this just hit me.

i think white people are still on this "but not me!!!!!" thing when someone says "white people".

this happens on here a lot. a POC says something that's meant in the abstract (while still being relevant and valid) about "white people", and in rush the explainers.

it's pretty obvious what this is, in terms of privilege (or should be imo) -- but i want to talk about language here for a minute.

i think this comes down to not understanding, for whatever reason, what a metonym is.

definition of a metonymy:

"A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated, as in the use of Washington for the United States government or of the sword for military power."

that what "white people" means. it doesn't mean "every single caucasian who has ever graced, or not graced, tvym, the earth".

this gets pointed out over and over again, and has for years now, and yet, people still bounce back.

same goes for "not all men".

somehow, it's always white men who do this shit. <- example of metonymy in practice

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.