Privilege is a part of peoples lives. Knowingly or not it plays an important role in our lives and society. Privilege is defined as a special benefit or advantage that is exclusively reserved for a particular person or group. There is also inter sectional privilege, the concept of different types of privileges or lack thereof that one encounters whether it positively or negatively impacts them. During my life there has been one overwhelming privilege. That privilege is being born in America. Americans are reserved rights most people in the world do not have, or are not explicitly told. Inside America there are many aspects of life that give us these privileges, whether it be more advanced and protected jobs all the way to world class education …show more content…
Today this is almost a universal right, however, many countries or groups of people still have this right restricted, examples being North Korea and their press, or Women in the middle east. America is privileged in the sense of free speech for many reasons, the first it being recognized. It is forever imprinted in the minds of the men and women whom govern the populous. There can never be an exusce for the people not to speak their mind since it is a guarantee. The country with the second largest economy and GDP, China, still has issues with protests and how they deal with protestors, censorship is still very widely used, and how much freedom we are granted is truly a privilege compared to other countries. Even if we look at a country very similar to the United States, the Constitution of the United Kingdom never explicitly says that the their people have the right to freedom of speech it is merely implied now and was mainly only allowed for members of a certain legislature, only until 1998 did the United Kingdom truly write down a vague description of freedom of expression that is heavily revised to add certain …show more content…
One cannot mention free speech without the argument of hate speech being brought up. Hate speech is words that are used to deliberately offends and threatens a certain group of people, whether it be based off of religion, sexual orientation, race, etc. In the United States it is relatively hard to be criminalized for hate speech, however, harmful actions that are carried out usually tied to what has been previously said will get someone incarcerated, not the speech itself. A famous case was Wisconsin V. Mitchell. Mitchell a young black man saw the movie Mississippi burning with friends. After watching the movie they saw a young white boy in which Mitchell was recorded saying “There goes a white boy; go get him”. The young white boy was injured and in the case Mitchell was charged with assault and battery with increased punishment due to the beating being on a child, but he was not charged with hateful, threatening speech which you can be charged for in many European countries. Even flying swastika flags on your lawn is legal but planting it on a neighbors lawn will land you with vandalism, not hate speech. This privilege, unfortunately, can easily be used to target and oppress other groups and it is up to society to ultimately deem whether or not speech has crossed the line or an individual realizing the potential consequences for his or her
When I read “Checking My Privilege” written by Tal Fortgang, a freshman at Princeton University, it made me stop and think. What does privilege mean, how should it be used and does it affect me and my life? Fortgang never really states the exact meaning of the word privilege but goes on to complain about the mistreatment of the word and how it is a form of reverse racism; could that be true, I wondered? However, he also claims that privileges do not exist based on race or gender, and that is something I do not agree with. I imagine many people will not agree with his stance on the word privilege or mine, as a matter of fact. Mainly because the word privilege has a different
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
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 while some others will explain why this not is the case.
Privilege is a topic with, any definitions and many angles of interpretation. My definition describes privilege as a step-up or positive opportunity in a specific situation or circumstance that is not available to everyone. These privileges are sometimes earned while others are totally unwarranted by the recipient. An example of what I consider an unwarranted privilege would be a child living in a certain county and being able to attend a highly sought-after school strictly due to the way an area is zoned by the county. The privilege of a military veteran having his tuition paid for by the Government is a earned privilege by my beliefs. Privilege far extends far outside the boundaries of education. You will find privilege in virtually all facets
The United States of America is often known for having more freedom than anywhere else. As Gandhi said, “A ‘no’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better and greater than a ‘yes’ uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble.” Freedom of speech is a big part of the American culture and citizens are encouraged to speak their minds and opinions openly. It is such an important aspect of each American individual that it is
Many white Americans are living with the fear that they didn't really deserve their success, and that maybe luck and privilege had more to do with it, than brains and hard work. There are numerous reasons for the widespread discrimination at all levels, but the main reason for the existence of discrimination is a privilege to certain groups of people, and widespread social prejudice towards certain groups of people. Differences between people have always existed, but they gain in importance only when are different importance given to certain differences, so it creates privileges. People who are privileged in one society are often not aware of their privilege. It is very easy to be oblivious to the privilege. The problem of discrimination is very complex and there is no unique formula that would solve it. There are general patterns in a white supremacist culture, that all white people have privilege, whether or not they are racist themselves.
As a member of the dominant race in America, I know that I possess certain unearned privileges that allow me to be more successful overall. I was raised with the mindset that racism doesn't affect me because I am white. The U.S. education system taught me about my racial and ethnic history, but it is likely that my classmates of different races could not say the same. I learned about racism in school but not to view whites as privileged or degrading towards subordinate groups. My group was never seen at fault for oppression or took any responsibility for it. Myself, nor my peers, were ever seen or viewed as unfairly advantaged or privileged. I grew up under the impression that any person could achieve what they wanted if they simply worked hard
America has had plenty of racial unrest, and what 's shocking is how we continue to ignore its side effects. Many people believe white privilege does not exist or it’s not a real thing even though America was built by white people, with a foundation for whites. White privilege is prevalent in America. They believe there is no way the color of someone’s skin, gives them a privilege. In reality, it does. No matter how much we ignore the fact, that the color of your skin can change the way you live, it’s true. It’s not fair, but it’s true.
1. (a) Privilege is defined as a favor or right granted to some people, but not to everyone.
Freedom of Speech means that everyone is entitled to having an opinion , and they are able to share this opinion in any way that they would like to - online on Facebook, in public on a street corner, or even just in a face-to-face conversation with someone else. There are many different kinds of people, all with their own opinions, beliefs, and ideas and in the United states, citizens are fortunate enough to be able to share these thoughts with anybody they want to, without fear of major repercussions.
On November first I attend an event called White Privilege and Male Privilege which was a conversation between Peggy McIntosh and Victor Lewis. They had a discussion about racism and other forms of oppression. This event was held in the USU at 4pm to 6 pm. The audience member were CSUN students who were in any gender women studies class of any professors on campus and since this event was free many other students did attend to listen to this conservation. The person who hosted this event was not aware of how many people would actually show up so many people did not have seats which then they had opened up the top portion of the USU so everyone could listen in. This event was based upon student interaction whereas we all were given note cards
Privilege is actually when not everybody has the same access to things. Some examples of privilege depends on race, ethnicity, gender, age, physical ability, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual orientation, language, and learning abilities. It is not fair to people because some are born with things that they cannot change or are frowned upon because, that is who they are. There are many institutions in our society that reinforce privilege such as school, work, home, healthcare and even the government. Some people cannot afford to go to better schools
Privilege is when you have something you benefit over others, you are at an advantage. If you ask someone who has privilege, they will say everyone has it but, each person has different types of privilege. For the privileged, most do not realize that they have advantages over other people in the world. They do not realize that they take for granted the things in their life that would be different if they did not have it. This is the situation for most of the privileged population. Specific groups of people are privileged and are even in denial about having set privilege. Privileges of one person may differ from the privileges of another. When I look around, I notice that privilege does indeed affect our lives in multiple ways, good or bad.
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.
Freedom of speech is an essential pillar that the United States is built on. It has been a key factor in historical events. The inhibiting of free speech has been a major issue in the history of all time. Whether it be from the government directly banning free thoughts or people rioting because someone has a differing opinion from themselves it is all the same. The stopping of the spread of ideas of any kind is criminal in the United States but it continues to be a problem today. As freedom of speech is not only the right to say what is wanted, it is also the freedom to think how is wanted. This is a key part of any free thinking individual (Biddle). Freedom of speech overall is accepted widely but there are still instances in which it is