There has recently been an outpouring of columns and books documenting the problem of racial privilege - as opposed to the advantages that accrue from class, upbringing and education. According to the writers seized with this issue there is still, apparently, a widespread denial that such privilege exists.
In order to assist those confused about whether they are, or are not, privileged by their race the Ratcatcher has developed the following twenty-question questionnaire in order to assist with the checking of such privilege:
1. A democracy in its essence is a system whereby the majority governs. Does your racial group make up a large majority of the voting population in your country?
Yes / No
2. Does the ruling party in this system explicitly declare that its purpose is to fight to advance the interests of your patricular racial group?
Yes / No
3. Did it declare that, in pursuing this agenda, it should be unfettered by constraints?
Yes / No
4. Do the constitution and the law protect individuals from your racial group’s rights to equal treatment when it comes to the labour market and other fields of endeavour?
Yes / No
5. Indeed, does it require preferential treatment on behalf of members of your racial group?
Yes / No
6. Has the government been directing extensive racial discrimination in favour of your racial group over past years and even decades?
Yes / No
7. Do members of your racial group need, regardless of class, substantially lower marks than members of other racial groups in order to gain acceptance to prestige university degree courses such as medicine?
Yes / No
8. Do members of your racial group usually receive almost automatic preference in civil service, parastatal, judicial, police, military and other state-related appointments and promotions, regardless of the individual merit of possible applicants from other racial groups?
Yes / No
9. Has the government passed laws, with draconian sanctions, in an effort to force the private sector businesses to do the same?
Yes / No
10. Do the elite and politically connected members of your racial group often get allocated shares or other extorted or expropriated assets ostensibly simply for belonging to your racial group?
Yes / No
11. Are members of your racial group given preferential treatment when it comes to state procurement contracts?
Yes / No
12. Has government passed laws and adopted policies to force the private sector to do the same?
Yes / No
13. Do you believe that their race is a bar to your children having a future in your country?
Yes / No
14. If an advert is posted stating that members of your racial group need not apply for a position is it likely to cause a popular outcry?
Yes / No
15. Are alleged violent, criminal acts committed by members of your racial group against members of other racial groups reported on in explicity racial terms and widely condemned as unacceptable race-attacks?
Yes / No
16. Are the past and present achievements of individuals from your racial group widely acknowledged and welcomed or are they felt as representing a kind of comparative defeat and degradation for other racial groups by race-conscious intellectuals in your society?
Yes / No
17. Are repeated and generalised verbal attacks against your racial group – and calls for more aggressive racial discrimination against your group - regarded as acceptable discourse, and given extensive play in newspapers and books?
Yes / No
18. Is it regarded as acceptable political discourse for prominent politicians to call for members of your racial group to be stripped of their property?
Yes / No
19. Do journalists and politicians say that the cause of all society’s misfortunes can be traced back to the arrival of your racial group in the country? The implicit message being that the society would be better off without your presence. If so, would this be regarded as political acceptable discourse?
Yes / No
20. Has a substantial proportion of the population of your racial group had to emigrate in order to seek opportunities elsewhere, and secure a future for their children?
Yes / No
THE END
