Morality vs. white male privilege

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katiesonlyson

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Hello, I am struggling with a decision and hope someone can help. I am 43 and come from a modest working-class background. Recently, I completed a 2-year degree at community college in order to start a new career in computer programming (25 years of computer programming has exacted a physical toll). Currently I am doing some small volunteer projects to gain experience in the field, but job opportunities have now started coming my way.

On its face, this might seem like great news. However, there is a distinct ethical problem. I am a white american male. I understand that, with these traits, I enjoy a multitude of benefits and opportunities that women and people of color do not. For instance, white males in america are offered employment much more readily than others and are compensated at higher rates. Unemployment for whites is currently 3 percent, while it is 26 percent for African-Americans.

Is it moral for a person like myself to entertain job prospects? In my research I’ve read that any opportunity I take will be one that is not given to a lesser-privileged person. I would really have a problem robbing someone of an opportunity. My mentor (who is Nativ-American) has said that I should try to be as successful as possible, and then use that success to mentor minority youths - thereby creating more opportunities for them. That sounds good in the long term, but it does not solve the ethical problem of my white male privilege continuing as a tool of oppression in the near term.

When visiting the US, Father Francis showed signs of pride in the Black Lives Matter movement, who have recently demanded a greater degree of equality in america. However, I’m not sure how long I can continue to support myself with construction labor. Not seeking validation or “go for it” just to be “nice”. It’s a serious problem and I honestly don’t know what to do.

Thank you and Peace be with you.
 
It is not healthy to feel guilty about your human traits and characteristics.
God created you good.

If you serve others God will be pleased.
 
Not taking a job will not improve the lives of those who are unemployed. If you trained to be a programmer that is not taking away a job from an unemployed black male if they aren’t competing for that job. Having worked in IT for 20+ years I can say that blacks, hispanics, women, and other minorities aren’t under represented because of white males getting preference, but rather because there are very few qualified candidates from those groups. You can’t hire people that don’t apply or who aren’t trained. For what ever reasons certain populations are not interested in various fields.

Perhaps economic conditions don’t favor certain groups to pursue the required education, but you declining an opportunity will not suddenly make an unemployed black man that dropped out of high school qualified to be a computer programmer. Many times poverty is a self fulfilling prophecy. “I have no money so I’ll drop out to get a job, but I can’t get a good job (or any job) because I dropped out”. As long as poor inner city kids drop out at higher rates they will continue to be economically disadvantaged. If you want to help unemployment and offer them a better shot at good paying careers then you need to fix the root of the problem; lack of education.

Please don’t buy into the myth that taking advantage of opportunities offered is a form of oppression. I have worked for men and women that grew up in public housing and one person from a poor farming community in Mexico. They succeed precisely because they didn’t give up and say I’m XXX so I’m oppressed because others started from a better place than me. Follow your mentors advice and help to fix the problems and not simply accept certain groups as victims of your success.
 
OP, there is no “distinct ethical problem” here, and you should feel no guilt whatsoever about pursuing your field of study. In fact, it would be a total waste not to do so.
 
katiesonlyson said:
Hello, I am struggling with a decision and hope someone can help. I am 43 and come from a modest working-class background. Recently, I completed a 2-year degree at community college in order to start a new career in computer programming (25 years of computer programming has exacted a physical toll). Currently I am doing some small volunteer projects to gain experience in the field, but job opportunities have now started coming my way.

On its face, this might seem like great news. However, there is a distinct ethical problem. I am a white american male. I understand that, with these traits, I enjoy a multitude of benefits and opportunities that women and people of color do not. For instance, white males in america are offered employment much more readily than others and are compensated at higher rates. Unemployment for whites is currently 3 percent, while it is 26 percent for African-Americans.

Is it moral for a person like myself to entertain job prospects? In my research I’ve read that any opportunity I take will be one that is not given to a lesser-privileged person. I would really have a problem robbing someone of an opportunity. My mentor (who is Nativ-American) has said that I should try to be as successful as possible, and then use that success to mentor minority youths - thereby creating more opportunities for them. That sounds good in the long term, but it does not solve the ethical problem of my white male privilege continuing as a tool of oppression in the near term.

When visiting the US, Father Francis showed signs of pride in the Black Lives Matter movement, who have recently demanded a greater degree of equality in america. However, I’m not sure how long I can continue to support myself with construction labor. Not seeking validation or “go for it” just to be “nice”. It’s a serious problem and I honestly don’t know what to do.

Thank you and Peace be with you.
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I do not see why you should not take the opportunities that are sent to you. Consider it as God’s blessings and use it to help others.

I speak this as a non-white woman who is also a veteran.
 
katiesonlyson said:
Hello, I am struggling with a decision and hope someone can help. I am 43 and come from a modest working-class background. Recently, I completed a 2-year degree at community college in order to start a new career in computer programming (25 years of computer programming has exacted a physical toll). Currently I am doing some small volunteer projects to gain experience in the field, but job opportunities have now started coming my way.

On its face, this might seem like great news. However, there is a distinct ethical problem. I am a white american male. I understand that, with these traits, I enjoy a multitude of benefits and opportunities that women and people of color do not. For instance, white males in america are offered employment much more readily than others and are compensated at higher rates. Unemployment for whites is currently 3 percent, while it is 26 percent for African-Americans.

Is it moral for a person like myself to entertain job prospects? In my research I’ve read that any opportunity I take will be one that is not given to a lesser-privileged person. I would really have a problem robbing someone of an opportunity. My mentor (who is Nativ-American) has said that I should try to be as successful as possible, and then use that success to mentor minority youths - thereby creating more opportunities for them. That sounds good in the long term, but it does not solve the ethical problem of my white male privilege continuing as a tool of oppression in the near term.

When visiting the US, Father Francis showed signs of pride in the Black Lives Matter movement, who have recently demanded a greater degree of equality in america. However, I’m not sure how long I can continue to support myself with construction labor. Not seeking validation or “go for it” just to be “nice”. It’s a serious problem and I honestly don’t know what to do.

Thank you and Peace be with you.
Click to expand...
Define White. My ex girlfriend, predominantly Spanish (via Puerto Rico from her father, Texas from her mother) and Portuguese. She would not be considered socially white (she considers herself White, as does the US census), but someone like me who has (well, had, father is deceased) two mixed blood American Indian parents am not considered Indian by other Indians, because of my gray eyes (they look right past the red skin). I think race, at least in the United States, is inconsistent. My ex is racially white and of Hispanic ethnicity (this is how she is identified according to the US census statistics, as her ancestors come mainly from a Spanish speaking country, and this is another question, why do we a treat a group made up of people of many races as a race, socially?) and her skin colour is lighter than mine, but she has brown eyes and dark brown hair, which I do not have. My best friend is an Eastern Band Cherokee. He is also 1/4 Irish. He has hazel eyes and a similar skin tone and dark brown hair. He also has some Afro-Puerto Rican ancestry, apparently. The reason I am pointing this things out is because I feel like when people say “black lives matter” they are saying “white lives don’t, unborn lives don’t, red lives don’t, mixed lives don’t”. The truth is “ALL lives matter” and I think our dear Papa would agree with that. God bless.
 
There is no moral issue here. Don’t let yourself become a victim of trendy political rhetoric.
 
I thinyour mentor’s plan is very wise. You will not help anyone by turning down work/jobs for which the companies have determined you are the best person, and the work wil help you to be in a better position to help others. Thank God and serve Him well 🙂
 
I’ve always worked in IT and never found any bias, the problem has always been finding enough good people, doesn’t matter what they look like. But if you do find discrimination, the only way to combat it is from the inside. So get a job then once you’ve settled in, volunteer to interview candidates yourself.
 
I wonder what you see as the alternative? Remain unemployed by choice? It would be sinful to be able to work and contribute to your community and support a family or charity but refuse to do so out of some sort of misplaced guilt.

It’s also false that taking a job precludes someone else from getting a job. In our economy, it is not necessarily true that there’s a limited number of spots to fill and everyone else is out of luck. Working helps the economy; it helps create prosperity for you and your community, and offers the possibility of creating more wealth and more job opportunities for others.

God made you a white male. He could have made you any other race or had you been born into a different set of circumstances or to different parents or with different talents. Instead, he chose to make you who you are. Glorify God by being grateful for who you are and not ashamed because you are not a minority.
 
katiesonlyson said:
I am a white american male. I understand that, with these traits, I enjoy a multitude of benefits and opportunities that women and people of color do not. For instance, white males in america are offered employment much more readily than others and are compensated at higher rates.
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You assert this as if it was actually true, but in fact it is all pretty much baseless. This was surely true in the past. None of it is true today. The disparities between “white men” and other groups are mostly natural, not artificial. Anyone running a business is going to hire the most qualified person available. Being a white male is not a qualification.
Unemployment for whites is currently 3 percent, while it is 26 percent for African-Americans.
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Your information on this point is also incorrect. White unemployment as of October was 4.4%, black unemployment was 9.2%. I think you need less biased sources of information.

Ender
 
katiesonlyson said:
Is it moral for a person like myself to entertain job prospects?
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What I find to be immoral is preventing people from performing certain jobs based solely on the color of their skin. Stop persecuting yourself. It is not healthy.
 
I think you start of with incorrect facts. There isn’t white male privilege. If there ever was it wasn’t that big a factor. Specifically within IT it isn’t an issue at all. You’ll find non Whites and women holding high ranking jobs at major tech companies. Among programming staff if companies have any bias it is to foreign labor regardless of sex. They go to great lengths to employ cheap foreign labor. So the idea they somehow want to hire you and pay you a big salary because you are White and a man makes no sense.
 
katiesonlyson said:
Hello, I am struggling with a decision and hope someone can help. I am 43 and come from a modest working-class background. Recently, I completed a 2-year degree at community college in order to start a new career in computer programming (25 years of computer programming has exacted a physical toll). Currently I am doing some small volunteer projects to gain experience in the field, but job opportunities have now started coming my way.

On its face, this might seem like great news. However, there is a distinct ethical problem. I am a white american male. I understand that, with these traits, I enjoy a multitude of benefits and opportunities that women and people of color do not. For instance, white males in america are offered employment much more readily than others and are compensated at higher rates. Unemployment for whites is currently 3 percent, while it is 26 percent for African-Americans.

Is it moral for a person like myself to entertain job prospects? In my research I’ve read that any opportunity I take will be one that is not given to a lesser-privileged person. I would really have a problem robbing someone of an opportunity. My mentor (who is Nativ-American) has said that I should try to be as successful as possible, and then use that success to mentor minority youths - thereby creating more opportunities for them. That sounds good in the long term, but it does not solve the ethical problem of my white male privilege continuing as a tool of oppression in the near term.

When visiting the US, Father Francis showed signs of pride in the Black Lives Matter movement, who have recently demanded a greater degree of equality in america. However, I’m not sure how long I can continue to support myself with construction labor. Not seeking validation or “go for it” just to be “nice”. It’s a serious problem and I honestly don’t know what to do.

Thank you and Peace be with you.
Click to expand...
Good gravy, they indoctrinated you with the White Privilege tripe at that school, eh? Do you feel you are NOT qualified for the jobs? If you are qualified according to the job description and you are hired based on your resume and interview, why would you even entertain that you didn’t deserve that job? If it bothers you, go find an equally qualified person of color and tell your boss you found your replacement and quit. In fact you should consider quitting if you truly think your employer hired you simply because you’re white. Do you want to work for someone who makes hiring decisions like that? Are you going to return your diploma because you “might” have taken an opportunity from someone who couldn’t afford to go to your school? And just how would that be possible?

You are not responsible for the decisions others make that lead to their current situation in life. Do NOTregret the decisions you made to get to where you are (unless of course you did something immoral, but just being you is NOT an immoral act).

EDIT: I posted before I read the other posts, so I might come across rather rudely. I won’t apologize for it, but there are others with a more compassionate reply.
 
adamhovey1988 said:
Define White. My ex girlfriend, predominantly Spanish (via Puerto Rico from her father, Texas from her mother) and Portuguese. She would not be considered socially white (she considers herself White, as does the US census), but someone like me who has (well, had, father is deceased) two mixed blood American Indian parents am not considered Indian by other Indians, because of my gray eyes (they look right past the red skin). I think race, at least in the United States, is inconsistent. My ex is racially white and of Hispanic ethnicity (this is how she is identified according to the US census statistics, as her ancestors come mainly from a Spanish speaking country, and this is another question, why do we a treat a group made up of people of many races as a race, socially?) and her skin colour is lighter than mine, but she has brown eyes and dark brown hair, which I do not have. My best friend is an Eastern Band Cherokee. He is also 1/4 Irish. He has hazel eyes and a similar skin tone and dark brown hair. He also has some Afro-Puerto Rican ancestry, apparently. The reason I am pointing this things out is because I feel like when people say “black lives matter” they are saying “white lives don’t, unborn lives don’t, red lives don’t, mixed lives don’t”. The truth is “ALL lives matter” and I think our dear Papa would agree with that. God bless.
Click to expand...
Currently black lives are treated as worth a lot less than white lives, the BLM movement seeks to counter that.
 
What stands out for me is this: by continuing to work in the construction trades, you are preventing someone with less training than you from that job.
You should go into computers which is what you trained for, and let someone who needs your current job do construction labor.

.
 
katiesonlyson said:
Hello, I am struggling with a decision and hope someone can help. I am 43 and come from a modest working-class background. Recently, I completed a 2-year degree at community college in order to start a new career in computer programming (25 years of computer programming has exacted a physical toll). Currently I am doing some small volunteer projects to gain experience in the field, but job opportunities have now started coming my way.

On its face, this might seem like great news. However, there is a distinct ethical problem. I am a white american male. I understand that, with these traits, I enjoy a multitude of benefits and opportunities that women and people of color do not. For instance, white males in america are offered employment much more readily than others and are compensated at higher rates. Unemployment for whites is currently 3 percent, while it is 26 percent for African-Americans.

Is it moral for a person like myself to entertain job prospects? In my research I’ve read that any opportunity I take will be one that is not given to a lesser-privileged person. I would really have a problem robbing someone of an opportunity. My mentor (who is Nativ-American) has said that I should try to be as successful as possible, and then use that success to mentor minority youths - thereby creating more opportunities for them. That sounds good in the long term, but it does not solve the ethical problem of my white male privilege continuing as a tool of oppression in the near term.

When visiting the US, Father Francis showed signs of pride in the Black Lives Matter movement, who have recently demanded a greater degree of equality in america. However, I’m not sure how long I can continue to support myself with construction labor. Not seeking validation or “go for it” just to be “nice”. It’s a serious problem and I honestly don’t know what to do.

Thank you and Peace be with you.
Click to expand...
Your post assumes that whiteness or being male are the only factors of privilege. I’m sure there are some white men in Appalachia that might disagree with how much of a privilege they have. There are many factors of “privilege” that the politically correct want to ignore, and there many factors of “disadvantage” that people want to ignore.

I spoke with a girl from a top 10 university about this recently. She is 1/4 black by genetics, but is more visibly black than her sister. She talked about how she had been treated unfairly because of her looks. What I mentioned to her is this: She discounted her wealthy parents (lawyer and doctor), and the prestigious high school she went to, which ultimately allowed her to get into one of the best universities in the world…one which graduation from will more than likely ensure a lucrative future. The point is this: Her privileges (wealth, education) most certainly have outweighed her disadvantage (being a visible minority). A middle class white male’s disadvantage here (lack of wealth, and possibly education) more than outweighs any privilege of being a man or being white.

God made you the way you are…live out your life maximizing your talents and return them to God with increase

Blessings,

Shockerfan
 
b_ulmen said:
Good gravy, they indoctrinated you with the White Privilege tripe at that school, eh? Do you feel you are NOT qualified for the jobs? If you are qualified according to the job description and you are hired based on your resume and interview, why would you even entertain that you didn’t deserve that job? If it bothers you, go find an equally qualified person of color and tell your boss you found your replacement and quit. In fact you should consider quitting if you truly think your employer hired you simply because you’re white. Do you want to work for someone who makes hiring decisions like that? Are you going to return your diploma because you “might” have taken an opportunity from someone who couldn’t afford to go to your school? And just how would that be possible?
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“Good gravy” is right.

I was taught, very early in business school, that if you don’t take advantage of things that go your way in life you’re actually disadvantaging yourself relative to those who have those advantages and don’t use them.

I too am a white male, and I came from a family with no education that was not well off, at all.

I have seen, plenty of times, people who had advantages I didn’t.

And I’ve never seen anyone not use those advantages.

When my friend’s father found him a job with the firm he worked for, my friend didn’t say, “Gee, Dad, I don’t want to work for your firm because it wouldn’t be fair to signit, who doesn’t have a relative who can find a job for him. Maybe he should get the job instead of me.” No. He just said, “Thanks, Dad!”
 
It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. Take the job you want if it is offered to you. Think of your white male privilege as a counter attack to Affirmative Action.
 
I thought of another aspect of this post that is troubling. You say you work in construction. If so how can you think there is White male privilege?

First let’s address the sex issue. Almost all construction workers are men. Construction is a hard work and dangerous. In fact construction work is typically more dangerous than being a police officer. Why aren’t more women working construction? It isn’t bias. Construction is an industry that will seek out the cheapest labor. This is clear from the second point.

Secondly I can’t speak to your market but in my area they have been more than happy to replace White workers with cheap Mexicans. As a White man you could get a job in construction but you aren’t going to get paid more for being White. You are going to get paid what the illegal Mexican does. And he doesn’t get paid much because he is illegal and has a lower standard of living.
 
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