Plundered US version of ‘white privilege’ concept not fit for SA
Twee phrase reduces debates on power structures to quick click-bait
When Verashni Pillay resigned from the Huffington Post following her inept handling of the Marius Roodt fake blog parody, her critics unfailingly brought up her inept handling of the fake news story at the Mail & Guardian that FW de Klerk provided training for DA leader Mmusi Maimane. But much more far-reaching in its effects was the article that brought her national derision in January 2015: the white privilege checklist. It listed six things in an attempt to expose the privilege that explains why white South Africans have unemployment figures comparable to a first-world country’s, while among blacks, it ranges between 25% and 40%. The article went viral and was the catalyst that made a slumbering debate a national one, spawning countless twars and giving impetus to the establishment of at least two Facebook groups on the topic. If a key task of journalists is to set the agenda, this article did an excellent job. Coterminous with the student uprising, it highlighted the ugly issue ...
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