Bill O'Reilly and White Privilege

            Racial privilege is the unearned benefits and entitlements that accrue to members of the racially dominant group. I am part of that dominant group. I am white and therefore my whiteness grants me privileges that are not really mine to claim. They are given to me just because I’m white. But are white people really the majority of this world? Or do we just like to think we are? How does one group of people have so much power over other groups? There are many systems in the United States that are rooted in racism and thus protect the status quo. Privilege allows for power, and such power is used to marginalize groups of people. 

            According to Bill O'Reilly, White privilege does not exist. On an episode of Talking Points he claims that "African-Americans have a much harder time succeeding in our society" because of education, not race. He backs up his claims with statistics stating that Asian Americans earn the most money and have the smallest unemployment rate because they have, "stable homes and an emphasis on education." He also argues that Asians have the highest graduation rate while Blacks have the lowest. He argues that because Asian American households tend to stay together more than Black families, and because of the push for education, that Asians succeed more than anyone, and he wonders if there is actually an Asian American privilege. All he is doing is perpetuating the Model Minority stereotype that Asians must be the better minority because they have assimilated and are submissive and successful. They don't cause trouble like the Black folks, trying to take our rights away. This line of thinking is racist and ignorant. He completely negates the long history of segregation (that was separate but definitely not equal) in the education system in the U.S. not to mention the history of structural and institutional inequalities that have marginalized people of color since the "discovery" of this country. 

"Instead of preaching a cultural revolution, the leadership provides excuses for failure. The race hustlers blame white privilege, and unfair society, a terrible country. So the message is, it's not your fault if you abandon your children, if you become a substance abuser, if you are a criminal. No, it's not your fault; it's society's fault."

          He basically argues the fallacy of the American Dream. Anyone can achieve anything in the United States as long as they try hard enough. And if they're poor, and in jail, it certainly has nothing to do with how the corrupt justice system or any historical implications, it's only because you haven't tried hard enough.  But the reality is that the American Dream does not apply to everyone, it's not even a real thing. The fact that Bill O'Reilly doesn't realize he has privilege is just an example of his privilege. He doesn't have to think about it because he's not affected by the lack of white people in the media and in power positions because, oh wait, he's one of them. No one ever tells him that he's quite articulate, for a white man.  He argues that personal responsibility and cultural change are needed, and that the federal government can't fix it. He just doesn't get it, and he makes these ignorant statements on national television, which do not help anyone.