Tipping is a White Privilege

I mentioned yesterday that a NY Times attacked tipping as a symptom of White privilege. Upon reflection, I think that the paper is onto something.

The advantage of living in a White society is that you can meet strangers, and expect them to follow social norms. Tipping is an example of this. The practice is entirely voluntary. You can tip as much or as little as you wish, based on how satisfied you are with the service, or how happy you happen to be that day, or whatever. It sounds crazy, but this works fairly well in White America.

It does not work very well in non-white countries. It doesn't even work so well in Europe. They just don't have as much trust in strangers as White Americans do.

Immigration will cause the end of American tipping, as we migrate to a low-trust society. The whole concept does not make sense to people in most countries.

Speaking of White privilege, a USA Today essay explains:

Opinion: Tom Brady has gotten an undeserved pass for his past support of Donald Trump ...

Brady’s ability to enter and exit the debate at his choosing, to shield himself from accountability, is the height of white privilege. As this country grapples with the far reaches of systemic racism, look no further than Brady, for whom the expectations, and allowances granted, will always be different.

“Whiteness is the benefit of the doubt,” said David Leonard, author of "Playing While White: Privilege and Power on and off the Field." ... “LeBron James can never say, a prominent Black athlete can never say, 'Minister Farrakhan is just my friend.’

I don't think that is correct. Wikipedia says:

Throughout his career, James has taken stances on controversial issues.

James has said many more politically controversial things than Brady has ever said.

Yet no one has asked Brady about the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, even though almost all of those who attempted the violent overthrow of our government were white, just as he is, and were incited by the man Brady has described as his friend. “Tom Brady is speaking up as Tom Brady. He’s not asked to speak for white America,” said Leonard, who is also a professor of comparative ethnic studies and American studies and culture at Washington State.

Right, Brady is not asked to speak for White America.

It might seem petty to bring up Brady's moral cowardice now, when the 43-year-old is accomplishing things unlikely to ever be seen again in the NFL.

He just won his seventh Super Bowl Ring, but he is a moral coward for not trying to speak for White America, and not apologizing for the 74 million Americans who voted for Trump. Weird.

Fox News reports:

Exactly one month since rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, fallen Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick’s official cause of death has not been released and no one has been charged with his death.

So maybe that "deadly insurrection" never harmed anyone. Yes, two police officers ended up dead, but it is possible that neither death had anything to do with the riot. If a rioter had murdered Sicknick, then we would be likely to have pathologist and video evidence, and someone would be charged. None of that has happened.