In his article "Ready to Cash in on My 'White Privilege'", Dustin Hawkins says that he needs help to find the answer to the question: 'Where are my white privileges?'

As it so happens, yesterday I received an email from a Muslim, in which he states "I'm just glad that I'm white, Western, and Australian". Sounds racist, No? A little later I will put that sentence back into context.

First I want to address some telling issues mentioned in passing in Mr. Hawkins article, but not elaborated on. They are interesting issues about which Mr. Hawkins is obviously aware.

The first telling line is: "So, I went on a search to find out the truth about my automatic benefits and discover just how evil I am". Mr. Hawkins has hit the nail on the head here. 'White' is evil! By extension, so too is being Western or European. Does this sound familiar?

The next telling line concerns a statement by Peggy McIntosh, a "feminist scholar, who said that she has "come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets.." So now we add to the mix that if she, a woman is privileged, then how much more so is the 'white male'? Does this sound familiar?

The next telling line is: "According to Eleanor Hubbard, who taught a "Whiteness Studies" course at the University of Colorado, I am supposed to realize that I have privileges as a  result of "being white, not for any other reason..." Personally I can't imagine what a 'white studies' course is, but that there is such a thing, indicates to me that someone thinks it is necessary to teach white people who they are or perhaps should be. But the crux here is that 'White' means 'privilege'. Tell that to the white poor and see the reaction. But again, the deepest message is that white people are 'undeserving' of anything, simply because they are white, western and especially if they are male. Does that sound familiar?

Then we have the line about A Seattle Times columnist who "honed in on his white guilt by proclaiming that he is almost as guilty as his forefather slave-owners...." Now, in addition to being White, Western, privileged and perhaps wealthy, but nonetheless undeserving, and in need of being taught his proper place in the world, we white fellas must bear the guilt of former generations. Does this sound familiar?

Finally Mr Hawkins comes to the crux of everything, to "white liberal" guilt, and informs us about "One Syracuse student suffering from white-guiltism" who said that "The real issue here is our own white privilege and racism within ourselves that we have to examine", and follow this with reference to the "writer to an Oregon newspaper" who wrote, "I was born privileged because I was born white. Being white means that my life is and will always be easier merely because I am white."

The bottom line is that we are being made to feel guilty for being White, Western and Wealthy, and I will include here, "Being Male". After all, it is the male of the species who was the slave owner, and is the war monger, the child abuser, the poor provider, the wife beater, and the faithless marriage partner.

In short, the most honourable thing any white male could do would be to go throw himself on his sword. Nevertheless, the whole 'white privilege' thing, is real.  It is real because within a society that is predominantly white, the 'white man' reigns supreme. Shame on him!

No such thing exists in China. Here, the white man (read 'foreign expert'), is elevated to a high status. But within this society both historically and presently, 'privilege' does come from birth. In the old days, being Manchurian put you above everyone else. Today, being a party member does the same thing. (Wealth does it more so!)

In the Muslim world, being Male is a guarantee of so many special privileges, and doubly so if you happen to belong to just the right sect of Islam.

Privilege, while it may not seem tangible, is nevertheless tangible from the perspective that your 'privilege' spares you from tangible negatives. (Thank God I'm male!). And this brings me to the quote I provided from the 'White, Western, and Australian Muslim Male' who wrote to me.

The key word to note in his letter, is the word 'empathy'. In his case however, while he is able to empathise, he has not fallen for the 'guilt trap' or the 'guilt trip'.

His email commenced by informing me that he occasionally likes to read what I write on the Israel/Palestine situation, and after a few more words, left me with the following.

My thoughts on Israel / Palestine: By Khalid

I get to read a lot of things from both sides which make me laugh when I see the ignorance and futility of every argument. Both sides are so hardcore anti-whatever, and both sides want peace (for their own people. Read: war against the other side). Nothing will ever be resolved. I also think it hard to imagine what it's like growing up on either side. I don't think anyone can judge either of them.

We westerners have it so easy. We can live in whatever house we want without fear; we have all the luxuries in the world; why would we bother trying to empathise with people?, especially if they're of another race or religion.

The good thing is that I've never been anti-jew, and I'm not about to start now. I sympathise with both sides. Israel was a minority which became a majority because of the war. The Palestinians had no weapons to fight back, so they used suicide bombers. I don't condone suicide bombing, but if the shoe was on the other foot; if the Palestinians had weapons and the Jews didn't, I think the Jews would be doing the same thing.

Suicide bombing may not be ethical, but they are at war. The Japanese used the same tactic in WWII. But because the Muslims are doing it, all of a sudden it's unconscionable. What gives? So it's okay to use a tank to kill innocent children, but it's not okay to take your own life while doing exactly the same thing? I think that's hypocrisy at its' best. (I'm talking about Israel & Palestine here, not the world wide terrorism we know today.)

On the other side, the Palestinians need to get over the fact that Israel has occupied their territory. It's been so long since they occupied, isn't it time to move on and accept it? You can't exactly ask them to leave now can you? Where will they go? Moreover, because of this war, every child that's born, is another angry soul out to get Israeli's. They are born and bred to hate Jews and their allies. Who is that? The west. So now it becomes a war against America, Australia, and everyone. Their original plan was to fight in their home country, but all it takes is for someone to steer them onto a different path; give them a one way ticket to another country, and we have world wide conflict.

I don't like what's going on, but the problem is that everyone is biased. The Christians are helping the Jews in Israel, and America is on the Israeli side. Iraq, Iran, Syria, Jordan etc, are on the Palestinian side. Now it's become not a war against land occupation, but a war against religion. Who's got the upper hand? The West. Just look at what is going on now. It's okay for Israel to have nuclear weapons, (they've had them since 1950) and it's okay for America and France to have nuclear weapons, but not Korea, Iran, or Iraq?

The problem with society is this. We only look after our own interests. We have no empathy, no morals, no cares. We make bombs, wage wars, cheat and lie, and ruin other people's lives. It doesn't matter what our governments do to other people in the world. Why would we care? We have it soooo good here.

And that's not aimed at the west. Look at Sudan and what their government did to their own people. Look at Somalia; look at Indonesia, look at the conflict in Fiji. Look at what Sadam did to the Kurds; look at the conflict in Syria, Jordan, Israel, and in Iraq. The world world is literally @#*%$^. And it's not religion that caused this, it's DEVIATION from religion that did it. Oh for SURE we call ourselves Muslims, but do we practice Islam (submission, peace)? We call ourselves Christians, go to church on Sunday, sing songs, read a few bits of the bible and then go out drinking afterward. We don't care about sinning because we're forgiven as long as we believe in Jesus.

Either way, I think that what is happening is a byproduct of environment. The Jews are taught to hate Muslims; the Muslim children learn to hate Jews & the West, and the western world is taught to hate everybody except America.

And America is great, they're fighting for democracy. How good is that? I mean, look at the democracy we have here in Australia. You can't even smoke on the street. Did we get a say? Where was the referendum? Oh, the politicians made that decision did they? Is that democracy? Why didn't we get a say? Oh we voted in that particular political party, that's right. We had two parties running for election. They were both @#&%^ but we had to choose the best one we could. That's democracy isn't it

Even in America, the courts ruled that what George Bush is doing with Guantanamo Bay is against the law, but Bush is above the law.

The thing I've learned, is to ignore the media and ignore articles, because it only makes you angry with the world we're living in. I'm just glad that I'm white, Western, and Australian. But I'm still proud to be Muslim, even though we Muslims are on the receiving end, and that's not just paranoia. You should see the treatment that my wife and I have to put up with just because she wears hijab. But that's another story.

From Khalid A.

R.P.Bendedek

Email: rpbendedek@hotmail.com

The King's Calendar' is a synchronous chronological presentation of the history of Ancient Israel, as principally recorded in the Biblical books of Kings and Chronicles, and sets forth Apologetics for and the results of R.P.BenDedek's discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Books of the Bible, Josephus,the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah. www.kingscalendar.com

King's Calendar Social Commentaries may be found at: http://www.kingscalendar.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?action=viewnews&id=331