It's also offensive as heck -- there's a large percentage of white people and men alike, who map to the abstracted example. Just like a lot of politicians, lobbyists, etc. in DC map to "Washington."

Again, i'm talking about language here.

I wonder sometimes when white people, or men, who do this sort of thing (and who aren't just trolling or being toxic on purpose), understand any of this.

One possibility: when otherwise sort-of-well-intentioned people say "not me!", they look at "white people" or "men" as a form of synecdoche, with them as the "target".

As in:

"A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part, the special for the general or the general for the special, as in ten sail for ten ships or a Croesus for a rich man."

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/synecdoche

Nobody thinks you're Captain America here, honest. :p

@nev oh, absolutely. like i said at the start, "it's pretty obvious what this is, in terms of privilege (or should be imo)"

but people are, well, That Way.

I'm doing this thing here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Ti-gkJiXc

if they're just not willing to do any fucking thing, then for sure.

i also agree that they're capable in general of lifting what amounts to a very small pebble in relation to a huge mountain of systemic oppression, but here we are

@nev especially if they're allistic (which is a whole other conversation)