White Privilege Reflection

White Privilege 

Peggy McIntosh

                The beginning of this article started by talking about "white privilege". I honestly have never thought that whites were much more privileged that African Americans. The color of your skin shouldn't  show how privileged you are in the community or where ever you are. McIntosh stated, " I have often noticed men’s unwillingness to grant that they are over privileged, even though they may grant that women are disadvantaged." This statement is really funny because I don’t think we are over privileged at all, men are more wanted in the business world, for jobs, and for lots of other things. But while people are looking for men, woman don’t get the full credit that they deserve. Woman are just as hard working and half the time more knowledgeable then some men. Well I am a white male and I have not yet to get my invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, cloths, tools, and blanks checks. I must have missed something?

                I agree when McIntosh and her colleague Elizabeth talked about how the schooling system kind of preached and lectured us on how we won't really make it big, we will live "morally normal, neutral, normative, and average " lives and it isn't fair. Why would we want to work our whole lives to make the wealthy happy? What about our happiness?

                McIntosh states 26 racial and privileged statements and conditions on which she views and sees people of the world look and act towards others of a different race, gender, class, religion, etc. I find that some of these conditions are extremely romanticized. Some of these sound like they are coming from someone with a chip on their shoulder. "I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to 'the person in charge,' I will be facing a person of my race." I do not think this is correct at all you will be faced with the person in charge not someone that is white, come on now. Some of these things that she mentioned are kind of nonsense. Although the one where she mentions that he neighbors will be pleasant, they will be for a while I agree. A lot of these that she mentioned can be debated for sure.

                

                I believe that we all really need to check ourselves and take a look in the mirror no one on this planet is perfect and no one will ever be. Just because our skin is a different color and whatever happened hundreds of years ago with slavery and history should be dropped. Today is a new day and we are in a new year. I don’t think anybody is more privileged than another person and you are only racist if you make yourself racist. Everyone needs to start with checking themselves, forgetting the past, looking forward to a better and brighter future where everyone on this earth is equal.