were sub-human in order to justify their behavior.
I don't know how true that description of early race relations actually is, but it sort of fits with my general observations about privilege. People know on some level that their privilege is arbitrary, but apparently that knowledge doesn't sit well, so they convince themselves that they somehow "deserve" it. Sorta like the Monopoly study you mentioned.
Like you, it sickens me. Sorta makes me want to tattoo "There, but for the grace of God, go I" on their foreheads or something.
no subject
I also read an article about president Obama's ancestry once that had a very interesting little tidbit embedded in it. Apparently on his (white) mother's side one of his ancestors was actually one of the first Africans to be enslaved in this country. Somebody named Bunch or Punch? Anyhow, this guy was black, but I believe he was married to a white woman... which (the interesting part) was not actually considered scandalous at the time (early 1600s). The article went on to say that people didn't really consider blacks to be inferior until AFTER they started enslaving them en masse. So it wasn't that they thought blacks were sub-human and therefore they could justify enslaving them... it was the other way around. They started enslaving them, and then decided that they were sub-human in order to justify their behavior.
I don't know how true that description of early race relations actually is, but it sort of fits with my general observations about privilege. People know on some level that their privilege is arbitrary, but apparently that knowledge doesn't sit well, so they convince themselves that they somehow "deserve" it. Sorta like the Monopoly study you mentioned.
Like you, it sickens me. Sorta makes me want to tattoo "There, but for the grace of God, go I" on their foreheads or something.
Sigh.
-Cat