Born Advantage
In the article “What is White Privilege?” Christine Emba explains what white privilege is and how it naturally comes with benefits, being a person of the white race. Emba talks about the societal advantages that come with being in the group called “norm American”. She’s states about how having white privilege has made its self home in America, shifting how other non dominating races lives are being affected. Emba’s article was a success only if you were new to the idea of white privilege or just opening up to the idea. She gives a well rounded bases to white privilege and its effects. She discusses the advantages of being a white American and how you are given a social privilege automatically. How even though some people cause
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a backlash effect saying not all white Americans are privileged, she explains that it’s something that can never be taken away. Finally she explains how people of the white race are given benefit of the doubt. Emba begins by grabbing the attention of the reader by making a list of things to consider.
This helps appeal to the success of her article because she’s not only grabbing the readers attention, she makes the reader consider the situations for their self. She puts the reader in situations and assumes that most of them have never been put it. Some of the situations she mentions are, taking shopping by yourself probably isn't going to make you be followed or harassed, the boss is most likely going to be someone of a white race, worried about your race not being accepted, and even if you bought a house in a nice neighborhood the neighbors would be nice to the family. She picks these situation with one thing in mind, these are events that the reader can place themselves in. These are head-lining topics in the news; that these aren't new ideas, she’s just applying them in a different way. Using this list was such a success because it brought the reader into the rest of the article open …show more content…
minded. Another success in Emba’s article was her use of links, she had them in all the right places. In the list above when she said, “buy a house in a nice neighborhood” it was a link to a story of Fay Wells. The story was of an elite young African American lady going into her apartment only to be held at gunpoint because her neighbor thought she was an intruder, even after living there for 7 months previously, 19 officers showed up at her door with guns loaded. She recalled, even with her hands in the air, pajamas on, and socked feet the officer with the gun pointed at her was scared of her (Wells). The person who had called the police was a white man Fay wanted to know more from the man who endangered her, “I introduced myself to the reporting neighbor and asked if he was aware of the gravity of his actions — the ocean of armed officers, my life in danger. He stuttered about never having seen me, before snippily asking if I knew my next-door neighbor. After confirming that I did and questioning him further, he angrily responded, “I’m an attorney, so you can go f— yourself,” and walked away (Wells).” This is a prime example of white privilege, most likely if Fay had been white that man wouldn't have pegged her as an intruder just because of her walking into her home and he didn't know her. Another place that a link had a very telling story was the line, “not all white people are privileged”. This was a key line to make sure to have a link to because that’s always the first thing that most white people would say, ‘well not all white people are privileged’. It was important for Emba to egknowlegde because this way she’s explaining both sides. In this link it talked about an old lady who was a recovering drug addict in eastern Kentucky, who turned to drugs after her she broke her back. She was so poor that she was living in an old burned down house because she could afford to go anywhere else. There are lots of different links to help further explain Emba’s article. She made it easy to access more information on each part of her article, making her points stronger. Emba’s most promenade success was her way of not influencing the readers opinion with her own.
She made it seem she was talking with the reader instead of at the reader. Her tone was very logical, but not up tight using high level vocabulary, offensive tones, or shoving her ideas onto the “front line” of the article. She allowed the reader to develop their own opinion and ideas about the information she presented. Even at the end of her article she didn't want any of the readers to feel offended, just by the topic of the article. Emba stated, “Pointing out that white privilege exists isn’t the same as accusing every white person of being a racist. Acknowledging that you might benefit from such privilege isn’t equivalent to self-hatred or kowtowing to detested “social justice warriors.”” This was a success on her part because she was eliminating the name-calling, just because you acknowledge it doesn't make you a different
person. The video connected to the article didn't really add anything to Emba’s overall article. Watching it could have left the readers a little confused because some of the ideas presented in the video weren't followed up in the article. Things such as the stars crossing lines into other cultures, examples being Katy Parry having dreads or wearing grillz (bling teeth covers). She didn't follow that up anywhere in the article, so if you wanted to find more information on that the reader would have had to go to another article to find more information. This video didn't add any success to her article, it may have only left the reader in confusion or disappointed to not find the information they were looking for. Even though the video didn't add to the article, it did bring up the new idea to research further. However, even without all the different ideas in the video, the had such a well rounded article it touched bases with different sides of white privilege. Overall Emba’s “What is White Privilege?” throughly explained what it is and how it relates today. She well written look into things people face everyday, even if they don't know it. She keeps it on a level people can understand and short so not to lose the readers interest. She gave all the information and facts, but didn't say it in an offensive terms, keeping it fair and showing it both sides of the white privilege.
Gina Crosley-Corcoran, author of Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person, informs her readers about her misinterpretation of white privilege. After being called out for her unknowing use of white privilege, Gina begins to plead her case. Beginning with her childhood, Gina explains how she grew up “on the go”. Travelling from place to place, Gina lived in a rundown trailer and her family obtained little to no money, had no access to hot water, survived on cheap, malnourished foods, and dealt with a bad home life. After evaluating her history when placed at the end of life’s spectrum, Gina finds it hard to pick out white privilege in her life and therefore argues she has none. Later, Gina is introduced to a woman named Peggy McIntosh
In May 2014, Time.com published an article that would soon become the source of no small amount of social contention (1). In the article, “Dear Privileged-at-Princeton: You. Are. Privileged. And Meritocracy Is a Myth,” author Briana Payton lashes out at classmate Tal Fortgang for an article he wrote a month prior (1). Payton, a freshman studying sociology at Princeton University and the political antithesis of Fortgang, takes issue with her classmates’ definition of the word “privilege” (1). She argues that, because Fortgang is white, society inherently affords him “privilege” (Payton 1). Payton’s main flaw is her tone — her condescending, demeaning, and arrogant rhetoric distracts from her content and diminishes her credibility. Conversely,
Some of her points are, “13”. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my face on trial” she also points out that people of minority will not experience never being “ asked to speak for all the people of my social group” (McIntosh 99). No matter how one may try to analyze a situation, white people are privileged bottom line. Some are more privileged than others by way of money or reputation and others are privileged just by skin alone. In conclusion, everyday people experience racism in some type of way regardless of their skin color.
What is racism? Also, is it intentionally being done? Racism is an act of prejudice against an ethnic group. According to J Dowsett in his article: What My Bike Has Taught Me About White Privilege, the author argues that not all things that is being spoken by color people are meant to “rub a lot if white people the wrong way” (Dowsett). Dowsett in his text uses the analogy of himself riding a bike along with cars as an example to emphasize privilege talk toward white people without making them feel like they are being attack. Counter arguing, color people should not feel as if they are being discriminate against too because it was unintentional as in Dowsett’s article- the biker and a nice and nonaggressive driver. In another article: Should
1) Why does she seem like a racist herself?: She always is talking about how white people benefit so much from things they don't even realize they benefit from. Well how about all the special groups and organizations that are set up just for black people. I think she should take another look at our society before she says that white benefit so trememdously. I am not saying whites do not benefit more but she really, really drills this opinion and I disagree.
The two articles that had a profound impact to my understanding of race, class and gender in the United States was White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh and Imagine a Country by Holly Sklar. McIntosh explains the keys aspects of unearned advantage (a privilege that one group hold over another) as well as conferred dominance (the act of voluntarily giving another group power) and the relationship that these factors hold when determine power of a social group. Additionally, the purpose of McIntosh’s article was to demonstrate the privilege that certain individuals carry and how that translates to the social structures of our society. Furthermore, conferred dominance also contributes to the power of the dominant group
Tim Wise’s book White Like Me provides a picture of what it is like to be white in America. A main topic covered in White Like Me is white privilege. On pages 24 and 25 Wise illustrates what white privilege is and shares his opinion regarding how to address white privilege in society today. Wise’s plan for addressing white privilege is one not of guilt, but of responsibility, a difference Wise highlights. The concept of feeling guilty for white privilege lacks reason because white privilege is something built up through generations and its existence is not of any one person’s fault.
“I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group,” Peggy McIntosh wrote in her article White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Too often this country lets ignorance be a substitute for racism. Many believe that if it is not blatant racism, then what they are doing is okay. Both the video and the article show that by reversing the terms, there is proof that racism is still very existent in this world. By looking into A Class Divided and White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack along with their ability to broaden the cultural competence, once can see how race is still very prominent in our culture.
Dr. Peggy McIntosh looks at white privilege, by “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” She describes white privilege as almost a special check or coin that she gets to cash in on. Dr. McIntosh tells that white privilege has been a taboo and repressed subject – and that many white people are taught not to see or recognize it. However, she is granted privileges (McIntosh 30). Dr. McIntosh goes on to describe twenty-six ways in which her skin-color grants her certain privileges. In example twenty, she describes how she can buy “…posters, postcards, picture books…” and other items that “…feature people of my race” (32). Additionally, in her first example, she talks about being able to be in the “company of people of my race most of the time” (McIntosh 31). Instances in which a privilege person would not even recognize unless they were looking, show evidence for white privilege. People take these advantages for granted because they simply expect them. Due to the lack of melatonin in her skin, she was granted privileges and her skin served as an asset to her. Dr. McIntosh conveys how her privilege is not only a “favored state,” but also a power over other
Elias Boudinot’s speech “An Address to the Whites” was first given in the First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, in May 1826. The speech sought white American support of the Cherokees in further assimilation into white society and for aid in this endeavour, as well as making a case for coexistence in an effort to protect the Cherokee Nation. Specifically, the “Address to the Whites” was part of Boudinot’s fundraising campaign for a Cherokee assembly and newspaper. Boudinot himself was Cherokee, though he had been taken from America and educated by missionaries at the Foreign Mission School in Cornwall. This upbringing gave Boudinot a unique perspective on the issue of the Cherokee position
In her 16 January 2016 The Washington Post editorial, “What is White Privilege?”, Christine Emba asserts white privilege is a societal advantage inherent in people who are white, irrespective of their “wealth, gender, or other factors.” According to Emba, white privilege makes life smoother and is an entity that is hidden or unknown until the privilege is taken away. Although racism is still a rampant issue in society today, white privilege is a concept created by the progressive left in order to brand whites as a scapegoat for issues and adversities that non-whites face. This concept of privilege ultimately causes further dissension between whites and non-whites.
First of all, I would like to say that the video was very enlightening and also a reminder
“White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks” (McIntosh, 172). White privilege is all around us, but society has been carefully taught
One’s cultural identity consists of their race, gender, socioeconomic status, age, religion, and so on. Being aware of your own cultural identity is just as important as being aware of other’s. People’s cultural identity defines who they are, the privilege (or lack of privilege) they receive, and how society views them. It is important to understand that White individuals have more privileges than individuals of color. White individuals do not experience detriment and difficulties due specifically to their skin color and instead receive advantages. White privilege is defined as benefits that white individuals have that people of color do not (Kendall, 2012). The following walks through my personal cultural background, how it was shaped, defined, and developed, and limitations to my personal competencies.
Essay 1: WRITE A COHERENT ESSAY IN WHICH YOU ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN THE USE OF BLACK ICONIC IMAGES (AND OTHER ETHNIC IMAGES) TO SELL PRODUCTS AS THE ECONOMY OF MASS CONSUMPTION EXPANDED IN THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY. YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO INCLUDE IMAGES IN YOUR PAPER! During the 19th and 20th century, America –mostly white collar, middle class Americans- saw a great increase in salaries and a huge rise in mass production which paved the way for the modern American consumerism which we know today. The advertising scene saw a dramatic boost during that period and tried to latch on to this growing pool of emerging consumers. Although only limited to print, advertising during this pivotal period showed panache and reflected American society and popular culture.