Personal Statement On Unearned And Privilege

When I think about white privilege, I see it as something I must understand to truly feel a relation to my own privileges with race. “As a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something which puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage.” (McIntosh 1988) When comparing other privileges McIntosh sees that her life is more influenced by her skin color than class, religion, ethnic status, or geographical location. Tim Wise explains “even though there is more than one type of privilege, they can never fully eradicate white privilege.” “Understanding the persistence of privilege requires recognizing the sleight of mind that occurs on the subject of individuals as members of groups” (Wildman 2005). Early work done by African American sociologist W.E.B. DuBois (1868-1963) showed that studies with white workers over time came to see themselves as white unlike the developing working class with recently freed black slaves. DuBois was one of the first people to initiate the concept of white privilege.

Privileges are things that a person receives that gives them an advantage over most people (Merriam-Webster). These are benefits that only certain people receive for being in a certain group or discourse. Peggy McIntosh, director of the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, wrote “White Privilege and Male Privilege” and states “I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privileges, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege” (605). She argues that whites and males receive certain privileges, yet they do not even notice them. This shows that different races and women are still put at a disadvantage, but the people who receive the benefits are blind to the problem. Many people will argue that she is correct

We are always trying to figure out where we are in this world, or how we got where we are today. Obviously you have no choice of parents or where your born and these are two major contributing factors of who am I today. Being born white and a male society has immediately granted social advantages or white privileges. But, how privileged was I really? Being born in a highly populated city to first generations Americans without high school diplomas. I did have some advantages and I realized them growing up around my non-white friends. But compared to other white people I didn’t see my self privileged in many ways.

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

In this section he describes how privilege is attached to race, gender and social class. Saying that being a white male, heterosexual, and non-disabled put you ahead of others. My question, though still in the developmentery stages of a sociologist, asks why should I be assumed to have a perfect life? And judged because of my advantages? My question merely deals with a micro situation though if I wanted it to pertain to a macro situation as well I would have to revise it to, Is it fair for oppressed groups to assume that a white, heterosexual, non-disabled male is better off then they are? I ask this question simply because I feel that I have overcome circumstances even people in oppressed groups do not have to face, and judging before knowing leads to stereotyping.

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.

An alumni group, Check Your Privilege organized by Dr. Ja’Nina Walker, works to raise student and faculty awareness about privilege on a San Francisco campus and increase social equality. The group defines privilege as “unearned access to social power based on membership in a dominant social group.” The group desires to increase consciousness about privilege, especially in the among social justice influences. They work to bring privilege into regular public discussion and urge those with privilege to use it for public benefit.

To be a person, requires intersectionality. Intersectionality is the idea that people do not function on only one aspect of their being, but instead, function on every aspect. Aspects that include race, gender, ability, etc. With this intersectionality comes innumerable categories that lie on the scale of privileged, oppressed, or somewhere in between. To be privileged is to have advantages that are not necessarily earned, and instead come with a specific, usually uncontrollable feature, such as race, gender, class, and ability. To be oppressed is to have disadvantages that are not earned, but instead come with the same uncontrollable categories as privilege. Even cis-gendered, heterosexual, white, men have aspects of their intersectionality that might not place them at the top of the privilege hierarchy. And it is in these complications where people start to place doubts on their own privileges. It is important to realize that it is nearly impossible to have privilege in every single way or oppression in every single way, yet, this is not an excuse to deny privileges. Even with some oppressions, some are still granted more advantages than others. To delve into this deeper, analyzing writings from established writers, such as Peggy McIntosh and Devon Carbado become necessary.

For my critical thinking assignment I was asked, what privileges do I have, that I don’t give much thought to. I have many privileges I don’t give much thought to, such as having a home with comfortable furnishings, having food to eat and never going hungry. I also have a car that gets me to and from places I need to be. I always have clean clothes that are weather appropriate. It’s a privilege of mine to walk, see, hear, and speak; also to have the freedom to be who I want to be. A privilege that is so meaningful, that I often take for granted is spending time with my family and friends. Another privilege I take for granted is being able to attend a diverse college and be able to have relationships with people of

A privilege is an aspect that people will rely on to have an advantage over another, which can be completely unjust. Dr. King states in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” that “It is a historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture, but groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.” I strongly agree with this implication. Even to this day groups will not give up their privileges willingly, consequently exhibiting exactly how unjust and inhumane these groups of people that have this “advantage” are and can be. Due to the numerous amount of circumstances leading to this accusation, like political leaders acting selfishly or

What is privilege? What does it mean? Is privilege inherited or is it earned? As an American resident of color I’ve learned that privilege in this country is something that is innate and inherited. The privilege that I speak of is that of White privilege.

There comes a time, in most citizens’ lives when they must stand against their government to produce change. Change can only be acquired if people take the necessary actions for it to take place. Nelson Mandela was a historical revolutionist who helped his people in Africa, to revolt against the government, in order to bring about change. As a result, he was sentenced to prison for 27 years for trying to overthrow the government. Many revolutionist, such as Arundhati Roy and Martin Luther King Jr., explain in their essays how the role of the citizen is to stand against injustice, and how the government labels them as anti-national because of it.

Right on the first page in chapter six it discusses the privilege groups discomfort about discussing privilege. Yes, it is true for so many and for those who don’t feel discomfort, I call you brave and open minded. But, it is a hard thing to discuss especially with a non-privileged group of individuals. I, for one also feel discomfort and defensive sometimes in those situations, and that could be from a number of different reasons. Whether it is because I feel guilty, ashamed, judged, etc. For this I will talk about race, for those who are white, we are born this way, we didn’t choose to be white and there’s nothing you can do about it. You were born into the privileged group here in America. But, it is something that we need to accept and admit to, we are the privileged group but, we don’t because of this nasty stigma about race. Race has turned into this sharp word that scares people when it is mentioned. We, as educators need to change the stigma of that word. We need to make it so people of privilege and non privilege can discuss privilege and race with out discomfort or being offended. In this class, our race discussion had brought up white privilege and at first it was not comfortable but, as you admit to it, the easier it is to discuss.

The book, Privilege, Power, and Difference brought awareness to where I stand as a Latina female in the United States. Growing up, I did not like to focus on the differences I experienced or saw others experience. These differences made me feel angry, scared, nervous, confused, and hopeless. Instead of focusing on the unfairness I was a part of I decided to look at it as a challenge, I would prove to myself that I could do whatever I set my mind to. I took every opportunity handed to me and tried to make the best of it, to make myself proud and my family proud. At least that is what I thought at the time, but now that I have had time to reflect on my desire to succeed I know that part of that desire comes from proving to the dominant culture that minorities can succeed.

The aim of this essay is to address the problem of inequality and oppression through three separate texts, The Second Sex, The Death of the Profane and Killing Rage. The Second Sex focuses on the woman and her role compared to man. The Death of the Profane and Killing Rage are both texts that describe experiences about the constant racism felt by blacks. To thoroughly examine these texts and how they are related to oppression and inequality it is important to first define what each mean. Oppression and inequality each have different definitions but they go hand in hand. Oppression is the state of being subject to prolonged unjust treatment. While inequality is defined as lacking equality, equality is the state of being equal especially in status,