In reading Meet the poster child for “white privilege” – then have your mind blown, and, To the Princeton Privileged Kid, I can say that I somewhat see and agree with both points of view. I think that both have in some way miss interpreted what the other is saying. It amazes me how people don’t want to take matters into their own hands, and always find the need to have someone to blame for their issues, and shortcomings. Instead they just keep spewing out hate. Hate breeds hate, and we can 't keep fighting it all with more hate. Being a woman, we all face the fact that men get paid more for doing the same job. However, unless we step up and do something about it, why should we sit back and complain or think that they are more privileged than us?
I think it is wrong to think that white males are more privileged when compared to other groups. No one knows what goes on in a person’s life or how that person got to where he (or she) is. Also, whether or not a person is solely responsible for their successes is irrelevant as that issue has long been decided. Ultimately, if you wish to enjoy the same privileges you might go about it by working to establish a more positive
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Most of the time the phrase “check your privilege” is used negatively. When used in this way it often intimidates people, and they feel the need to defend themselves. We can always find a reason to justify hostility but at the end of the day it 's still just that: hostility. And hostile, overused quotes like "check your privilege" doesn’t educate people, they just alienate them and turn them on the defensive. As James Baldwin said, “It is true that two wrongs don 't make a right, as we love to point out to the people we have wronged. But one wrong doesn 't make a right, either. People who have been wronged will attempt to right the wrong; they would not be people if they
In 1989, women’s rights were on fire, especially in the eyes of feminist Peggy McIntosh. At this time, she created an article titled “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” that inspected just that: white privilege. As expected, she forms an argument that argues against those who do not recognize their all-too-common- white privilege. After looking into the structure of “White Privilege”, a few obvious aspects make the piece successful in what it does. Overall, the format of the article allows for ease of a compelling reading.
America is a diverse melting pot of various ethnicities and heritages all blended together to create the American society. As beautiful as that is, America as a population is mired in fear of addressing issues such as white privilege which is the product of discrimination and racism. White privilege is viewed by those opposed to it that those who are privilege received unwarranted success as a result of status, luck and privilege rather than putting in hard work or using their brain to earn their success. The existence of discrimination from white privilege comes from the privilege attained by a certain as well as oppression and social prejudice facing certain other groups or races. Individuals who are privileged in one society seldomly are unaware of their privilege, not because of their own doing, but simply because it is very easy to be oblivious to the privilege when you have never seen its adverse effect from the other side.
Peggy McKintosh makes a sort of parallel between the power of privilege that men posses over women and how white people have a privilege over colored people. The parallel between these two examples is that they both have a side that is more privileged than the other but they seem to not notice that they have that privilege. Men grow up in a society where they are taught not to show that they have more power and privilege over women and it is the same way with white people. White people are not taught that they are oppressors against people of color. They just grew up and were taught to not recognize their privilege of just being born white.
The author was simply taking ownership or deflecting but simply realizing that a privilege exist. In most cases when one attempts to discuss a topic such as privilege, it is reduced to a “tit for tat” scenario. You mention “white privilege” so I must mention “affirmative action”. The reality is the two are not connected
White privilege is a form of embedded racism wherein “white” people are granted greater power, or access to resources as opposed to other races (Robbins et al. 2014: 99). White privilege is demonstrated in the case of Jennifer Cramblett, a white lesbian woman who decided to undergo artificial insemination. This resulted in a problematic situation as the sperm bank sent the wrong specimen to her (Mystal 2014). This was discovered well into her pregnancy, but she went ahead and delivered the baby. Two years after the baby girl was born, Cramblett decided to sue the sperm bank even after they gave her a refund because she was forced to make changes to accommodate her black child (Mystal 2014).
Peggy McIntosh’s essay was the first to enlighten us on white privilege but many still have defined white privilege differently in the post-McIntosh era. White privilege in pre-1980’s is different than post-1980’s because of the foundation America was made on. In pre-1980’s white privilege was expected because African Americans were seen as 3/5 of a person when it came to voting and other categories. Being white in this time you were guaranteed citizenship, rights to vote, to own property and usually to have education. The post-1980’s time, McIntosh talks about how our hierarchies in society are interlocking and although some deny the truth of white privilege, it is alive.
Introduction Race and racism are uncomfortable topics, but ones that must be openly and honestly discussed in order to begin the process of change. This paper will review my background, analyze readings, and openly discuss how the readings relate to me. The readings will be Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” Beverly Daniel Tatum’s “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” , Christopher Edmin’s “For White Folks who Teach in the Hood,” and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s “Racism without Racists.” Through these readings, I will define race, racism, white privilege, then I will reflect on how I identify with them and they affect education.
1) White privilege is an ongoing societal issue that benefits white people, giving them an upper hand in situations where non-white people would not get the same treatment. For example, when walking down the street, a white person walks freely without concern of being stopped. Someone who is not white doesn’t have the same luxury. Authority stops them just because of their appearance. Tim Wise asked law enforcement what they thought of a black male driving a nice car in a nice neighborhood versus a white male in the same situation.
White Privileges: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack In the article, White Privileges: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, Peggy McIntosh explores the power of white privilege. White privilege, as McIntosh puts it, is an advantage enjoyed by white people beyond the common advantage of other races. The article begins with the author reflecting upon male privilege,, and then transitions into her own reflection on privileges involving race. To prove this, she lists the effect of white privilege in daily life.
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.
After the end of the slave trade market in the United States, the white community didn’t know what to do. For an incredibly long time they were under the impression that the slave trade would go on forever. Now that the slave trade ceased to exist, the white community was unsure of how to interact with the black community. This led to the “separate but equal” idea. Most people try not to worry about the things- or in this case, people-they can’t see.
Therefore, women should have equal opportunities because women are human beings as well as men. For instance, women should be able to have equal pay wage. Women are also being criticize by their race, depending on their race, the amount of money they get. For example, according to the Americans for a fair chance, stated, “women earn approximately 77 cents for every dollar men earn. Minority women fare- significantly worse-
From the readings and the NPR podcast it gave me a lot to think about how I view race and specifically white privilege and how it affects the social constructs of our society. I believe that in order to understand white privilege you must know the role that race plays. Race is a social construct that was developed by people in order to distinguish between different groups based on physical characteristics but, also to maintain exclusiveness and social superiority (Conley, 2015, p. 344). In the second reading “Defining Racism” it acknowledges that even if someone is aware of their white privilege why would they want it give up because it plays in their favor. In Peggy McIntosh’s “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” she argues that white people
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.
Besides white women being paid less than men, more culturally diverse people are being paid even less than them. A USA today article on the gap says “The numbers were even worse for women of color, with black women earning 68% of what was paid to white men and Hispanic women’s pay amounting to just 62% of their white male peers, according to the IWPR.” click here for link. That is crazy considering segregation has ended, at least so we thought. Not only culturally diverse women, but all women are being paid less than men.