Privilege Reflection Paper

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.

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.

Police officers, who were once referred to as peace keepers, are now more law enforcement officers. Police agencies around the United States seem to be stuck more on quotas and creating revenue for their county or city. Making many officers strive for many unnecessary arrests. Which as a following result has brought up a lot of tension between the police and their citizens. With increasing violence in cities and states; police officers methods have slowly become more aggressive, bringing a rise in unnecessary police brutality related incidents within the last 10 years. This relationship is substantially disproportionate considering that there are five times as many whites as there are blacks in America. I find this incredibly concerning and it has definitely impacted my view of American law enforcement. Recently, I have tried to become more knowledgeable about racism and prejudice in the United States as issues such as police brutality are becoming more and more prevalent. Although there is still much more for me to learn about the complicated system of racism and white privilege, I do feel that I know enough to recognize unjust and unlawful behavior of police officers. Police brutality has a longstanding history in our country and will be very difficult to overcome. However, I think it is possible if we, as a nation, are willing to recognize the cause and attack the issue at its source. I believe that police brutality can be attributed to an immoral police force, a corrupt

We live in a country that feels the urge to label every individual, group, or race however; sometimes that label does not truly represent that individual. For instance, the U.S. Census Bureau, during the 1940s classified Hispanics/ Latinos as white. In this case being labeled, as White did not benefit Hispanics/Latinos because they did not enjoy the same privileges as a White person. However, it was not until 1970 during Nixon’s administration that the academia term Hispanic was created, but it was not included in the Census until 1980. Regardless of how long it took to be included within the Census, the Hispanic/ Latino race will always live under the oppression of the superior race due to the phenomenon

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.

I recently read a news article that almost seemed like satire to me. It was about how a Connecticut town’s diversity council held an essay contest and its prompt was to discuss how white privilege had impacted the lives of people in the town. As you could expect from a predominantly white, suburban town, the essay contest received backlash. The public was outraged and became defensive. One of the people in the town is quoted in saying, “‘There are no barricades here. Nobody says if you are black or whatever, you can’t move here’” (Theroot.com). The sheer oblivion and refusal to discuss the existence of racism in a primarily white town is the epitome of white privilege.

“It is only White privilege…. that allows us often times to view criminals of the dominant group as mere individuals while too often viewing Black and brown folk through the lens of a group pathology whenever one of theirs violate our legal and moral norms” (Tim Wise, 2009) This opening statement, given by Tim Wise at a White Privilege conference in 2009, was one of the first to catch my attention because it is nothing less than fact. There have been many instances of violence in this country, perpetrated by Whites, Blacks, Latinos, Asians, the list can go on and on. However, the difference between when Whites commit crimes versus when minorities commit crimes, is White Privilege. Peggy McIntosh (1988) described White privilege as a set of undeserved benefits that a White person in America can use every day, yet they remain unaware of the privilege they have. According to Christine Emba (2009) of Washington Post, White privilege is the level of “societal advantage that comes with being seen as the norm in America, automatically conferred irrespective of wealth, gender or other factors.” It is

“Privilege.” What really is a privilege? Do you even consider yourself privileged? Well, the word “privilege” means “a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people” and whether or not you consider yourself privileged really depends on how you define the word and whether you take it for granted or not.

Television shows such as Dateline, 60 Minutes and 20/20 have often aired segments on discrimination within the justice system through hidden cameras recording police behavior towards minorities, interviews with minorities falsely accused or mistreated, and by referring to capital punishment statistics seemingly biased especially towards blacks. The Justice Files has produced several biographies on minorities who were subjected to some atrocity by the American justice system. General interpretation of nationwide statistics seem to give the public the feeling that minorities are more likely to be incarcerated or subjected to capital punishment and more frequently experience racism by police officers, juries or

Claim of Privilege by journalist Barry Siegel dives into the centuries-spanning history of the infamous Supreme Court case Reynolds v. United States. The case began as a simple investigation headed by three widows (Patricia Reynolds, Phyllis Brauner, and Betty Palya) who wanted answers regarding the freak Air Force plane crash that killed their husbands (Bob Reynolds, William Brauner, and Al Palya, respectively); however, the Air Force’s reluctance to admit fault caused the case to balloon into a discussion of state secrecy and the necessities of governmental truthfulness. Seeing as Claim of Privilege is a journalistic work, Siegel strays from directly injecting his opinions into the story; however, through clever usage of language and utilization of a carefully-curated list of court cases that highlight the consequences of the power granted by Reynolds v. United States, Siegel is still able to convey to the reader his overall distaste with both the court’s unjustifiable decisions and the behavior of the U.S. government.

I article “ educating for Privilege” the author states that more wealthier children, whose economic status higher, are receiving better opportunities for better education. He states that “tuition increases have dramatically”, “ Only about 10 percent of the cohort comes from the bottom 50 percent”, “no one even thinks of expanding our student bodies or reducing the costs of instruction”, “the academy itself has to remember that professional education is a public good, not merely a private one.” A lot of powerful evidences were provided. And this leads me to the question of why this is acceptable. Why poverty and social status are still the main obstacles on the way to a scientific career. The difficulties faced by students from low-income

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.

Prior to taking this class I only thought about the differences related to race. The main reason I only thought of racial differences in relation to power and privilege is due to my experiences. According to Johnson (2006), there are six characteristics that allow us to have power and privilege. These six characteristics include: age, race, ethnicity, gender, physical abilities/ qualities, sexual/ affectional orientation (Johnson, 2006). Reading this chapter allowed me to reflect on where I stand in each of these characteristics. I am a heterosexual Latina female, in my early twenties with no disabilities. Before reflecting on the privileges I hold I did not see myself as holding any privilege,