White Privilege: Essay 1 White privilege is a systemic issue that has roots in our history as far back as the creators of our country. Searching back, we see our norms and values created into habits that have been woven into how we view and act around specific groups such as African Americans. This essay is going to explain how the average Caucasian individual experiences white privilege on a day to day basis and the solutions to insure that white privilege will stop and true equality can be handed out. This paper views the latter issues through symbolic interactionism, with supporting sub theories such as; labeling theory, looking glass self, and selective perception. The General Idea of White Privilege McIntosh (1988) defines white privilege …show more content…
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.
Jennifer R. Holladay, the interim director of the Teaching Tolerance program at Southern Poverty Law Center, mentions an eye-popping statement in her book, White Anti-Racist Activism: A Personal Roadmap. It says, “White privilege is not something that white people necessarily do, create, or enjoy on purpose. Unlike the more overt individual and institutional manifestations of racism, it is a transparent preference for whiteness that saturates our society” (Holladay). Holladay is trying to convince her readers that individuals with white skin tend to receive more perks than minority races for no apparent reason, through her words. This is the exact same message that is conveyed in Color-Blind Racism, an essay by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva.
“Why don’t we have “White history Month?” Because white history month is every month other than February. The culture of power determines which version of history is told and retold.” Mr. Hanson, my high school social studies teacher always told us, “The winners get to decide how history is told.” I mean, prior to the Women’s Rights Movement, women were stuck in the home while men went to work and supported them, but then women were liberated and able to get jobs working outside of the home, right?
She does a good job by saying that some people are born with privilege and some are given the privilege but overall that we don 't deserve that privilege because it ends up putting others at a disadvantage. McKintosh makes it very clear to us that white privilege is more of a dominance to another race than a privilege. She ends up saying that white privilege is very much misleading because it puts people of color at a disadvantage. The whole purpose of the article that McKintosh wrote was to open the minds of the white society and make them realize that they were at a advantage over colored people and that there are many examples of the dominance of white people over colored. Even though it is said that we are a free country, things have still not gotten to the point where everyone is free and equal.
These advantages can include access to better education, better jobs, and higher wages, as well as greater visibility and representation in media and politics. White privilege does not mean that all white individuals have an easy or straightforward life, but rather that their race does not present a systematic disadvantage or barrier to success, unlike many people of color. In her essay, she said that only a type of white people can have whiteness privilege. These people are “pale, blue-eyed” but also include “language, customs, religion, gender, relations”. What seems wrong here is that they put people outside of that box because they don’t fit the white critere, and because of that some of them faced or are still facing discrimination, hate and racism.
I agree with Ben Shapiro, that people see race in their own way. But, what the people believe is “white privilege” is simply not true, it’s just a misconception with lies they have been told. In the past, white privilege was a thing; the United States was historically racist and some people are still suffering from historical discrimination.
In American society there are many advantages for being deemed “white” but not many for females and minorities. Being white is defined the ability to be different races but still having the lack of pigment in the skin. Once deemed white in America there are many privileges that come with. One advantage whites have over other genders and minorities is occupational opportunity. Most businesses and corporations are controlled or owned by whites, which usually leads to the perpetuation of racial inequality when hiring.
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
Even to this day, about two hundred and fifty years since America had gained independence, many people of color in American society still feel that they are treated unequally. In today’s society, the discussion of racial privilege has been a big discussion within society and politics in America. Although some people might not find, or see racial privilege in America as a huge problem, it is a big problem and makes many people of color feel like they are not welcomed in America. Racial privilege in America has been witnessed in America ever since the reconstruction period of the Southern United States when the Supreme Court made it unconstitutional to discriminate against the former slaves of America. Since then many people have spoken out of racial privilege and have given their point of view of the privilege
The first thing Peggy McIntosh discusses in her paper is that in her own experience men tend to agree that women are disadvantaged but they do not agree that men are over privileged. There are denials that surround male privilege that allow male privilege to go unrecognized. This brings her to the conclusion that if male privilege goes unacknowledged then more than likely white privilege has gone unacknowledged to. Just as males have been taught not to recognize their own privilege she has been taught to not recognize her own white privilege.
Fahad Albrahim Response 1: Review/Summary: “Whiteness as property” is an article written by Cheryl Harris, in which she addresses the subject of racial identity and property in the United States. Throughout the article, professor Harris attempts to explain how the concept of whiteness was initiated to become a form of racial identity, which evolved into a property widely protected in American law (page 1713). Harris tackles a number of facts that describe the roots of whiteness as property in American history at the expense of minorities such as Black and American natives (page 1709). Additionally, Harris describes how whiteness as property evolved to become seen as a racial privilege in which the whites gained more benefits, whether
The notion that anyone who works hard enough will be rewarded has been made difficult for the individuals that are not defined as white by the social construction of race which comes from society’s beliefs, racism and stereotypes. Being white comes with numerous privileges like higher education and citizenship and other supplementary increased equities that people of color don’t receive. In the video, the narrator states “immigrants were learning that whiteness was more than skin color. It was the privilege of opportunity. And above all, exclusive.”
White privilege suggests that white people have superior access to opportunities, goods and services that society has to offer. Therefore, I have less barriers in comparison to other ethnic groups. Each day
When it comes to white people understanding their privilege, I am more upset that people don’t educate themselves about it. For example, the whole movement and organization of “Black Lives Matter” is to bring awareness of how blacks are being treated by police and how the justice system is failing to protect us. Somehow, ignorant white people felt entitled to bring “All lives Matter” as if all lives share the same struggle as blacks. They don’t understand that it is the exact system of whiteness that shelters them from the challenges black Americans face. Instead of scrutinizing the system that protects their privilege, they would rather add more distress towards the people facing the system.
White people can disconnect and deny "white privilege" because the current system offers them no discomfort. A system rigged in the favor of whites appears to be left untouched because change would mean the elimination of their comfort. If you consider slavery, because the south benefited from the labor of blacks in all