Analysis and Evaluation of "The Pathology of White Privilege" by Tim Wise

There are many issues with varying amount of prevalence that need to be discussed in our world currently. Privilege is one of those issues. Jeremy Dowsett opens discussion on white privilege with his essay What My Bike Has Taught Me about White Privilege in which he speaks being a cyclist trying to navigate the road and stay safe. Jeremy Dowsett uses an extended analogy on the implications of living as a person of color in an infrastructure designed to benefit white people.

Dowsett begins his essay with the topic of white privilege and the difficulty in discussing the topic amongst others, consequently translating poorly. To clarify the definition of white privilege, he writes that white privilege is not about placing blame or racism on white people. White privilege is the systematic imbalance in society geared to be in favor of white people. Using his bicyclist analogy, he hopes that it serves as an “a-ha” moment for those who struggle to accept that

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

According to Peggy McIntosh, an American feminist and anti-racism activist, whites are convinced that they carry an “invisible knapsack”, which allow them several privileges that African American or other ethnicities don’t have. In her article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” McIntosh describe a long list of white privileges such as, ”When I go shopping, store detectives don’t follow me” and “…people of my race are positively presented on television or papers”. They believe that the fact of being whites automatically makes them less suspicious of wrongdoing (McIntosh, 152). The American philosopher John Berteaux, a specialist in social ethics and philosophy of race agree with McIntosh about the wrong believe that whites have about some privileges embedded in the race, “Most white people don’t question their race or it’s privileges; they simple take them for granted” (Rosenstand, 373). In other words, whites believe that the skin color is what makes a race better that the other, giving some people more rights that to the others.

I am better than you because I am black and you are white or I am white and you are black. What does this say about the type of people we are today? Having moral power over a certain race determines the guilty and the innocent. The simple fact of saying I am better than you, does not matter on the color of your skin but how you present yourself. Steele offers us a view of what it is like to be a black middle class citizen and shows his way of dealing with the major issues of race. For me this has opened up a new way of thinking about myself and the several dealings I have had in my life with the moral aspect of race, which dove me into the reality of what obstacles we encounter everyday with the race issue.

As I read the required read "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" I noticed myself reflecting on it in a sense of sorrow. The sorrow I felt reading it was reflecting towards the realness in McIntosh words. In todays society it seems that "white privilege" is something that is assigned not entirely earned. As I say assigned I mean by the color of ones skin. I feel the article/journal I read illustrates that "white" receive and can say a lot of things that people of "color" can not. I got this impression when McIntosh stated things like "I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented." It seems that people think "whites" have a more advantage and get greater treatment

The social construction of race allows “whiteness” to be regarded as the default race or the normal race. This normalization is apparent when white people ask people of color the quintessential question of “where are you from”. An attitude of alienation and “otherness” is placed on minority groups because, quite frankly, being American means being white. Throughout Peggy McIntosh’s essay, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”, she discusses the unscathed and unacknowledged effects of white privilege that are rampant in America’s society today. A hierarchical structure revolving around meritocracy is practically entrenched into our society, and those who are at the apex of this structure are able to do a myriad of things at the

Critical Review of White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

The concept of white privilege helps to highlight the hypocritical nature of the American ideologies of democracy and meritocracy. Ask yourself: Do we live truly in a democratic system if the voices of our nation’s disenfranchised people are not heard? Or are we truly a nation that functions on a meritocratic system if every person-- regardless of socioeconomic background or race-- is not given the same opportunities for development? The concepts of white privilege and male privilege, as used by McIntosh, are meant to unveil the hidden schemes of American ideology.

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

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.

In Whine Merchants: Privilege, Inequality and the Persistent Myth of White Victimhood, Wise believes that discrimination is still rampant in today’s society. He supports this belief by discussing the different scenarios that white people are still privilege compare to blacks and Latinos. For example, employers will likely to hire a white person regardless of his criminal records compare to a qualified black person without a criminal record. Employers should look for a qualified applicant, rather than looking for skin color. Most black people who has a college degree will have a hard time getting a job because of their color. He also discussed how white people complains about the benefits that the government are providing to low income families

In this video, Wise talks about how white privilege works in the modern society of the United States. That is the privilege which turns other people’s lives invisible. No media investigates on the victims of discrimination at an institutional level, hence their voices can never be heard. Moreover, white people do not have an opportunity (and necessity) to know about the reality of the people of color, thus the existence of racism has been denied by the white in every generation. Meanwhile, those who are nonwhite should have learned the white reality, culture, and life, to survive in the society. Even in academic environment, they constantly need to worry about whether their academic underperformance would trigger the negative racial stereotype. In this regard,

Although in this age, anyone, regardless of race are capable of being born with what’s known as a “silver spoon”, whites are automatically born with an “ultimate silver spoon”. The “ultimate silver spoon” is a ticket with access to many opportunities that has virtually no outside obstacles. White privilege is a target aspect of racism in modern times. White privilege is the reason why white citizens are given chance after chance in the justice system. It is the reason why white citizens are able to make certain comments and make certain decisions without questions and without criticism.

“So a quiet, respectable Negro man who had the unmitigated temerity to feel sorry for a white woman is on trial for his life. He’s had to put his word against two white accusers, not to remind the reader of their conduct here in court – their cynical confidence that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption- the evil assumption- that all Negros lie, that all Negros are forever immoral, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber. However, the truth- and the truth is, some Negros lie, and some Negro men are not to be trusted around women- black or white. And so with some white men. This is a truth that applies to the entire human race, and to no particular race.”(Lee