Are White People's White Privilege?

It might not be seen but still operating. White privilege, is often rendered invisible but is one of the most common forms of racism and racialism. Most successful businesses and companies are often (96%) run by men (Power, SWLF-3446-FA501_2015 (Women and Social Welfare ( BRACE )), 2015). After analyzing Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” I realize how many of these quotes and statements that I did not realize as a white female I either felt or was surprised people have to deal with. For example “I can chose blemish cover or bandages in flesh color that more or less matches my skin.” (McIntosh, 2015) As a white girl in university I had no idea that there were not band aids or blemish cover in every colour. I know there are so many different band aids with different cartoon characters on them so why can’t companies like Johnson & Johnson make band aids with different skin colours. There are even more types and companies that create blemish cover, so with that many companies and different shades of concealer that can be made slightly different to make everyone feel beautiful. According to the movie watched in class Whitewashed people believed by coming to North America and escaping the Europeans they believed they were coming to rights and upper class. We got turned into White people by assimilation. It is because of the added colour of other nationalities that we ended up being called the whites. But there is no need for the privilege too. Europeans changed themselves completely, angloconformity, conforming to this dominant white culture. White people don’t see ourselves as a white person but other people and other cultures see us as white people. According to Whitewashed, to be white in a white supremacist society is to deny the idea of racism. (George, 2013). In our culture though the history of blacks and coloured are looked back on as people with diseases and

I sometimes get irritated when people don’t agree on the same ideas that I have or when the other person says something that I don’t agree with. The objective of this chapter made me comprehend that based on an individual’s experiences and viewpoints impacts the person’s behavior. Some experience may deal with the oppressions and privileges a person has, the article “Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person…” made me realize that I am more privilege than what I thought. The author didn’t think she was privilege until she read a book she got recommended and from her article she summarizes

New York, New York - Who ever said; "When Opportunity knocks, open the door?" Whomever uttered that statement should be shot and gagged. That's the problem we face in this egotistical society! Opportunity is a fundamental gift that reserves itself for those who take and embrace a situation by exherating effort to make it happen. Charlamagne Tha God, the co-host of Power 105.1's The Breakfast Club explains in his new book Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It, how embracing one's truths is the fundamental key to success and happiness.

Conclusion: white privilege was a thing in the past, but now it is not. In reality it seems like you get more set back from being white in certain situations. White Privilege and racism is not about what race you are but more about the culture you live in. People see privilege in their own way. People are born in a various cultures and to different poverty or wealth levels. You cannot change where and who you are born too. You however can change what you do with your life no matter the circumstances you were born

This week we were assigned to read to different articles. The first article was written by Peggy McIntosh titled, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”. Throughout the article, Peggy showed the readers what it means to have white privilege. She showed the readers 50 different types of “advantages” that whites get over other races, such as African Americans. This is the biggest theme throughout her entire piece. McIntosh shows the readers that people who are African Americans should be treated the same as their white counterparts. She even later goes on and says that the word “privilege” used in this sense seems to mislead and states, “We usually think of privilege as being a favored state, whether earned or conferred by birth

As part of my ongoing quest to understand the intersectional and multi-faceted world we live in, I was drawn to the McIntosh reading “White Privilege:Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” and its powerful commentary on racial biases affecting women in our modern world. I loved the way she spoke about the many simple things that she as a white person doesn’t need to worry about as a default, which non-white people wouldn’t,like the assumption that her tax audits would be executed fairly and without ludicrous scrutiny.This reading inspired me to venture out into my home town and look for an event that spoke to the same issues.I found myself in a small art gallery which was featuring various pieces by indigenous women. The exhibit had a particular focus on the

At the heart of whiteness studies is the invisibility of whiteness and white privilege (Ahmed, 2004). Whiteness is thought of as the hidden criterion to which every other race is measured against. Through the lens of whiteness, the “other” is seen as deviant (Ahmed, 2004). The invisibility of whiteness, however, is only from the perspective of those who are white (Matthews, 2012). To people who are not white, it is pervasive and blatant. People see whiteness because they experience its effects. A useful comparison can be drawn between the unrecognised privileges of males, and those of white people (McIntosh, 1988). It is not unusual for men to acknowledge that women are disadvantaged. With that said, McIntosh (1988) argues that white privilege is in the same manner without recognition and thus preserved. McIntosh (1988) views white privilege as an invisible collection of unearned assets that is of benefit to white people on a daily basis.

The thought or conception that everyone is treated fairly, and without injustice is completely false. The term known as “White privilege”, is real, and evident in today’s time. White privilege is not something people do intentionally or on purpose, it is simply a dominance in race, social, and political values. Privilege in general is given to people who benefit from unearned advantages that others may have challenges facing everyday. People in the caucasian community seem to have access to perks, advantages, and opportunities that people of other descent simply don’t have. These things further boost the idea that racist beliefs, and being blind to the racism occurring in today’s society is acceptable.

When it comes to the white race there are certain advantages that come with this race. It is what it is and while some might believe that

White privilege is defined as “…………..” After reading this and comparing it to my life and experiences I can recognize the resemblance. As a white person in my society, I hold copious privileges and forms of power that I have not earned, but has been handed. Although, I cannot speak for my entire race when I state this, I believe that any Caucasian person living in Canada, who would be willing to take the time to stop and think about their lives, would realize that they hold power over other racial minorities. This power is acquired solely due to the fact that they have a different colour of skin. This is not to imply that white people cannot be oppressed in other aspects of their lives, as a cause of the other social identities with which they

Over the past decade the term white privilege has emerged in our American history. White privilege is the concept that one particular group is benefited which is typically identified as white people. Most of the victims experiencing harsh conditions are non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances of mistreatment. A conversation took place with a few people about white privilege whose race is identified as white. An interviewer started that “the belief that being white comes with unearned advantages and everyday perks”. However, a white retiree disagreed that white privilege does not exist but shortly afterwards he stated that black privilege does. Many people were confused by his comment and asked him to further elaborate on what exactly black

Historically, from America to central Europe the whites race have always had the preference socially, educationally and politically whilst other ethnic groups found it difficult to climb up the ladder or fully express or gain their rights to self determination. This is described concisely by (Jeyasingham 2011) referring to white privilege as a variety of unjustified social advantage that is gained by white people even though they mostly don’t notice it. White privilege is something that could said to be a birth right, where a white Caucasian chances to succeed in life are bigger than a black or someone from other ethnic minorities despite the fact that they were all born in the same hospital, lived in same town and attended the same schools. As (Lavalette and Penketh 2014 page ix) highlighted that this has “no scientific valid reality” but constructed by the sects with most institutional might and power to determine where different races end up in the social and institutional hierarchy. Finally, (Kendal 2002) defined white privilege in a different way in comparisons to other which buttresses the points made above as he links white privilege along with male privilege as something difficult for people who are born with rights to wealth and power but easy to see to those that

Whites are privileged because we are seen as the average American. We do not get second glances, because nobody suspects we are doing anything but living our lives. Though since we are not subject to this intense scrutiny we do not realize that we in turn do this to African Americans, just simply living their daily lives as well. McIntosh (1988) points out that she repeatedly forgot each of the realizations on this list until I wrote it down. For me white privilege has turned out to be an elusive and fugitive subject. White privilege was identified in her article by a list of fifty items that Caucasians never have to deal with as a daily concern. Matters such as leading a group, schooling that supports our race, living situations, institutions that do not judge our race. These are issues a Caucasian family will never have, and a child of that race will never face feeling judged, and never have to learn that the very entity there to protect you may be responsible for your death. Whites are privileged, though this way of life should be common for every race. Our privilege should not be taken away it should be granted and transformed into a greater idea American Privilege. Whites are not aware of the privilege they have, simply for the fact that this is their life the majority do not know anything different. When you have been drinking coke every day of your life and everyone else has ben drinking diet coke labeled as coke you wont know the difference. Lipsitz (1995) affirms whiteness is everywhere in US culture, but it is very hard to see. This is how white privilege looks to the average American even though everyone else is not getting the same treat as the whites they do not understand it because they have been treated the same way or so they think their whole life as well. Minorities are getting diet coke their whole life, though they see the whites making more money, and treated better in turn they begin questioning and coming up with the

In Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege”, she talks about how white privilege is “like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks” (1). What she meant by this, was that light-skinned/white people are at an automatic advantage over dark-skinned people, whom in turn, become the disadvantaged. She claims that being white protected her from danger and violence and freed her to do many things that she realized other people of color could not. She believes she can get away with doing more things and that more doors are open to her especially due to the color of her skin. When relating this to the movie, “The Hangover”, it is easy to point out these concepts of white privilege.

The racial inequality that we have in modern day blossomed from the historic oppression and comprehensive prejudice of minority groups. From the very beginning of “American” history, other groups of people who were not of European decent were discriminated against and treated inhumanely and without the smallest regard for their lives. Native American populations were decimated by diseases brought oversea by Europeans and forced from their ancestral lands by settlers to make room for their expanding populations. African people were enslaved by the millions and were used as tools of labor, and weren’t even regarded as humans,