This is an oft debated topic. Some possible examples of system advantages include family wealth. Blacks historically weren't allowed to have jobs that paid, or were paid less than whites for the same work. Or weren't allowed to own real estate. Or weren't given access to the same loans (including federally subsidized loans). Even as early as this year there have been cases of discrimination relating to real estate and race.
So as a white male, when you inherit your parent's house, that's system advantage built from advantages that most blacks couldn't benefit from.
Additionally, where you live and proximity to better schools. Blacks in many cases weren't allowed to move into certain neighborhoods. Busing attemnpted (horribly) to compensate, but even that now is largely no longer done. Blacks simply tend to go to worse schools by almost every metric (including total funding).
Health care is another example, where most research has been done for white ethnicities. And there is still discrimination in how health care is administered. And health insurance coverage is still more difficult for Blacks to get, and they often pay more for it.
These are a few examples of "systemic" discrimination that benefits white people. There are literally books written about this if you do want to research it yourself.
What about people who come from families who immigrated into US very recently? On both ends of affirmative action. Why would sub-Saharan african immigrant get a preferential treatment while eastern european one wouldn’t?
> Or weren't given access to the same loans (including federally subsidized loans)
I'm not sure which time period you're talking about, but if it's the Boston Fed 1992 research on mortgage loans, then it has had legitimate academic challenges to its methodology.
> So as a white male, when you inherit your parent's house
The same advantage goes to a black male who inherits his parent's house, and the same disadvantage to anyone of any color who did not inherit a house.
> where most research has been done for white ethnicities
The US was nearly 90% white as recently as 1960, and was 75% white as of the 2000 census, so of course most research that has been done in the past was done with white research subjects.
Ultimately, nobody serious rejects the fact that there was past de jure racial discrimination against blacks in this country. What many people challenge is the notion that present de jure discrimination is the only way to remedy past de jure discrimination.
> I'm not sure which time period you're talking about, but if it's the Boston Fed 1992 research on mortgage loans, then it has had legitimate academic challenges to its methodology.
> The same advantage goes to a black male who inherits his parent's house, and the same disadvantage to anyone of any color who did not inherit a house.
Of course, and any difference in equity associated with the house. Around 75% of whites own a home versus 45% of blacks. And as you know -- homeownership is the single largest source of wealth for most people in the US.
> The US was nearly 90% white as recently as 1960, and was 75% white as of the 2000 census, so of course most research that has been done in the past was done with white research subjects.
> Ultimately, nobody serious rejects the fact that there was past de jure racial discrimination against blacks in this country. What many people challenge is the notion that present de jure discrimination is the only way to remedy past de jure discrimination.
The person I was responding to seemed to be making that assertion. And I never said that discrimination was the only way to remedy past discrimination.
The part that's disheartening is that so many people are so up in arms about affirmative action -- and how its discriminatory. But consider everything else we discussed (and there's a lot more) as having no real impact. I mean, why are we even talking about it...
So as a white male, when you inherit your parent's house, that's system advantage built from advantages that most blacks couldn't benefit from.
Additionally, where you live and proximity to better schools. Blacks in many cases weren't allowed to move into certain neighborhoods. Busing attemnpted (horribly) to compensate, but even that now is largely no longer done. Blacks simply tend to go to worse schools by almost every metric (including total funding).
Health care is another example, where most research has been done for white ethnicities. And there is still discrimination in how health care is administered. And health insurance coverage is still more difficult for Blacks to get, and they often pay more for it.
These are a few examples of "systemic" discrimination that benefits white people. There are literally books written about this if you do want to research it yourself.