The video was posted at Youtube.com which allows for comments on material posted. A number of individules expressing racial prejudice or backward ideas responded. Here is my response to their comments:

 

It’s pretty clear to see from the responses to the video interview with the author of “The Cost of Privilege”, that racial prejudice is far from dead among some who are viewing it on YouTube. Take for example the statement by Utvara1,

“This thing is bullshit of imperial proportions!
All of the statistics are the status of things in USA not what will hapened curtanly because of the race.
All races have an eqal chanse to have success in life if white population makes more from it that does not mean that black are discriminated it means they don't use that chanse.” [sik]

The illusions of liberal democracy in America are many. Many people are lured into complacency by the rhetoric of the Declaration of Independence “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal”. This rhetoric certainly did not describe the situation in what eventually became the United States in 1776, or after independence was won.

Blacks were considered 3/5 of a person by the Constitution of the US. Only white men could vote, and only men who owned property. There was no pretense that women were a part of the equation.

Whites have benefited for hundreds of years from that racism. The mass extermination of indigenous peoples of the Americas (dubbed “Indians”) by white Europeans cleared the way for the settlement of what later became the United States. Poor whites were GIVEN land or sold land at very low prices after it was STOLEN from the Native Peoples. That theft continues to the present day.

Following the end of slavery, Black people were given nothing to compensate for hundreds of years of brutal treatment and theft of their lives! Social benefits like welfare which the political Right attempts to portray as a benefit for Blacks (when in actuallity the overwhelming majority receiving it are poor whites) is not sufficient compensation. 

 

When one looks at the impact of that transfer of wealth, land wealth, through inheritance over time and the inflation of property values, its very clear that white privilege still operates, even though the legal aspect of “Jim Crow”, the system of laws which denied blacks access to employment, housing education and other opportunities changed in law. Unfortunately, laws by themselves don’t change the situation, they allow one to sue, but not if you don’t have the funds to hire a lawyer.

Another reaction by frthought (2 days ago)
“Just because my ancestors may have owned slaves (to my extreme disappointment, they did), doesn't mean that I am anyone's enemy. We all must move beyond judging each other based on the histories of dead people, and judge each other based on the "content of each other's character".

The point of the “Cost of Privilege” is that blacks and whites aren’t enemies, but that even working and middle class whites have been privileged by the largely rich white ruling elite. The failure of unions to challenge that privilege has weakened the unions. The failure of white and black working people to fight as a unit for our class interests has resulted in a situation where wealth in this country is overwhelmingly owned by a tiny percentage of rich people. A situation where working class whites have to struggle very hard to maintain their standard of living.

But we can’t ignore our history, or we’ll be doomed to repeat it. Racial inequality is growing and whites need to stand up and oppose it along side of our black brothers and sisters. We need to oppose police brutality in cases like Sean Bell.

Many don’t understand either racism or white privilege, for example:

Zrazys (1 day ago)
“What exactly is racism? What is white priviledge? Racism is mostly used as a bashing tool by socialists and, pinkos. It's meant to be an emotional gotcha, but usually has little meaning. What they think of as priviledge is simply what naturally happens when a majority does it's thing. That something is wrong with it, means that one has to first accept the Socialist p.o.v. I don't.”

Racism is the use of race as a basis to deny others their human rights. It is practiced by those who have power over others. If you don’t have power over someone you can’t be racist, though you might be bigoted or prejudiced if you think those of other races are inherently inferior. White privilege is a system that gives more privileges to whites than people of color. The system of white privilege seeks to divide working class whites from working class blacks so they can not unit to fight for their rights as one powerful block.

Discussions of race can get quite heated because people of color don’t like to be dissed. They don’t get angry as a game, but as a matter of self defence.

You don’t have to be a Socialist to understand that racism is morally wrong, and that it is against working class people’s interest, white AND black.

The irony of Derekn88’s statement:

“I want you to go back to africa you syupid N-*#%$@”

(I purposely changed the spelling of the N-word that he used because it is offensive)

Derekn88’s statement is ironic, because he can’t spell and yet he calls someone else stupid.

What is clear from Derekn88’s statement is he is ignorant, abusive, and full of prejudice. People like him, may not be persuaded that his views are disgusting, but people need to speak out against his ignorance abusive comments and hold him accountable. These type of attitudes are poison and unacceptable.

It’s in the interest of all working people to battle racism, prejudice and white privilege. It is essential if we are to ever have a real democracy in this country. Racism isn’t backward attitudes held by poor whites, that’s prejudice. Racism is the use of power to extract wealth and because of race. It also is institutional. We see corporations do it all the time. But prejudice can be a real problem too because it divides working people and must also be opposed.