I ultimately agree with Peggy McIntosh. As much as I hate to acknowledge the fact that caucasians are more privileged than minorities, I do see this white privilege she explains. White privilege is an invisible means of racial oppression in which caucasians have advantages in many situations because they are white. She made a list of situations that stood out to her including things like buying band-aids that match your skin color to being able to go shopping without enduring harassment.
I feel like this article may be a bit outdated, however these things are probably taking place in other portions of the world. I came to realize that just because I don't experience these things hands on and see them everyday does not mean they aren't happening.
Honestly, this article somewhat opened my eyes. I never realized to the full extent the advantages I have because of my race. I am uncomfortable with her belief that caucasians are "carefully taught not to recognize white privilege". I know that racism is still alive and well in the U.S. today, but this statement makes it like we know it's there, we want it there, and we have no intention of changing it. I do see that it is there and we don't realize we have it, however it is hard for me to swallow the fact that we are being taught not to see it and to remain oblivious. But, it could be the reason why I have a hard time accepting the belief; because subconsciously I have been trained not to see my white privilege.
I see this come into play with AIDS/HIV in a sense that most caucasians know they can get and afford treatment or testing for the diseases. They never once question whether those privileges will be available to them. Conversely, minorities question everyday whether they can even have access to a doctor, let alone a test or any kind of treatment for AIDS/HIV. A major issues that plays into this is obviously poverty. Caucasians are generally more wealthy than other races and can usually afford and have access to healthcare and medical centers. Minorities are generally less fortunate than caucasians and don't have any assurance of access.
I think this issue needs to be addressed, but I'm not sure how and if it's even possible. If it's there and we are "trained" not to see it, and in fact don't see it, then how can we fix it? I mean, everyone could read this article, but the issue seems to be embedded into out culture. Obviously it is important to address larger systems of oppression. However, this is a major issue that needs to be eliminated if we ever plan on killing racism.
I think that you were in the right to feel slightly on the defense with Peggy's article. It's a different feeling to be on the "accused" side. After all, we try to do the right thing just living our daily lives innocently and we are portrayed as perpetrators of oppressing other races. I think a good point in your summary is that we aren't actively trying to acquire privilege at the cost of others not getting it but rather we just "inherit" it. I think the pyschology of the matter is interesting because we don't consciously see that we are "trained" to not acknowlege our privilege. It's a clever tactic to perpetuate racial privilege because as you stated, it's difficult to stop something that you are unaware that you or others are doing. It seems like the real question to alleviating racial oppression is if those who are more privileged are willing to become less privileged so that all can be on equal ground? Or even better, is there a way for all of us to be privileged at no one elses expense?
ReplyDeleteI think that you are totally right when assesing what Peggy had to say in her article. It does feel like we are privilege, as caucasians, in every day life and we dont ever realize it at all. But you do bring up a good point about the article being outdated. I think this is a fair assesment because we have come a far way as a society here in the US and things have improved. Fair housing and fair employment laws have been passed to stop what was thought as unfair practices. But i do still think we can grow as a society and make things even better. The main point is to change ourselves indivdually and not have any sort of stigma associatted with minorities.
ReplyDeleteI definitely understand the discomfort that comes along with the realization that whites are actually more privileged than other races and it puts a new spin on things in my mind too.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that until our culture is able to figure out why we are trained not to see these things, there is no real way to fix the problem.
I guess all we can do is start somewhere and hope that future generations will continue to have their eyes opened until this problem is solved and equality is real instead of just something idealized.
Like you, I felt uncomfortable with the notion that "caucasians are 'carefully taught not to recognize white privilege'". Having grown up in a very diverse community, I have a hard time beliving that I have been taught to overlook the differences in privilege. I think that the concept of being "TAUGHT" it ignore white privilege stems on the the heals of blatent racism. I would hope that society would realize that everyone needs to be treated equally and that everyone should be grated equal rights to excell within their lives. Unfortunatly, I do not think that this will happen anytime soon, as there are people in the world that thrive on purpetuating their privilege.
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