Privilege: Character As The Basis Of Privilege, By Tal Fortgang

1281 Words3 Pages

"Why can 't black people just work harder?" Hard work results in success, and black people are in many cases looked at as less successful than white people. Therefore, that means that black people simply work less hard than white people. This is the perspective that many privileged white people may have when discussing the issue of white privilege. They fail to realize that white privilege plays a significant role in what opportunities someone might have. In Princeton University student, Tal Fortgang 's essay, "Checking My Privilege: Character as the Basis of Privilege", he criticizes those who tell him to "Check your privilege". He argues that the phrase discredits his achievements, and that white privilege is not the reason that he became …show more content…

He simply looks at them as wrong. It 's okay to disagree with something, but there should be an argument to back it up. "Furthermore, I condemn them for casting the equal protection clause, indeed the very idea of a meritocracy, as a myth, and for declaring that we are all governed by invisible forces (some would call them “stigmas” or “societal norms”), that our nation runs on racist and sexist conspiracies." He disagrees with people who think that white privilege influences who controls the power, but doesn 't say why, almost like he 's expecting everyone to agree with his perspective as common sense. Conversely, McIntosh 's uses an argument to legitimize her perspective to her readers. She lists 46 advantages that she can perceive, that were given to her by white privilege. Reasons like number 41, "I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.", number 44, "I can easily find academic courses and institutions that give attention only to people of my race." are advantages that lead her to the conclusion that "The pressure to avoid it (white privilege) is great, for in facing it I must give up the myth of meritocracy. If these things are true, this is not such a free country; one 's life is not what one makes it; many doors open for certain people through no virtues of their own.". The conclusion that meritocracy, the idea that those who put in hard work rise to power, is a myth, because of the discrepancy between opportunities offered to people based off of their race, sex, etc. is a logical

Show More
Related

  • Bill Cosby: A Black Perspective on Black Society Today

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ghettos, low-riders, hip-hop, rap, drugs and crime, it has got to be a Black man right? Saggy pants, unintelligible language, lazy, and the lists continue to both stereotype and describe Blacks. Do Black Americans perpetuate their own discrimination? Are Black Americans creating their own low status in society? Black people around the world have been hypnotized into believing all their failures in life are due to discrimination, but are they correct? Blacks are often their own worst enemies, often the cause of their own disasters, and many don’t see that until it’s too late, if ever. Discrimination and prejudice are imposed upon Blacks, often because the culture they live in is not “acceptable” to the dominant society. On the other hand, an understandable reason for Blacks actions is often due to unattainable opportunities towards the American Dream.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conversations many people get defensive when someone says, “You have this because of your privilege” they feel as though that the person they are talking with doesn’t understand that they have worked hard for what they have, however that is not the point that anyone is trying to make. What someone in that position is saying is that although you have worked hard to get where you are your journey have been well furnished with privilege on account of your race. It is said to think about that you got somewhere in life due to the color of your skin, but it is also sadder to think that someone got declined a job, got stereotyped, or got overlooked because of their race or

    Read More

  • Dena Samuel's Matrix Model Of Oppression And Privilege

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    Today in the United States of America people are both privileged and oppressed based on their diversity markers and social locations. These advantages and disadvantages are put in place by the people whom are in power, or otherwise known as the government and other leading officials. This is a major issue in today’s society that often tends to be masked by the many other issues within the country as well as by the privileged people. Many people who experience privilege tend to believe that privilege and oppression do not exist and that everyone has equal opportunity, but that is not the case privilege and oppression does exist and it can be seen every day in society. After a careful review of Dena Samuel’s “Matrix Model of Oppression and Privilege” I identified myself as rather privileged due to my social and diversity locations on her model.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Checking My Privilege By Tal Fortgang

    1656 Words  | 4 Pages

    For once this is something I agree with. In Fortgang’s essay he states that the word privilege is used in a way to discriminate or judge him based on the fact he is a white male. He claims to have been asked several times to “check your privilege”, a phrase Fortgang declares, “that threatens to strike down opinions without regard for their merits, but rather solely on the basis of the person that voiced them”. (Fortgang, p. 376) I translate that to mean you are implanting yourself into a debate that does not concern you and that you should acknowledge it and apologize. Which as he proclaims teeters on the very aspect of reverse racism. The fact that the ones aiming the question asked it without first finding out if it really did relate to him in any way and second for just assuming because he is a white male attending a pricy college he cannot possibly relate. But did one stop and think maybe he attends the college because he worked hard, got good grades, received a scholarship and struggles to pay the rest of his tuition, instead of assuming it is because he has rich parents. The word privilege in today’s culture is used more to judge someone than to state a fact. Maybe the phrase should be changed from “check your privilege” to “check your

    Read More

  • Exploring the Concept of White Privilege

    1077 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone has privilege in one way or another. People feel that privilege is give to one race more, instead of every race. The race that it’s getting more privilege is the White race and with that comes White privilege. White means the people who have a light skin color also known as Caucasian or European and privilege means an advantage over others. An example of privilege is getting away with something that someone may not get away with. So White privilege is defined as “an invisible package of unearned assets that [someone that is White] can count on cashing in each day, but about which [they were] ‘meant’ to remain oblivious” (McIntosh 1990: 1). McIntosh is saying in that quote is that Whites do not recognize that they have this privilege

    Read More

  • Analysis Of White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    Peggy McIntosh wrote this article to identify how her white privilege effects her life. Each statement is written as a privilege that Ms. McIntosh does not need to consider or fear as a white woman. From financial credibility to national heritage, this article makes a valid point regarding the way white people can be arrogant and naïve when the same treatment is not being given to their neighbors, coworkers, and peers. There can be two responses when reading this. The first would be a person of color. They will appreciate the attempt at realization of what white people take for granted. The second would be the reality that smacks the white people in the face when they realize how true all 50 statements are. Once this begins to sink in, many will start to broaden their competence realizing the unfair treatment of the people in this world. Moving down the timeline, we can see how the acknowledgement can mend broken relationships. Owning the reality and doing something to change it can give the people of different races the treatment they deserve (McIntosh,

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In Paradise Of The Blind By Doung Thu Huong

    1306 Words  | 3 Pages

    In what ways and to what effect do female characters simultaneously enact and subvert Vietnamese gender roles.

    Read More

  • Ross Chambers's 'The Unexamined '' By Ross Chambers

    1562 Words  | 4 Pages

    Getting one good grade in school is easy, the difficult part is to keep getting good grades. This concept applies to other things also. For example when a group is given a certain privilege they have to maintain it. In the essay “The Unexamined” by Ross Chambers, the author discusses that different races are perceived differently depending on where they are. He says that white people are the superior ones, and they bare the privilege of not being marked by others. While other races are discriminated, the whites are excluded from discrimination. Together with the color category there are other ones which also are the privileged ones, like for example: men and straight people. In the other essay “Man Royals And Sodomites” by Makeda Silvera,

    Read More

  • My Privilege: Character As The Basis Of Illusion By Tal Fortgang

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “Checking My Privilege: Character as the Basis of Privilege”, Tal Fortgang tries to argue that he does not feel he is privileged just because he is a white man. He believes that everything he has now is based on his personal accomplishment and does not have anything to do with his race. Fortgang feels outraged that he is stereotyped because he is attending one of the top universities in the world known as Princeton based on the color of his skin. Nothing is given to him freely without diligent work. He went to dig into his past to see if he really was privilege and somehow he doesn’t know he was. Then he gives us evidence of the hardship that his grandparents and family went through emphasizing if hardship is what privilege is, therefore he is privileged. The only privilege he has is the passed down values such as education and faith that was given from his ancestors. He feels the success that his family has made wasn’t handed to them on a silver spoon and the only privilege that his family has is being able

    Read More

  • Peggy McIntosh's White Privilege And Male Privilege

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... They feel that white and male privilege should be dealt with. There were also authors that would disagree, and mainly say that there are two sides to privileges. There are privileges for being male and there are also privileges for being female, this also applies to white privilege. Works Cited Black, Linda L., and David Stone.

    Read More

  • The Myth Of White Privilege

    1845 Words  | 4 Pages

    With all of these facts, the author tries to prove that racial differences and privileges appear exaggerated and unrealistic. The privileged and less privileged exist at all levels of society. Duke wants white people to understand that they are in the same position as all other races. The awareness of “white privilege” is only a fallacy that causes feel of guilt without foundation.

    Read More

  • Essay On Post Racial Society

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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

    Read More

  • Racism Against African American Racism

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...er days perpetuates into the present society. It is important to note that African and White Americans didn’t start from the “same structural position” in terms of wealth. Though blatant racism towards blacks has been minimized, this racism or discrimination sort of changed to favoritism of Whites’ to Whites’; due to this Black Americans continue to stagger behind White in terms of economic success. Dr. Nancy DiTomaso carried out interviews with Whites from different social and political classes, which concluded that inequality in society is prolonged because of White favoritism rather than discrimination. Favoritism in employment among White Americans is an essential factor in maintaining their advantage and access to better paying and more secure jobs in the workforce. Despite racial classes, this favoritism sustains the superiority of Whites’ economic network.

    Read More

  • The Concept Of White Opportunity In Society, By Richard T. Schaefer

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    Individuals may be gifted with certain privileges because of the position one holds in society. Most importantly, one can obtain certain privileges from being born with them. One might be “born” with certain privileges because of one’s race, ethnicity, religion and or social class. The most significant factor that may influence one’s obtainment of privileges is social class. Although, race also plays a crucial role. The privileges I obtain surface from my position in society. I don’t feel as if I acquire privileges because of my race and ethnicity. I feel as though that the privileges I acquire are earned, not given. My perspective of this arises from the social stratum in my proximity. The concept that hard work will get one to their desired

    Read More

  • Privilege vs. Underprivileged: Important Things in Life

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    Money can give people a lot opportunities and privilege. Financially privileged people have no trouble getting materialistic things such as big houses, expensive cars, and jewelry. Being privileged can also provide better scholastic education as well as respect. On the other hand, a lack of money, as a person might guess, limits opportunity and lower a person’s status on the privilege pole. In order for an underprivileged person to have all of those things, they have to work hard to get to get the luxuries of nice houses, cars, and jewelry. As far as education goes, the underprivileged might not go to the best schools but they get an education that will prove to be more valuable in life; they learn to earn respect, appreciate what they have and how to survive with just the necessities and what’s really important in life. So when a person looks at each group and tries to decided with one gets the most out of life, they will see that underprivileged individuals get so much more out of life than a person who came up in affluence and privilege.

    Read More

More about Privilege: Character As The Basis Of Privilege, By Tal Fortgang

Open Document