White privilege - Essay Example

White privilege More often than not people have felt inferior to others under some circumstances even though they are right; feeling they have been denied social participation and therefore they cannot exercise their rights. As a result they have felt discriminated by such people. In the human society, some people benefit from unearned advantages which are equally unacknowledged which amounts to them feeling they are superior to others. In simple terms, the idea of such people feeling they have such advantages over others is what constitutes privilege. According to Johnson (2001), privilege generally allows people to assume a certain level acceptance, inclusion, and respect in the world thus operate in a relatively wide comfort zone (p. 117). This means gaining advantage over others by having things done according to how one wishes; he/she does not require permission to act on the presumption of superiority. However it is not the individual who is privileged rather privilege relates to a certain group or social privilege. In his book, McIntosh (1988) uses the phenomenon of the male privilege to compare it with white privilege, a social problem which is experienced in the United States. He describes how male privilege has become so rooted in the society even though it is not the individual ‘man’ to blame. In other words she explains that white privilege is denied and subconsciously protected just like the male privilege (p.1) according to her, whites are taught not to recognize white privilege just as males are not taught to recognize their privileges in society . The whites are disciplined to such an extent they are unable to recognize that racism puts them at an advantage over others. They therefore cannot stop racism since they are unable to realize the existence of this unearned skin privilege. To her, she alludes this kind of oppressiveness happens unconsciously and therefore individuals should not shoulder the blame: since no one is taught in a school to oppress others. In his research, Johnson (2005) defines privilege in relation to a group of people or social category (p.117). For instance race privilege is more about being white than being black. Taking the U.S. society for instance, Jensen (2005) explains whiteness is privileged and has become a norm. There are a lot of assumptions which have been made about whiteness and the society has taken them up as a culture (p.103). It is perceived that being white means getting the best of jobs, house, schools etcetera. This kind of normalization of privileges means that members of the society are then judged, and succeed or fail based on the characteristics of those considered to be privileged. People in our society can go through life without knowing about white privilege or realization that they too have this privilege. This means that the non-particularity of whiteness or normalcy of whiteness makes it “transparent”. This transparency nature of privilege is what entails invisibility of privilege. For instance the white people have racial identities as well as an invisible privilege of being white. This is because they do possess unseen powers as the dominant race in the social world: a perception created by individuals and groups of people which then stick as a social reality. These socially constructed realities become institutionalized and made into tradition. This kind of invisibility is then perpetuated into the modern society since the representation of white people and white culture are everywhere. McIntosh (1988) describes how whites carry an invisible privilege. As a white woman, she drew an analogy from her frustrations with males who are taught not to recognize their gender privilege. Plus she discovered she had learned to ignore her own white privilege. However, now she is aware of white privilege “as an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions which includes, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks” (1989, p. 10). Unless there is interaction and intervention white privilege will continue to benefit white people and continue to oppress people of color. As seen in this paper, invisibility of privilege makes it hard to fight because its nature strengthens the power it creates and maintains it. Silence will make it worse according to Davies & Wildman (1994) and the fight against white privilege is for everyone. I am an African-American student who was ‘born’ and raised in a white family. ‘Born’ because all I knew is the people raising me are the only parents I had. They did not fall short of being excellent parents and between me and my other two white sisters there was no difference in terms of who was loved more than the others. But this changed one fine Friday evening, when our family decided to attend a symphony performance by one of the famous orchestra band which had visited our town. I was thrilled because this is one of my favorite bands and I aspired to play the violin one day. The man at the counter could not serve us as he demanded to see my parents. I did not understand why the man asked the question since the man standing close to me is the only father I knew. The authorities had to intervene to calm situation and our tickets were handed to us as we were allowed in. As I learnt later, I was only an adopted son. Therefore a lot needs to be done to fight white privilege. As McIntosh (1988) states systems disapproval won’t be enough to change much. However we need to redesign our social systems by first acknowledging their colossal unseen dimensions (McIntosh 1988). Silence will only make it worse. To fight it we require using vibrant systems like education where the issues of privilege can be addressed. For instance being taught that the difference between white and black skin is embedded in biology can help solve some of the mysteries: starting with our U.S. society. According to Wise (2002) the price we pay to stay ahead of others is enormous economically, socially and politically. Thus ending white privilege is not an option. References Jensen, R. (2005). The heart of whiteness: Confronting race, racism and white privilege. City Lights Books. Johnson, A. G. (2005). Privilege as paradox. White privilege: Essential readings on the other side of racism, 2, 103-107. McIntosh, P. (1988). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Podur, J. (2005). People of Color talk is cheap. http://www.killingtrain.com/peopleofcolortalk. Retrieved on 12/09/2014 Wildman, S. M., & David, A. D. (1994). Language and silence: Making systems of privilege visible. Santa Clara L. Rev., 35, 881. Wise, T. (2002). Membership has its privileges: Thoughts on acknowledging and challenging whiteness. White privilege: Essential readings on the other side of racism. Read More