How Does Power Affect The Development Of My Personal Development?

Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack” addresses the issue of acknowledging whites’ unaware privileges, thus weakening the systems of advantage to reconstruct power systems in the society from 1989 to the present. For instance, men are unconscious about their privileges in a patriarchal society while women are oppressed in the society. White people are unaware of the privileges which they take for granted while non-white communities are discriminated against repeatedly. McIntosh identities her privileges from daily life, which she also relates the patterns of white privilege and assumptions that passed down.

Throughout history African Americans and other minorities have been discriminated against by people in the position of power. In the article “Woman Says She Endured 8 Days In Psych Ward Because Cops Didn't Believe BMW Was Hers” written in the Huffington Post by Christopher Mathias. Talks about how a women named Kamilah Brock is suing the city of New York, because she was arrested by the cops without cause and put in to a psych ward for eight day. All because she was an African American female driving a BMW. This article shows how people in positions with a bit of power will use it to enforce stereotypes that they believe in and as well as how no one will really question their actions. Most notably this article shows the continued of discrimination

The job of police officers around the world is to serve and protect the community; therefore, community members should feel safe and free under their protection. More often today in the United Sates, that is not the case. Several members of the black community do not feel safe under police protection; in fact, they feel like they are being harassed and threatened by the police. The accounts of people who feel this way has been growing ever since stories like Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown and many more. In the book Twelve Angry Men: True Stories of Being a Black Man in America Today edited by Gregory Parks and Matthew Hughey, Solomon Moore, Richard F., and Kent H. all share stories and personal experiences with the police.

What would you do if you were treated differently based off something you have no control over? In the 1960’s, African American people was looked down upon. People would eschew away from them. If you were a black woman, life became extremely troublesome. In Hidden Figures, the audience follow three black women who worked for NASA. These women faced discrimination based only on their skin color. However, these women didn’t tolerate the discrimination. They strived to make things morally justified. Their choice of defence was zealous passion and even at times zealous anger. They stuck together with a powerful bond and accomplished the goal that was set before them. You can stand up for what you believe without making a huge scene or riot. You can do it with class and respect.

As individuals, we live in a social environment that protects and separates us from feeling emotional pain that encounters with racism all around us. In the article, “The Sugarcoated Language of White Fragility”, Dr. DiAngelo argues, this “protected environment” of racial barrier constructs racial outlooks for comfort while at the same time lowering the power to allow emotional pain, leading to as white fragility (DiAngelo, 2016). White Fragility is defined as “racial stress becomes triggering a range of defensive moves” (DiAngelo, 2016, p. 1). In other words, the importance of one’s skin color and how it shapes an individual perspective and living knowledge is not characterized in an individual however it is determined by society and how they are presented (Lietz, 2015). This is the reality of attempting to have a discussion that encounters white fragility. For instance, this concept of white fragility can be seen in the Charlottesville riot. Charlottesville riot was occurring at the University of Virginia where white men demonstrated their racial outrage, and revulsion power violence because a statue have been removed (Heim, 2017). As quoted “You will not replace us” can be explained by how much rights are given than everyone else because of how much privilege is given in society (Heim, 2017). Overall, society have constructed and developed a belief system that deliberates power and privilege on those recognized of race (Kegler, 2016). Such power and privilege proves itself in having the capacity to shape social norms, and special treatment without being mindful of their race (Kegler, 2016).

Everyone wants to be powerful right? Everyone has different thoughts and ideas, but what is it that makes us so powerful? As sad as it is, what makes us powerful is our class, gender and race theses three little things determine what people think of you. So say your Mayella, she is a white, low class woman. Then there is Tom, he is an african american, low class man. Mayella accuses Tom of rape and abuse but tom is crippled and even Mayella said her father did those things, but since tom was African American and mayella was white, she won the case. It wasn’t fair and it wasn't justice but that’s just how they lived. In a society that judged by race, class and gender.

Being born with white skin grants me certain unearned privileges in life that others may not readily receive. White privilege can be defined as “a set of advantages and/ or immunities that white people benefit from on a daily basis beyond those common to all others” (Baldwin, n.d.). For example, I can wait on a friend inside a Starbucks without purchasing anything and not be arrested. Unfortunately, two black men in Philadelphia were just arrested for this. In fact, I can even sit there for hours on my laptop and not purchase a single thing, and not need to worry I will be confronted by police officers. This paper will evaluate other privileges I receive as a white woman, discuss intersectionality, and explain how whiteness is maintained through fear of others and a desire for niceness.

Privilege is often seen as special rights granted to individuals either on behalf of merit or through unwarranted means. In their writings, Johnson (privilege, oppression, and difference) and Peggy McIntosh (White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack) discuss their views on the impact that privileging specific social groups has on society. The concept of whiteness in America is often overlooked or unaffiliated with discussions concerning racial dilemmas. Whiteness and white privilege perpetuates racism due to its normalization in society which in turn serves as an agent of how other non-white people are treated.

At its core, white privilege is described to be an “invisible package of unearned assets” (McIntosh, 2002, p. 33) for white people. There are many layers explaining the manifestation of white privilege and even more explanations pertaining to its dominant presence in today’s world.

American society consists of many equal races, yet people believe that as a white American, I am more privileged than others. However, I have learned that race is not the only factor that determines my status or position in life. In addition, the concept of white privilege is not as prominent in younger generations. Despite the assumptions made by others about the privileges whites are given, there are circumstances where being white negatively impacts me.

Some many cases that have affected my heart and have me thinking about what I should do as an African American women. I remember witnessing police brutality for the first time with the Sean Bell case. It was such a big story. I remember I was twelve when that happen and during Christmas and New Year’s Eve my family will talk about how tragic and angry they are about the case. But, what was so memorable about that case to me and what made my family so angry was Sean Bell and his friends were shot over 50 times on his wedding day. It’s almost make you realize that there is a war between black people and police

The deep but subtly entrenched nature of white privilege into the American social structure is problematic because it creates complications to overcoming this type of racism. The difficulty in detecting white privilege facilitates the denial of the role white privilege plays in affecting an individual’s living experience in America. The reality is that white privilege does make a difference in the opportunities available to certain individuals. However, this difference is not as subtle. The biggest problem white privilege poses, aside from the discrimination and bias it employs, is that it is difficult to identify. Due to its intrinsic nature, eradicating its effects requires a reconstruction of the white supremacist American social system.

Living in the information age, the prevalence and awareness towards social problems are able to receive more access than ever before. We always hear the term Social Problems being thrown around habitually in the 21st century, but the term Social problem is defined as “A general cause that motivates activists and social movement organizations to address a particular troubling condition”. (CITE). The current world has too many social problems to name off in under 5 pages so for this paper I would like to focus on perhaps the most prevalent one that we are seeing way too often these days. Police Brutality and racial profiling. As a white male, someone who is a criminal justice major in hopes of eventually becoming some type of law enforcement for my career later in life, you may ask why I even care about this issue since it isn’t necessarily affecting my life directly. My response is simple, I am tired of seeing the hashtags behind these deaths and one death from police brutality is already too many.

African Americans experience specific events of danger related to race that overwhelm the nervous system and require us to recover. These dangers may be real or perceived discrimination, threats of harm and injury, police incidents, and humiliating and shaming events. The aggressors may be black or white. These events stand out in our memory and have long-term impact on our perception of ourselves and our social environments. As mentioned in the previous discussion, some African Americans are stronger after recovering from these events, and others have long-term declines in their ability to cope with future stresses and threats.

Peddy McIntosh highlighted various unearned white privileges in her autobiographical article “White Privilege, Color and Crime: A Personal Account.” She illustrated the white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that one white person could count on cashing in each day. White people have these privileges given to them by the society in which they live in. The same society taught them to be ignorant and unawareness of these privileges. This system of unearned privileges established by white individuals made people of color feel oppressed. In this system being white is a norm and dominant power. Caucasians, who benefit most from the white privilege system in the United States, are more likely to