Trevor Noah white privilege

Photo: The Daily Show / Twitter

Trevor Noah’s golf analogy on “white privilege” brings the house down [video]

It’s a hole-in-one for Trevor Noah: He addressed the subject of white privilege on The Daily Show this week, receiving an above-par reception from his audience.

Trevor Noah white privilege

Photo: The Daily Show / Twitter

That’s our boy! Trevor Noah has received critical acclaim for a point he made about white privilege on Monday. He shared his views on the subject during a “Between The Scenes” segment of The Daily Show.

The satire-come-talk-show anchor frequently breaks off from his duties in front of the camera to interact with his American audience. Noah throws open the floor for anyone who has a question for him. One member of the crowd brought up a pretty thorny subject, but the Sowetan-born star was able to navigate the topic expertly.

White privilege discussed on The Daily Show

The man in the audience asks Trevor about his views on “reparations”, and asks if its fair that they are only applied to minority groups. He goes on to explain that industrialisation is putting blue-collar employees out of work, and wondered if they would ever be able to make the same claims as people of colour.

From Trevor Noah, it was a resounding, but ultimately measured, “no”.

In the four-minute clip, he first deals with the subject of reparations. He accepts the guy’s complaint, before going on to dismantle it: The South African advises against putting “all injustices in one bowl“, because some weigh heavier than others. He detailed that slavery is still relevant today, due to the enduring legacy it’s caused in society.

Trevor Noah dives head-first into a thorny issue

Then he gets onto the topic of white privilege and hits a hole-in-one with his analogy. He compares it to white people “having a handicap in golf” – where they are given an advantage above the competition. In fact, Noah rams his point home like a true native of Mzansi, by expressing the historical injustices regarding land:

“For white people, it’s hard to accept you have benefits for the colour of your skin if you cannot see those benefits you have. There are different levels of suffering to consider. Don’t think of it as privilege; think of it as a golf handicap – you’ve got more chances the rest of us to ‘put the ball in’.”

“Look at black people’s land alone, for example: You can use the land to grow your wealth and that of your family. Black people were denied bank loans and the chance to own land. Even when they did, American banks were found to be giving them higher interest rates against white applicants.”

Trevor Noah

It’s a classic, barnstorming slice of our Trevor where he combines his sharp wit with cutting social commentary. We’ve no doubt this will upset a few here in South Africa. But as we’ve said before, “white privilege” is not something you should be taking personally.

Watch Trevor Noah enter the white privilege debate here: