I donāt have any studies I can point to on this, no, but the idea that privileged white men find it easier to take a universalising, impartial approach to doing good seems intuitively plausible. Admittedly, most of the data I have to support that argument are from private conversations, along with a general lack of demographic diversity in EA.
Iām open to the idea that I could be wrong hereācan I ask you to explain in a little more detail why you feel that the PoC case isnāt unique?
To weigh in here as someone who had to read some race studies literature in college:
the idea that privileged white men find it easier to take a universalising, impartial approach to doing good seems intuitively plausible
I think thatās probably trueāthe theory Iāve read is based on the idea that white straight men are positioned as the ānormā under racial/āgender hierarchy in Western society. Everyone else is othered and seen in relation to that norm. Some oversimplified examples:
āUnisexā sizing is actually menās sizing.
Fresh Off The Boat is marketed as an ethnic, Asian-American story. Friends is just a show about some people who are friends, and doesnāt need to justify its existence by discussing experiences peculiar to the White community.
Car crash dummies are usually shaped to the average man, meaning that women are more likely to die in car crashes.
The whole concept of āethnic foodā.
Given instances like this, it makes sense to me that white men find it easier to be impartial, and PoC are more likely to be aware of and care about issues special to us communities, because knowledge, culture, and norms seen as āimpartialā often exclude us.
That being said, I donāt know if PoC feel a stronger desire to donate to their communities than Boy Scouts. Personally, I think thatās just a reason for EA to figure out ways to appeal to Boy Scouts, not to appeal less to PoC.
My null hypothesis is that everyone wants to keep donations in their community. Being impartial with regard to time and place and species etc. requires some extra thought or will or persuasion for all of us. I think this is hard for anyone and I am not sure why this would be harder for POC than anyone else. You state itās plausible for the most privileged to find this easier, which I agree is plausible, but I think you could also make the case that the opposite is plausible.
āSomeone who has known discrimination, who has known what it feels like to be disadvantaged and voiceless, will more keenly be able to observe and sympathize with others who are voiceless.ā or some such.
Youāre suggesting that they feel a āspecial obligationā so it seems from my perspective that the burden of evidence would rest with you. You stated you donāt have any studies, just conversations. Thatās fine, I just donāt find it very convincing so I think the null stands until more evidence comes forth. Cheers.
I also donāt think the prior should be āpeople of all ethnicities feel the exact same set of charitable obligationsā - that seems like a similarly strong claim.
Still, in the absence of any good data to back up my claim or yours, I think itās appropriate to be very uncertain about any hypothesis we might have about why people do or donāt give.
Hi Tyner, thanks for your message,
I donāt have any studies I can point to on this, no, but the idea that privileged white men find it easier to take a universalising, impartial approach to doing good seems intuitively plausible. Admittedly, most of the data I have to support that argument are from private conversations, along with a general lack of demographic diversity in EA.
Iām open to the idea that I could be wrong hereācan I ask you to explain in a little more detail why you feel that the PoC case isnāt unique?
To weigh in here as someone who had to read some race studies literature in college:
I think thatās probably trueāthe theory Iāve read is based on the idea that white straight men are positioned as the ānormā under racial/āgender hierarchy in Western society. Everyone else is othered and seen in relation to that norm. Some oversimplified examples:
āUnisexā sizing is actually menās sizing.
Fresh Off The Boat is marketed as an ethnic, Asian-American story. Friends is just a show about some people who are friends, and doesnāt need to justify its existence by discussing experiences peculiar to the White community.
Car crash dummies are usually shaped to the average man, meaning that women are more likely to die in car crashes.
The whole concept of āethnic foodā.
Given instances like this, it makes sense to me that white men find it easier to be impartial, and PoC are more likely to be aware of and care about issues special to us communities, because knowledge, culture, and norms seen as āimpartialā often exclude us.
That being said, I donāt know if PoC feel a stronger desire to donate to their communities than Boy Scouts. Personally, I think thatās just a reason for EA to figure out ways to appeal to Boy Scouts, not to appeal less to PoC.
Hi John,
My null hypothesis is that everyone wants to keep donations in their community. Being impartial with regard to time and place and species etc. requires some extra thought or will or persuasion for all of us. I think this is hard for anyone and I am not sure why this would be harder for POC than anyone else. You state itās plausible for the most privileged to find this easier, which I agree is plausible, but I think you could also make the case that the opposite is plausible.
āSomeone who has known discrimination, who has known what it feels like to be disadvantaged and voiceless, will more keenly be able to observe and sympathize with others who are voiceless.ā or some such.
Youāre suggesting that they feel a āspecial obligationā so it seems from my perspective that the burden of evidence would rest with you. You stated you donāt have any studies, just conversations. Thatās fine, I just donāt find it very convincing so I think the null stands until more evidence comes forth. Cheers.
I also donāt think the prior should be āpeople of all ethnicities feel the exact same set of charitable obligationsā - that seems like a similarly strong claim.
Still, in the absence of any good data to back up my claim or yours, I think itās appropriate to be very uncertain about any hypothesis we might have about why people do or donāt give.
Thanks for improving my thinking on this.