Well where do I start? IM BLACK! Pure Black! If I get any blacker I'd be oil! Anyways ... In my class we talk about white privilege. How white people have advantages that put black people at a disadvantage LIKE ... Job opportunities, going into a store and not having to be followed, driving while black, lol etc. but uh anyways,
So we talk about these privileges and how america needs to change and blah blah blah, I love talking about things like this because I grew up and are still growing up differently from the white kids in my class. I have stories!!! But crazy thing is I'm a junior now my first time being around white people was my freshman year at GGC. I felt so out of place... It was like all whites and a spot of black. I look around on campus and it's still semi divided. Can you fill up a whole hand of how many friends you have that don't look like you? I have 2 ... I can't blame anybody but myself .. It's almost like a comfort thing, it's all I know. I have nothing against white people because to be honest I have had maybe a handful of incidents that I KNOW happened because of my skin color. But that doesn't make me classify all white people into one like they do blacks. I have met plenty of white people some I've liked some I haven't but same thing for blacks, Hispanics, Indians, and anybody else! I was taught at a early age "what is color"? They bleed the same color blood as I do, change they draws the same way I do (maybe not as many times as me but hey) I didn't know what the REAL definition of racism was until I got to College and started working. Even in high school I never thought of it as "oh white people got it better then me and whatever" if you ask me I'm rich shittt. I've never wanted for nothing, I've never had to go without food, I've never had to beg for nothing so im just as "Priveliged" as the white folks BUT I've been around people who were less fortunate, I've watched my mother struggle I've watched my grandparents struggle I've seen family members STRUGGLE friends die, I had a teacher commit suicide because she couldn't take it no more so when I sit in class and listen to how black people are the "Victims" and how much SHIT we/them/they have to go through and knowing what I could possibly have to go through because of how America is it angers me because I STILL do not know WHY! WHAT TF MAKES ME DIFFERENT FROM THE WHITE GIRL IN CLASS? my skin color does NOT define me! Just like her skin color does not define her! We could be driving the same car, got the same job, make the same amount so somebody tell me how that makes her more "Privileged" then me? ANYONE ? Uhuh ... Anyways. I could go on for days , I understand how this happens and why this is but I don't understand WHY ... And why is it we never talk about other ethnicities it's always black and white but whatever no need to waste anymore time.... I love you white people ... Hope you love me! NIGHT 
i also don't like how people always bring up race in almost every problem. Sometimes you have a severe consequence just because you're a idiot , not because your skin isn't the same as the person arresting you.
ReplyDeleteYou are right about the problem of victimizing blacks, Hispanics, and other people of color. That's no good and leads to further stereotyping and internalization of negative labels.
ReplyDeleteBut to respond to some of your points about privilege, the concept of "white privilege" is a generalization and speaks specifically to race. There are other types of privilege--male privilege, class privilege, hetero privilege, etc. You may have class privilege and hetero privilege, which may explain why you don't feel like whites necessarily have privilege over you. But by virtue of your heterosexuality, for example, you have some privilege over homosexual people. You've never had to worry about whether or not you could legally marry the person you love. You've never had to be afraid of being beaten up for your sexuality. These are issues that homosexual and trans people face on a regular basis. This is an example of heterosexual privilege.
On average, light-skinned people have more privilege than darker-skinned people, and this is true in just about every society on Earth. More privileged, meaning that they tend to face less discrimination, tend to be higher social class, live longer, have access to better healthcare, more often receive loans, scholarships, government aid, and other things that help them out, etc., etc., etc. On average! Privilege is intersectional. There are certainly people of color that are wealthier than whites, and certainly poor whites who have pretty crappy lives.
But the idea of "white" privilege means that, for example, white people don't ever have to think that their names will prevent them from getting employment. No one is going to look at "David" on a job application and stereotype me. I had a student last year named DaQuan. He is black, and a smart, cool guy. DaQuan was trying to get a job and was telling me how pissed off he was that he kept not getting interviews. We ended up talking about "white" and "black" names, and he decided to start writing David on his job applications. Next time I talked to him, he'd had several interviews. It doesn't mean him writing David caused his job interviews or that his writing DaQuan caused him to not get job interviews, but when sociologists look at data like this over a million job applications and look at who tends to get hired and who doesn't, we find that people with "white" names get hired more often, all other things being equal. This is an example of white privilege.
Discrimination is not something that everyone experiences equally or in the same way, nor is privilege. We can state all day long that our skin color doesn't define us, but here's the thing, to answer your question of "why" we talk about privilege -- We aren't in sole possession of our identities. Our identities depend on our race, our gender, where we live, our social class, what year we live in, etc., etc., etc. The government classifies us by race, employers classify us by race, we classify one another by race, even if we say that we're all the same. Even if you and I say there's no real difference between us, there are differences that have been socially constructed over time that are embedded in our social institutions. That's why people with "white" names get hired more, all things being equal; that's why the "welfare queen" is a black stereotype and not a white one; that's why police and citizens in studies are quicker to draw weapons against blacks than whites; that's why there is such poor representation of women of color on TV and in film.
ReplyDeleteBut you know what--what you said about there being no real difference. Keep believing it because that belief is why things are going to change to be equal. That's why privilege is going to be erased and eventually there will be as many blacks, Hispanics, and Asians on TV who are represented as well as whites are; eventually teachers will be socialized to shed their gender stereotypes and call on girls as often as boys in class, etc. etc. etc.
Thanks for this post. Really thought-provoking and important subject!