This post started out as a comment to a Facebook friend’s
post. However, the more I wrote, the more I realized it cannot just be a
comment. I need to do a blog post. I do not know how many will see it, let
alone read it but it is my heartfelt thoughts. At the time of this writing,
there are mass protests and even riots across the United States following the
death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer, Derek Chauvin. When the
news broke of Mr. Floyd’s death, it brought back the memory of the death of
Eric Garner, who died at the hands of a NY police officer, Daniel Pantaleo, by
a chokehold on July 17, 2014. I am angry that Mr. Pantaleo was never charged
with Mr. Garner’s death. I am angry that it took 4 days to charge Mr. Chauvin
with Mr. Floyd’s death. My anger is not the same as the anger and frustration
of the black communities. The events of the past few days have brought white privilege
back to the forefront. What is white privilege? It is a concept I have been
struggling with as I had only heard it used in the last year. I have seen many
friends, family and even people I admire and follow on social media apologizing
for their white privilege. As I researched it, I learned the term has been
around a lot longer than most people think; however, it is becoming more and
more prevalent as racial tensions rise and features on mainstream media and
social media. Despite the loud cries against white privilege, I found examples
of people who have spoken against white privilege and arguments why it does
nothing to solve the issue. I will also discuss my own experiences with
discrimination or even just having my skin color pointed out. I hope this post
will help show my reasons for my struggle.
According an online dictionary, white privilege is a social
phenomenon in which refers to the implicit or systemic advantages that white
people have that people of color do not in terms of racism such as the absence
of suspicion and other negative reactions. The term mostly focuses on the
hidden benefits that white people possess. The term was first used by Peggy
McIntosh in a 1988 essay “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,”
in which she described the advantages that whites in Western societies enjoy
and non-whites do not experience like “an invisible package of unearned assets”
(Rothman, 2014). McIntosh states that, "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). Ms. McIntosh further explains that “a pattern of assumptions
which were passed on to me as a white person. There was one main piece of
cultural turf; it was my own turf, and I was among those who could control the
turf. My skin color was an asset for any move I was educated to want to make. I
could think of myself as belonging in major ways, and of making social systems
work for me. I could freely disparage, fear, neglect, or be oblivious to
anything outside of the dominant cultural forms. Being of the main culture, I
could also criticize it fairly freely” (McIntosh, 1988). She further explains
further racial inequalities which occur to favor whites from “from renting or
buying a home in a given area without suspicion of one's financial standing, to
purchasing bandages in "flesh" color that closely matches a white
person's skin tone” (McIntosh, 1988). I can see how her description was more
prevalent in the 1980s. Is this still true today? Academics and social justice
warriors would have you think it is still true.
However, I have come across
many people, particularly black people, who do not believe it is true. I
recently came across Lori Lakin-Hutcherson’s article, “My white friend asked me
to explain white privilege, so I decided to be honest (2016) in which she
details her experience. At one point she says, “white privilege […] is being
able to move into a “nice” neighborhood and be accepted not harassed, made to
feel unwelcome, or prone to acts of vandalism and hostility” (2016). This
article is just one example that has come out in the last few years. If the term has been around since the 80s, why is it so
prevalent now? The rise of social justice, according to Larry Elder (PragerU,
2020). I have also seen more and more arguments against white privilege than
for it. In a blog for ERASE Race, Carlen Charleston writes “The idea that there is
such a thing as "white" privilege serves to subtly support a
narrative that "whites" are "better off" than others” (Charleston,
2019). Another rebuttal of white privilege is a video by Brandon
Tatum entitled “How To End White Privilege” in which he calls white privilege “all
theory and all nonsense.” He claims that people who apologize for their white
privilege end up feeling good. “To acknowledge your white privilege is supposed
to make you feel bad. Only it does not. It makes you feel good because by
acknowledging your white privilege, you are declaring yourself to be
enlightened. And as a virtue-bonus, it also makes you a better person than
those whites who don’t acknowledge their privilege” (Tatum, 2020). In his
article, Professor John Tures of LaGrange College states that “unless the “white
privilege” argument is dropped, we’ll always have racism, discrimination, and
not enough allies to defeat such a scourge” (2018). He makes the further argument
that the white privilege is “as odious as the assumption that someone who is
non-white can only succeed due to affirmative action, taking anyone’s success
as attributable only to skin color” (Tures, 2018).
When I first heard the term “white privilege,” I struggled
with it. As a self-evaluating person, I had to ask myself, do I have white
privilege? On one hand, I can acknowledge that there are many white people who will
never understand what it is like to be treated differently simply because of
their skin. I also know people who have gotten a leg up in life simply because
the color of their skin. But is that true for all members of an ethnic group? I
was raised to always treated everyone with respect and decency and I am
teaching my daughters to do the same. Despite this, I feel a distance between
me and a person of color. When I have
tried to be a part of the conversation, I have been completely ignored. So I often stay quiet. However, on the other hand, I have experienced a few of the
points the Ms. Lakin Hutcherson brings up in her article. I have been the only
white person at a job, at a party or in a class. And it had been pointed out with
various slang being used in my presence. I grew up in a family and in a neighborhood where all
races lived together, hung out and had great times. I grew up with friends and
classmates of all races, nationalities and never had a problem interact with
them. Unfortunately, now I feel a great wedge between us. My husband, who is
Latino, and I have been married for 11 years and have two beautiful daughters,
we still strange looks when we are out in public as a family. People still
gives us looks as if they have never seen a Latino man and a white woman
together. I still see the look of shock on someone’s face when they call my
name in for an appointment and a white woman stands up. Also, just because I am
white does not mean I feel safe in all locations. My husband does not like it
when I need to be away from home alone. A nice neighborhood does not mean it is
100% safe and secure.
In conclusion, my main issue with white privilege is that it
attempts to encompass all whites into this category, which isn’t true or fair.
It would be like trying to say all black men are criminals, all black women are
welfare queens. Or all Latinos are here illegally. It feeds on a stereotype and
while stereotypes have a grain of truth, it ignores, or doesn’t allow for, the
exceptions. We all get benefits or privileges based on who we are. There are
grants and scholarships that are open to people of color but not to whites.
There are organizations and clubs that are only open to people who can prove
ancestors who came over on the Mayflower. There are more job openings and
opportunities for people who can speak two or more languages. There are people
of all races who have always known financial security. There are people of all
races who struggle just to pay the bills each month. But to look at what I have
in life, what I have accomplished and claim that I got it because I am white is
just as bad to claim a person of color got the job because of an affirmative
action quota. It ignores the hard work, commitment, and perseverance to achieve
a goal. I
am sorry if you feel that white privilege got you to where you are in life or
kept you from achieving what you wanted. I know many people of all races who
have taken life’s circumstances, worked against obstacles, and overcome
challenges to make a better life for themselves and their families. I know that
the actions of one member of a group does not define the other members. So, if
one white person who had all the privilege in the world does not mean all
whites have had the same privileges.
References
Charleston, Carlen (March 15, 2019). The Privilege We All
Have. ERASE Race. https://www.eraseraces.com/single-post/2019/03/15/The-Privilege-We-All-Have.
Retrieved June 8, 2020.
Hutcherson, Lori Lakin (14 July 2016). My white friend
asked me to explain white privilege, so I decided to be honest. Good Black
News. https://goodblacknews.org/2016/07/14/editorial-what-i-said-when-my-white-friend-asked-for-my-black-opinion-on-white-privilege/.
Retrieved 31 May 2020.
McIntosh, P. (1988). White privilege: Packing the
invisible backpack. Racial Equality Tools. https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/mcintosh.pdf.
Retrieved June 8, 2020.
PragerU (June 3, 2020). Larry Elder Eviscerates the Myth
of 'Systemic Racism.’ PragerU.com. https://www.prageru.com/video/larry-elder-eviscerates-the-myth-of-systemic-racism/.
Retrieved August 24, 2020.
Rothman, Joshua (May 13, 2014). The Origins of
"Privilege. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-origins-of-privilege.
Retrieved June 8, 2020.
Tatum, Brandon (January 20, 2020). How To End White
Privilege. Prager U.org https://www.prageru.com/video/how-to-end-white-privilege/?fbclid=IwAR0OLAZ8W6mFumeIwcPpNRlg9A56Zua-sZypDtg8w6Ks4uLosucSkYNybsc.
Retrieved June 8, 2020.
Tures, John A. (October 5, 2018). To defeat
discrimination, drop the ‘White Privilege’ argument. Ledger-Enquirer. https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/opinion/article219554050.html.
Retrieved June 8, 2020.
