White Privilege : How It Relates Everyday Life

In White Like Me, Tim Wise educates viewers about white privilege. He argues that this racial issue is still largely a problem in America today. According to Wise, the reason that racial inequality still persists is because we failed to realize in the past that white privilege existed. Because of this, our nation was in turn “created for” white

As a result of this individualistic ideology and confirmed by media, whites enjoy the comfort of not dealing with the “social burden of race.” Until whites can face the reality and openly discuss the imbalance between opportunities that whites and black have in American society, the injustice of segregated privileges will continue without any prevail.

In Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege and Male Privilege, she as a white woman herself was one of the first people to acknowledge that white privilege is a phenomenon that is commonly overlooked in the white race and made a point to think of many instances where white privilege was prominent. Peggy McIntosh defines white privilege as, “an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was "meant" to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks”. To interpret this, she is saying that white privilege is an unacknowledged idea with so many different parts and pieces to it, it is hard to classify it as just one thing. When she goes on in the article listing situations where because of white privilege she would not have to be concerned about the outcome; example 41 stated, “I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me” (McIntosh). This example can be related to Brock Turners case given the situation of him having legal trouble and having more things go for him during his trial rather than having people working against him. It seems that the white race lives focusing on normalcy and convenience, that when they are in a situation to help others they aim to make them more like themselves (McIntosh). It only makes me wonder, how do they act when a more serious situation such as rape is introduced, how it affects them. It seems that in tough situations, white privilege itself works to show dominance and power over certain groups.

I feel Peggy McIntosh offers compelling points in her article, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”. White people in our society tend to take for granted and not even realize how easily they can live their lives without the discrimination that others endure. They don’t live in fear of being a victim of racism because they are not used to that kind of treatment themselves. Being white is viewed as the norm in our society, while it is also normal to treat anyone who is non-white differently. People in our American society are quick to stereotype any race that is not white. Anybody who is non-white must continuously have their guards up for racism and are often labeled social unacceptable when they do not deserve to be.

This week’s readings focused on a topics associated with the white population of America. Some of these topics included the privileges white individuals are often unknowingly accustomed to (McIntosh,1) as well as the lack of responsibility and motivation many whites feel when it comes to eliminating racism. This is a social problem because it constructs biases that often times negatively affect the interactions between whites and individuals of color. This potentially leads to many issues including racism, hate crimes, and the unequal treatment races.

I agree with your responses on the White Privilege article. White people do not realize they have privileges until the observe themselves. For instance, how the author did in the article. The author observed her actions and the actions of people around her, and see began to notice white privilege. I like the way you stated white privileged as an “invisible package.” I thought that was a great phrase to describe white privileged. However, while people who are not white experience white privileged daily is frustrating. I disagree with your response that white privilege is use to oppress others to their advantage. I could agree with that in the past, however today the world is changing allowing everyone to privileges not matter of race or ethnicity.

Wise’s examination of the inconspicuous character of racism 2.0 dovetails fittingly with our course’s recurring theme of institutionalized racism. In class lectures we have defined institutionalized racism as the discriminatory practices that have become regularized and routinized by state agencies, organizations, industries, or anywhere else in society. Although such practices might not be intentionally racist, they end up being racist nevertheless as consequence of the systematized and unspoken biases that have become increasingly convoluted and entrenched within society over time. It also doesn’t help white people to recognize these discriminatory practices considering they have been unconsciously tailored to be consistent with white perspective and mentality. In her article, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, Peggy McIntosh examines not only how white folks often consider themselves to be a normative figure within society, but also how they are carefully taught not to recognize the advantages they gain from the disadvantages that impair people of color. In the article, McIntosh acknowledges the reality of her own white privilege and expresses, “In my class and place, I did not see myself as a racist because I was taught to recognize racism only in individual acts of meanness by members of my group, never in invisible systems conferring unsought racial dominance on my group from birth” (McIntosh 4). In fact, even if white folks do not believe themselves to

Although white privilege is an existent term many white people choose to ignore that they embody it because of the way society covers white privilege. Some examples of societal norms include “nude” colored crayons or “flesh colored bandages.” “Those with privilege can afford to look away from mistreatment that does not affect them personally. The conflation of privilege

White privilege is causing many problems in america , people are stating white americans have perks and are favored more the the other racial groups , people are getting attacked mentally on social media for making inappropriate jokes , and people are getting shamed for where / who they came from .

In “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” Peggy McIntosh argues that racism can be found imbedded into the culture of society; conferring and denying certain privileges on some rather than all. This is a dangerous cultivation; endowing a strong expectation that white privileges are naturally deserving. Furthermore, making the cornerstone of McIntosh’s main argument; that white privilege is just a less aggressive synonym for dominance. When you receive privileges for looking a certain type of way, the recipient becomes immune; often not being able to acknowledge their advantages. As a result, this creates a cultural divide, between racial groups.

In order to change these types of conditions, I think it should be put out in the open more. “White privilege” is supposedly this invisible knapsack. If more people knew about it, maybe they would try to be more conscious of how they treated others and how they exercised this white privilege without really knowing it. I think a lot of people’s reactions to a minority speaking, for example, is done kind of subconsciously and many may not realize that they are doing it because they’ve done it for so long and they’ve been trained in a way to think that it’s ok, and it’s not.

White privilege is a unique form of racism given its fascinating characteristic of not involving hostility. Therefore, it cannot be directly blamed on someone (Pludo, 2015). The lack of blame does not cause any discomfort on the white persons enjoying the privileges.

White people have an invisible package of unearned assets. Invisible in the way that they can't be seen or touched, but can be cashed in everyday at colored peoples expense. White people have these unearned advantages and privileges just for being white, and in our society this leads to a systematic tendency to over empowerment, where denial of these advantages occurs leading to no changes in society.

Minorities are still fighting to be seen as equals and treated as human but people still think we have achieved equality today. It really is up to educators to teach children about white privilege and how it affects people. White privilege is something that white people benefit from just because of what they look like, but they have no control over it. This can range from having more opportunities for jobs to being more likely to have enough money to go to private school. I am focusing more on the idea that white people have these benefits and have the privilege to deny that such a divide exists. Being able to dismiss the idea of white privilege shows ignorance and can minimize the experiences of those who have suffered at the hands of white privilege.

Yet, the most significant flaw in this essay can be seen through the author’s simplistic view of the scope of racial injustice. Remarkably, the author only refers to white privilege in terms of its impact on what she calls “the problems facing Black America.” She fails to acknowledge or perhaps has no insight that white privilege involves the preference for ‘whiteness’ over all persons of color. Every non-white group is impacted by individual and institutional racism. Every non-white group grows up with the knowledge that their white peers have certain automatic privileges. Every child of color has to learn to navigate through the floodwaters of racism