What makes each of these three articles different from one another? What is the most interesting idea from each? How can you think about your own privilege without feeling too guilty?
"White Privilege: Swimming in Racial Preference," looked at the historical aspect of white privilege. It shows how inheritance molds our society into what we have today. It was interesting to read about the points system to get into the University of Michigan and how it is still skewed towards white individuals.
"Diversity Vs. White Privilege," looked at white privilege from a teaching standpoint. I especially liked the part about the color-blind approach that many teachers take. You have to see the students as individuals but still embrace their heritage.
The final article, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," seemed to be more of a comparison piece to male vs. female. The part that interested me was when the author stated, "unearned privilege can look like strength when its in fact permission to escape or to dominate." It's very true that it looks like strength on the surface, but the individuals are not necessarily as strong as others from different backgrounds.
I have to look back to my family heritage. My family was a group of Irish coalminers. When we immigrated to the U.S., we did not have very much money and were treated much like slaves. I know that they were given more opportunities to advance over minorities. At the time, they had to work just as hard to make things meet. My grandparents on my father's side were not wealthy in the slightest, and my grandpa is still working today to make ends meet into his late 80s. I have seen the difference between two families in a town where Greasers were at a disadvantage and Socs were the people in power. A town where my dad grew up with the minority black student, and he was the only one to stand up for him when the white students started to instigate fights. One of those white students was my own uncle. My father instilled in me at a young age that everyone is different and you don't know what background they come from, but you have to be accepting of everyone. I do have white privilege; it's inevitable, and I try to embrace my culture while respecting the culture of others.
The article "white priviledge: swimming in the sea..." focuses mainly on how the idea of "white priviledge" has been around since the beginning of history and how it has changed or developed over the years since. This was an interesting article. I too, found the point system that is in place interesting. It seems to me what the author said at the end about minorities only recieving 20 points was untrue because they were offered all of the other points as well; many minority students may not have qualified for them, but they were still offered to them.
The interview with Christine Sleeter looked at how teachers must realize that this phenomenon of white priviledge exists. It was interesting to hear Sleeter's story about how her grandfather had been given advantages through the New Deal that helped him become successful, despite a second grade education.
The article "White Priviledge: Unpacking..." compared white privilidge to several other priviledges like male priviledge, or white female priviledge. The most interesting thing about this is that many times people do not even realize the priviledges they have and how their priviledges appear to people without them. Its like the first article said "a fish takes water for granted", so do people with racial advantages.
When I think about my priviledge, I honestly feel more thankful than guilty. I cannot change the priviledges that I have been given, but if I am aware of them and thankful for them then I dont think that I really should feel guilty. As I said before, many people take these advantages for granted and I know I do to at times, but when I really stop and think of them I am just truly thankful.
"White Privilege: Swimming in Racial Preference," talks about how even though we don't think we are receiving an advantage, we have 'inherited' it from the privileges that our parents and grandparents might have received.
"Diversity Vs. White Privilege," talks about WP in the classroom. It also dismisses many of the myths associated with 'colorblind' teaching.
"White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," is mostly a list of the things that the author feels she has or is able to do that minorities are not.
I try to not feel too guilty about it, since it is not as if I had a choice in the matter, but I am grateful. While my grandparents did not reap the benefits of certain housing laws since they were just coming over from Italy, they certainly had the benefit of being 'lighter' skinned than an African American applying for the same job/house during the very racist 50's.
While I agree with most of the information in these, I think a few can be attributed to 'class'-ism. Even though McIntosh argues that she would not be looked down upon (race-wise) for wearing second hand clothes, I have witnessed people being called 'white trash' for doing just such a thing. I know I have been guilty of thinking similar things when I see someone who is wearing a 1987 Skynyrd concert T and flip flops. I also wonder if those applying for job/looking for a house did so in a suit and tie and used 'perfect grammar' would really have trouble -regardless of race? Not that class-ism is any better, but I don't want to confuse 'isms.'
I agree with Lee in that you can't really feel guilty about white privilege if you didn't have a choice in the matter. I think that people should acknowledge that it exists though. I am grateful for what I have been given as well. I think that people will always have a historical background that changes lives. I don't think that this is only a problem in the United States. This has happened all over the world with different races and cultures. People will always have privileges based on a number of things, and it just happens to be the color of skin in the U.S.
"White Privilege: Swimming in Racial Preference," describes white privilege from a historical point of view. I found this article to be interesting because it really describes how white privilege has been around always been around, and how we have benefited from the opportunities our parents and grandparents had. I was shocked to read that the baby-boomer generation of whites is in the process of inheriting between $7-10 trillion is assets from their parents and grandparents.
"White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," describes how white people are taught about racism and describe privilege men have over women. McIntosh goes on to describe how she has benefited from white privilege and how it has opened many doors for people "through no virtues of their own." This article reminded me of the list of things that we made that showed things out of our control but contributed to us being successful students in grad school.
The last article that I read "Diversity v. White Privilege," describes white privilege in the classroom. I especially enjoyed this article because it gave insights on how to treat students of different races and cultures in a classroom. My favorite part of this article was when Sleeter described how a teacher must remember to embrace their students individual cultures and heritage.
I agree with CJ in his statement that I am more thankful than sorry for my white privileges. I am well aware that I have had numerous opportunities that are beyond my control, but also acknowledge that I would not be where I am without these things. However, it is important to remember that everyone's background is different and take others lack of privileges into consideration.
"Swimming in Racial Preference" was a response to a comment that former President Bush made about affirmative action laws being unfair at the University of Michigan. The first half of the article detailed how whites receive privileges due to their whiteness, and the second half attempted to discredit the former President's statement. The strongest line in the article, in my opinion, is this one, "Affirmative action for whites was the guiding principle of segregation, Asian exclusion laws, and the theft of half of Mexico for the fulfillment of Manifest Destiny." I think this line highlights the idea that whites have used many excuses to subjugate minority populations for some kind of gain.
It is too easy to gloss over facts like these and pretend they never happened, but doing so does our students a tremendous disservice, which is a point that Christine Sleeter makes in “Diversity vs. White Privilege.” She discusses ways that white privilege still exists and an experiment she has her students conduct to measure racism. Sleeter, as evidenced by her interview, is a vocal advocate for equality and works hard to promote multicultural education as opposed to a white agenda.
Peggy McIntosh deals with her personal understanding of white privilege by juxtaposing it with, more commonly acknowledged, male privilege. By drawing comparisons between the two, McIntosh makes white privilege more tangible and obvious.
To be perfectly honest, based on my background, I shouldn’t even be in graduate school. I don’t necessarily feel guilty for being white because I didn't come from wealthly white privilege. I seperated myself from my family and have worked for all I have and all I've done. However, I do realize how much better I am treated than anyone who doesn’t appear white. When I lived in Chile, I was always treated differently for being white, sometimes I was treated better and sometimes I was treated worse, but I was branded every, single day with every negative white stereotype that exists in the world! It sucked, good or bad, because if someone treated me better, everyone around me would give me a terrible look or roll their eyes. After the first 6 months, I would refuse any superior treatment because I didn’t think it was fair to everyone else. It sucked being white. It really sucked being American, but that’s another story.
I think that the articles have pretty well been summed up.
White Privilege: Swimming in the Sea of Racial Preference seemed to be very bias. I felt that the author was very angry, even though our country has come so far (especially in the educational world). It really hurts me that so many people out there don't take into consideration that the current white race, even though white privilege is a factor, were not alive during our countries earlier days and most, like our previous president, was not involved in the civil rights movement. Yes, people of an educational background have studied history and have witnessed current issues of racial inequality. But, I feel that people in power (The President of the United States and/or college presidents or Deans) or even regular people walking down the street, are often put into categories because of their skin color. People always feel that other people have ulterior motives-but yet they never have them themselves ??!! Snap judgments are made because of peoples backgrounds and skin color. I feel that today there is a lot of anger towards the white race. A race, like any other race, still has a long way to go considering prejudices, but also has come a very long way considering our history.
Most people assume that if your African American, you voted for President Obama to come into office. Even though I do know of lots who did vote for him (just from clothes people wear and stickers on cars, I do know of several myself who did not vote for him.
The President is also put into a general category because of his appearance. But, the media never emphasized the fact that Obama is, in fact, a biracial man who was raised only by his white mother-and received more opportunities because of it. In fact, his culture considers him to be white and not black, because he was born of a white mother.
In my husband's family's culture, he is considered to be Swedish because his father was born and raised in Sweden. However, his mother's side of the family is from Norway...which is never brought up in his household because Norway and Sweden are rivaling countries and the child always takes the culture of the father.
I am personally proud of my American heritage. I am not proud of 'white privilege' but do not feel one once of guilt for being born into the family and country I was born into.
I am also extremely proud of America. I am glad I live in a country that so many people in the world believe is the land of opportunity. I celebrate Free Enterprise and our Freedoms and I don't take them for granite.
I was born of a low/middle class family. My mother grew up in a house with 3 bedrooms and 10 people. My father was raised in a small military/teacher family. My mother decided to work her way through college while my father's family paid for his. Neither actually received degrees from college (Alburn U).
My parents survived by working low paid jobs and living in a trailer until my mother became pregnant with me. My father joined the air force to bring in a more secure income for his growing family. However, my father was raised in a military family and did not want to bring that upon his. While in the air force, he learned how to paint cars and would do it as a side job to earn a couple of extra dollars. Once he was out of the military, he started an Automotive Paint Business. We were very poor for many years. However, my father did not give up and while I was in middle school we started to actually make profit and now my family makes a very wealthy living off of my father's businesses. So yes, white privilege is out there. But, the beauty of America is that you have the ability to create your own opportunities and I will not apologize for the blood, sweat, and tears my family went through to gain what we have.
I will also not apologize for my race. There were lot's of people who did lot's of evil things to others all over the world. The Mayan people slaughtered their slaves for sacrifices. Hitler and the Germans tortured and murdered Jews. The Talabans in the Middle East are killing many neighboring tribes. Ireland and Scotland have killed many innocent people through wars.
It was wrong when America put Asian Americans in containment camps after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. We assumed that they must have had something to do with it because they looked similar to our enemies. The country apologized to them and we have tried to right our wrong.
So why do people, specifically minorities, feel that I should apologize for my heritage? My education has taught me well and I have tried to treat all people as if colorblind-with an equal amount of respect. I am often scared of communication barriers and of being judged myself.
I guess I am reacting to this overlying theme of bad attitude and anger towards the white race. I know why it's there and I guess I understand it. I guess I don't understand why it's acceptable for Americans to have this attitude towards the white race, but it's not acceptable for Americans to have this attitude towards any other race. I'm not upset, I'm just observing what I think might be a bit of hypocritical behavior.
All of these articles are interesting because of their different perspectives about privilege. It was interesting to see the manifestations of white privilege in the United States. It is really easy to get caught up in the advantages of being white and while becoming educated is one of the 'countering effects' of this- it is easy to see that sometimes it plays the biggest role. As an educator (the bottom of the institution of education) I can only bring change slowly to my room and then to my neighbors class and hopefully to the school- if I am lucky! As we have looked at issues in education we have noticed that change in this world take years and many retirements! I think over time if we keep chipping away we can become a more accepting and muli-cultural society.
I agree with Claire! I absolutely found these articles interesting because they came from different points of view. I enjoyed reading all the stories people have posted about their families pasts and how hard they have worked to get to where they are. Hopefully, as Claire has already stated, we can help bring change to not only our classrooms and schools, but hopefully to our communities. Hopefully change will take hold and eventually even out equality in our society.
I did remember the UM controversy from a few years ago, and I had a suspicion that the issues there was more along the lines of alarmist media rather than racist admission practices. That controversy is the author's prime example in "Swimming" of the blind nature of white privilege.
Where colorblind teaching is concerned, I've always thought that it would rear its head somewhere along the way, no matter how badly the teacher may want to be immune to racial concerns. No one ever is; we just tell ourselves that we are colorblind. True colorblindness is always at least one generation away: someone is going to remember what Mama or Grandma said and how "reasonable" their archaic notions of race seem.
"Knapsack" entails in its substance a list of societal behaviors and privileges that are (largely unconsciously) allowed white society and disallowed to other ethnic groups. I find these statements to be a bit wide in nature and more than a bit of a disservice to those in society who do give their best attempts to be equal to all customers and townsfolk.
Lee hits the nail on the head; I also do not feel a need to apologize for the privileges that I have encountered over the course of my time. I have done my best to reciprocate and act like I deserved them in the first place due to work ethic and the like. The son of a factory worker and a banker who began her career as a teller fresh out of high school, I must admit that life in rural GA never was something out of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous"; as my parents have stayed at the same jobs for most of my life and worked their way up the corporate ladder, I would like to think that their good work got them up the ladder, and perhaps that is true to some degree. We could speculate on all those who got passed over for the promotions that my parents and I have received over the years, but I doubt if any of our superiors will ever tell us that the good fortune bestowed upon us was due in large part to our race. The exercise asked of us here to "not feel guilty" about being issued white privilege is an easy one, for how can I feel guilty about something that I am largely completely ignorant of receiving at the time?
"White Privilege: Swimming in Racial Preference," looked at the historical aspect of white privilege. It shows how inheritance molds our society into what we have today. It was interesting to read about the points system to get into the University of Michigan and how it is still skewed towards white individuals.
ReplyDelete"Diversity Vs. White Privilege," looked at white privilege from a teaching standpoint. I especially liked the part about the color-blind approach that many teachers take. You have to see the students as individuals but still embrace their heritage.
The final article, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," seemed to be more of a comparison piece to male vs. female. The part that interested me was when the author stated, "unearned privilege can look like strength when its in fact permission to escape or to dominate." It's very true that it looks like strength on the surface, but the individuals are not necessarily as strong as others from different backgrounds.
I have to look back to my family heritage. My family was a group of Irish coalminers. When we immigrated to the U.S., we did not have very much money and were treated much like slaves. I know that they were given more opportunities to advance over minorities. At the time, they had to work just as hard to make things meet. My grandparents on my father's side were not wealthy in the slightest, and my grandpa is still working today to make ends meet into his late 80s. I have seen the difference between two families in a town where Greasers were at a disadvantage and Socs were the people in power. A town where my dad grew up with the minority black student, and he was the only one to stand up for him when the white students started to instigate fights. One of those white students was my own uncle. My father instilled in me at a young age that everyone is different and you don't know what background they come from, but you have to be accepting of everyone. I do have white privilege; it's inevitable, and I try to embrace my culture while respecting the culture of others.
The article "white priviledge: swimming in the sea..." focuses mainly on how the idea of "white priviledge" has been around since the beginning of history and how it has changed or developed over the years since. This was an interesting article. I too, found the point system that is in place interesting. It seems to me what the author said at the end about minorities only recieving 20 points was untrue because they were offered all of the other points as well; many minority students may not have qualified for them, but they were still offered to them.
ReplyDeleteThe interview with Christine Sleeter looked at how teachers must realize that this phenomenon of white priviledge exists. It was interesting to hear Sleeter's story about how her grandfather had been given advantages through the New Deal that helped him become successful, despite a second grade education.
The article "White Priviledge: Unpacking..." compared white privilidge to several other priviledges like male priviledge, or white female priviledge. The most interesting thing about this is that many times people do not even realize the priviledges they have and how their priviledges appear to people without them. Its like the first article said "a fish takes water for granted", so do people with racial advantages.
When I think about my priviledge, I honestly feel more thankful than guilty. I cannot change the priviledges that I have been given, but if I am aware of them and thankful for them then I dont think that I really should feel guilty. As I said before, many people take these advantages for granted and I know I do to at times, but when I really stop and think of them I am just truly thankful.
"White Privilege: Swimming in Racial Preference," talks about how even though we don't think we are receiving an advantage, we have 'inherited' it from the privileges that our parents and grandparents might have received.
ReplyDelete"Diversity Vs. White Privilege," talks about WP in the classroom. It also dismisses many of the myths associated with 'colorblind' teaching.
"White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," is mostly a list of the things that the author feels she has or is able to do that minorities are not.
I try to not feel too guilty about it, since it is not as if I had a choice in the matter, but I am grateful. While my grandparents did not reap the benefits of certain housing laws since they were just coming over from Italy, they certainly had the benefit of being 'lighter' skinned than an African American applying for the same job/house during the very racist 50's.
While I agree with most of the information in these, I think a few can be attributed to 'class'-ism. Even though McIntosh argues that she would not be looked down upon (race-wise) for wearing second hand clothes, I have witnessed people being called 'white trash' for doing just such a thing. I know I have been guilty of thinking similar things when I see someone who is wearing a 1987 Skynyrd concert T and flip flops. I also wonder if those applying for job/looking for a house did so in a suit and tie and used 'perfect grammar' would really have trouble -regardless of race? Not that class-ism is any better, but I don't want to confuse 'isms.'
I agree with Lee in that you can't really feel guilty about white privilege if you didn't have a choice in the matter. I think that people should acknowledge that it exists though. I am grateful for what I have been given as well. I think that people will always have a historical background that changes lives. I don't think that this is only a problem in the United States. This has happened all over the world with different races and cultures. People will always have privileges based on a number of things, and it just happens to be the color of skin in the U.S.
ReplyDelete"White Privilege: Swimming in Racial Preference," describes white privilege from a historical point of view. I found this article to be interesting because it really describes how white privilege has been around always been around, and how we have benefited from the opportunities our parents and grandparents had. I was shocked to read that the baby-boomer generation of whites is in the process of inheriting between $7-10 trillion is assets from their parents and grandparents.
ReplyDelete"White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," describes how white people are taught about racism and describe privilege men have over women. McIntosh goes on to describe how she has benefited from white privilege and how it has opened many doors for people "through no virtues of their own." This article reminded me of the list of things that we made that showed things out of our control but contributed to us being successful students in grad school.
The last article that I read "Diversity v. White Privilege," describes white privilege in the classroom. I especially enjoyed this article because it gave insights on how to treat students of different races and cultures in a classroom. My favorite part of this article was when Sleeter described how a teacher must remember to embrace their students individual cultures and heritage.
I agree with CJ in his statement that I am more thankful than sorry for my white privileges. I am well aware that I have had numerous opportunities that are beyond my control, but also acknowledge that I would not be where I am without these things. However, it is important to remember that everyone's background is different and take others lack of privileges into consideration.
"Swimming in Racial Preference" was a response to a comment that former President Bush made about affirmative action laws being unfair at the University of Michigan. The first half of the article detailed how whites receive privileges due to their whiteness, and the second half attempted to discredit the former President's statement.
ReplyDeleteThe strongest line in the article, in my opinion, is this one, "Affirmative action for whites was the guiding principle of segregation, Asian exclusion laws, and the theft of half of Mexico for the fulfillment of Manifest Destiny." I think this line highlights the idea that whites have used many excuses to subjugate minority populations for some kind of gain.
It is too easy to gloss over facts like these and pretend they never happened, but doing so does our students a tremendous disservice, which is a point that Christine Sleeter makes in “Diversity vs. White Privilege.” She discusses ways that white privilege still exists and an experiment she has her students conduct to measure racism. Sleeter, as evidenced by her interview, is a vocal advocate for equality and works hard to promote multicultural education as opposed to a white agenda.
Peggy McIntosh deals with her personal understanding of white privilege by juxtaposing it with, more commonly acknowledged, male privilege. By drawing comparisons between the two, McIntosh makes white privilege more tangible and obvious.
To be perfectly honest, based on my background, I shouldn’t even be in graduate school. I don’t necessarily feel guilty for being white because I didn't come from wealthly white privilege. I seperated myself from my family and have worked for all I have and all I've done. However, I do realize how much better I am treated than anyone who doesn’t appear white. When I lived in Chile, I was always treated differently for being white, sometimes I was treated better and sometimes I was treated worse, but I was branded every, single day with every negative white stereotype that exists in the world! It sucked, good or bad, because if someone treated me better, everyone around me would give me a terrible look or roll their eyes. After the first 6 months, I would refuse any superior treatment because I didn’t think it was fair to everyone else. It sucked being white. It really sucked being American, but that’s another story.
I think that the articles have pretty well been summed up.
ReplyDeleteWhite Privilege: Swimming in the Sea of Racial Preference seemed to be very bias. I felt that the author was very angry, even though our country has come so far (especially in the educational world). It really hurts me that so many people out there don't take into consideration that the current white race, even though white privilege is a factor, were not alive during our countries earlier days and most, like our previous president, was not involved in the civil rights movement. Yes, people of an educational background have studied history and have witnessed current issues of racial inequality. But, I feel that people in power (The President of the United States and/or college presidents or Deans) or even regular people walking down the street, are often put into categories because of their skin color. People always feel that other people have ulterior motives-but yet they never have them themselves ??!! Snap judgments are made because of peoples backgrounds and skin color. I feel that today there is a lot of anger towards the white race. A race, like any other race, still has a long way to go considering prejudices, but also has come a very long way considering our history.
Most people assume that if your African American, you voted for President Obama to come into office. Even though I do know of lots who did vote for him (just from clothes people wear and stickers on cars, I do know of several myself who did not vote for him.
The President is also put into a general category because of his appearance. But, the media never emphasized the fact that Obama is, in fact, a biracial man who was raised only by his white mother-and received more opportunities because of it. In fact, his culture considers him to be white and not black, because he was born of a white mother.
In my husband's family's culture, he is considered to be Swedish because his father was born and raised in Sweden. However, his mother's side of the family is from Norway...which is never brought up in his household because Norway and Sweden are rivaling countries and the child always takes the culture of the father.
I am personally proud of my American heritage. I am not proud of 'white privilege' but do not feel one once of guilt for being born into the family and country I was born into.
I am also extremely proud of America. I am glad I live in a country that so many people in the world believe is the land of opportunity. I celebrate Free Enterprise and our Freedoms and I don't take them for granite.
Concerning my personal white privilege:
ReplyDeleteI was born of a low/middle class family. My mother grew up in a house with 3 bedrooms and 10 people. My father was raised in a small military/teacher family. My mother decided to work her way through college while my father's family paid for his. Neither actually received degrees from college (Alburn U).
My parents survived by working low paid jobs and living in a trailer until my mother became pregnant with me. My father joined the air force to bring in a more secure income for his growing family. However, my father was raised in a military family and did not want to bring that upon his. While in the air force, he learned how to paint cars and would do it as a side job to earn a couple of extra dollars. Once he was out of the military, he started an Automotive Paint Business. We were very poor for many years. However, my father did not give up and while I was in middle school we started to actually make profit and now my family makes a very wealthy living off of my father's businesses. So yes, white privilege is out there. But, the beauty of America is that you have the ability to create your own opportunities and I will not apologize for the blood, sweat, and tears my family went through to gain what we have.
I will also not apologize for my race. There were lot's of people who did lot's of evil things to others all over the world. The Mayan people slaughtered their slaves for sacrifices. Hitler and the Germans tortured and murdered Jews. The Talabans in the Middle East are killing many neighboring tribes. Ireland and Scotland have killed many innocent people through wars.
It was wrong when America put Asian Americans in containment camps after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. We assumed that they must have had something to do with it because they looked similar to our enemies. The country apologized to them and we have tried to right our wrong.
So why do people, specifically minorities, feel that I should apologize for my heritage? My education has taught me well and I have tried to treat all people as if colorblind-with an equal amount of respect. I am often scared of communication barriers and of being judged myself.
I guess I am reacting to this overlying theme of bad attitude and anger towards the white race. I know why it's there and I guess I understand it. I guess I don't understand why it's acceptable for Americans to have this attitude towards the white race, but it's not acceptable for Americans to have this attitude towards any other race. I'm not upset, I'm just observing what I think might be a bit of hypocritical behavior.
All of these articles are interesting because of their different perspectives about privilege. It was interesting to see the manifestations of white privilege in the United States. It is really easy to get caught up in the advantages of being white and while becoming educated is one of the 'countering effects' of this- it is easy to see that sometimes it plays the biggest role.
ReplyDeleteAs an educator (the bottom of the institution of education) I can only bring change slowly to my room and then to my neighbors class and hopefully to the school- if I am lucky! As we have looked at issues in education we have noticed that change in this world take years and many retirements! I think over time if we keep chipping away we can become a more accepting and muli-cultural society.
I agree with Claire! I absolutely found these articles interesting because they came from different points of view. I enjoyed reading all the stories people have posted about their families pasts and how hard they have worked to get to where they are. Hopefully, as Claire has already stated, we can help bring change to not only our classrooms and schools, but hopefully to our communities. Hopefully change will take hold and eventually even out equality in our society.
ReplyDeleteI did remember the UM controversy from a few years ago, and I had a suspicion that the issues there was more along the lines of alarmist media rather than racist admission practices. That controversy is the author's prime example in "Swimming" of the blind nature of white privilege.
ReplyDeleteWhere colorblind teaching is concerned, I've always thought that it would rear its head somewhere along the way, no matter how badly the teacher may want to be immune to racial concerns. No one ever is; we just tell ourselves that we are colorblind. True colorblindness is always at least one generation away: someone is going to remember what Mama or Grandma said and how "reasonable" their archaic notions of race seem.
"Knapsack" entails in its substance a list of societal behaviors and privileges that are (largely unconsciously) allowed white society and disallowed to other ethnic groups. I find these statements to be a bit wide in nature and more than a bit of a disservice to those in society who do give their best attempts to be equal to all customers and townsfolk.
Lee hits the nail on the head; I also do not feel a need to apologize for the privileges that I have encountered over the course of my time. I have done my best to reciprocate and act like I deserved them in the first place due to work ethic and the like. The son of a factory worker and a banker who began her career as a teller fresh out of high school, I must admit that life in rural GA never was something out of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous"; as my parents have stayed at the same jobs for most of my life and worked their way up the corporate ladder, I would like to think that their good work got them up the ladder, and perhaps that is true to some degree. We could speculate on all those who got passed over for the promotions that my parents and I have received over the years, but I doubt if any of our superiors will ever tell us that the good fortune bestowed upon us was due in large part to our race. The exercise asked of us here to "not feel guilty" about being issued white privilege is an easy one, for how can I feel guilty about something that I am largely completely ignorant of receiving at the time?
ReplyDelete