Off Topic · White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack Peggy Mcintosh (page 1)
Some of the ways of white privilege:
1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.
3. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.
4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
7. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.
9. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.
10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.
11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person's voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race.
12. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can cut my hair.
13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
14. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.
15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.
16. I can be pretty sure that my children's teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others' attitudes toward their race.
17. I can talk with my mouth full and not have people put this down to my color.
18. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race.
19. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.
20. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
21. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
22. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
23. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.
24. 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.
25. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.
26. I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children's magazines featuring people of my race.
27. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance or feared.
28. I can be pretty sure that an argument with a colleague of another race is more likely to jeopardize her/his chances for advancement than to jeopardize mine.
29. I can be pretty sure that if I argue for the promotion of a person of another race, or a program centering on race, this is not likely to cost me heavily within my prsent setting, eben if my colleagues disagree with me.
30. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn't a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have.
31. I can choose to ignore developments in minority writing and minority activist programs, or disparage them, or learn from them, but in any case, I can find ways to be more or less protected from negative consequences of any of these choices.
32. My culture gives me little fear about ignoring the perspectives and powers of people of other races.
33. I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing or body odor will be taken as a reflection on my race.
34. I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.
35. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.
36. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it had racial overtones.
37. I can be pretty sure of finding people who would be willing to talk with me and advise me about my next steps, professionally.
38. I can think over many options, social, political, imaginative or professional, without asking whether a person of my race would be accepted or allowed to do what I want to do.
39. I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race.
40. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen.
41. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
42. I can arrange my activities so that I will never have to experience feelings of rejection owing to my race.
43. If I have low credibility as a leader I can be sure that my race is not the problem.
44. I can easily find academic courses and institutions which give attention only to people of my race.
45. I can expect figurative language and imagery in all of the arts to testify to experiences of my race.
46. I can chose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more or less match my skin.
47. I can travel alone or with my spouse without expecting embarrassment or hostility in those who deal with us.
48. I have no difficulty finding neighborhoods where people approve of our household.
49. My children are given texts and classes which implicitly support our kind of family unit and do not turn them against my choice of domestic partnership.
50. I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and
social.
"Having described this, what will we each do to lessen this imbalance of power and privilege? Will we choose to use 'any or our arbitrarily-awarded power to try to re-construct power systems?'
From Dr. Peggy McIntosh, Wellesley College Center for Research on Women... "I had been taught about racism as something which puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege... "I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was 'meant' to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, code books, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear and blank checks. "Whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, formative and average, and also ideal, so that when we work to benefit others, this is seen as work which will allow 'them' to be more like 'us.'"
Most white, middle-class citizens see society from a monocultural perspective, a perspective that assumes, often unconsciously, that persons of all races are in the same cultural system together. This single-system form of seeing the world, is blind to its own cultural specificity. People who see persons of other races monoculturally cannot imagine the reality that those "others" think of themselves not in relation to the majority race but in terms of their own culturally specific identities.
playa2 wrote:THIS IS A DISCUSSION , I'm not looking for respect just some decent dialogue from mature people, not immature. If you can't do that just move on to basketball.
Sorry, but you can't start a discussion with such a ridiculous premise of a list of "50 things I hate about white people". If you want to have a discussion, pick one point, assume nothing and ask an opinion on it. Otherwise, you're not here to discuss, you're just to spread your virus. I was just commenting that I think your approach could use some work and I found it offensive.
playa2 wrote:Most white, middle-class citizens see society from a monocultural perspective, a perspective that assumes, often unconsciously, that persons of all races are in the same cultural system together. This single-system form of seeing the world, is blind to its own cultural specificity. People who see persons of other races monoculturally cannot imagine the reality that those "others" think of themselves not in relation to the majority race but in terms of their own culturally specific identities.
So, is your point here simply that white people are less prone to consider race? Well, that I would agree with. Race is not something that enters my mind very often and I'm surprised it comes up so often here. I just have never seen the problem with not thinking about race so often. I try to treat people equally regardless of race and I think most of my peers do the same. I do understand it's important to you, but it's not very high on my list.
I didn't write the article I'm just astonished that a white women could be so candid about her observations that many are afraid to discuss let alone think about. Some of her points are well thought out and hardly ever talked about.... only ignored. We all can learn what it's like, it's called growth !
playa2 wrote:I didn't write the article I'm just astonished that a white women could be so candid about her observations that many are afraid to discuss let alone think about.
I hear you. Well, nothing surprises me. Everyone has their opinion. I think the internet has bred a lot of candid opinions. Some can be out of proportion, I don't think this is anything that new. I think there was some truth in the list, but to form something in such a stereotypical manner is not really very endearing.
Solace wrote:playa2 wrote:I didn't write the article I'm just astonished that a white women could be so candid about her observations that many are afraid to discuss let alone think about.I hear you. Well, nothing surprises me. Everyone has their opinion. I think the internet has bred a lot of candid opinions. Some can be out of proportion, I don't think this is anything that new. I think there was some truth in the list, but to form something in such a stereotypical manner is not really very endearing.
I am curious about which ones you find to be particularly true? Because I think you can say these things about many races on this planet.
Racism is not just a white issue, it is a problem with all of us. Until the dialogue is changed from pointing the finger and blaming to discussing the issues on all sides and finding common ground - there will be no solution.
OasisBU wrote:Solace wrote:playa2 wrote:I didn't write the article I'm just astonished that a white women could be so candid about her observations that many are afraid to discuss let alone think about.I hear you. Well, nothing surprises me. Everyone has their opinion. I think the internet has bred a lot of candid opinions. Some can be out of proportion, I don't think this is anything that new. I think there was some truth in the list, but to form something in such a stereotypical manner is not really very endearing.
I am curious about which ones you find to be particularly true? Because I think you can say these things about many races on this planet.
Racism is not just a white issue, it is a problem with all of us. Until the dialogue is changed from pointing the finger and blaming to discussing the issues on all sides and finding common ground - there will be no solution.
Sorry for the confusion. I don't particularly agree with any single point in the form it was presented. However, there are certainly situations where some can be true and situations where they are not. I think it is more common for most of these that they are generally not true. The overwhelming stereotypes as if they apply to all people of a particular race have a common trait of always being incorrect and too broad.
I very much agree with you about pointing the finger. I hate the mentality of blaming.
playa2 wrote:NOT ONCE WAS IT MENTIONED I HATE WHITE PEOPLE, why did you bring that up ? If race is not a problem for you sit back and digest some of her points and relax and watch the discussion evolve with out trying to discredit it.I didn't write the article I'm just astonished that a white women could be so candid about her observations that many are afraid to discuss let alone think about. Some of her points are well thought out and hardly ever talked about.... only ignored. We all can learn what it's like, it's called growth !
playa, if you are going to start a discussion, add your thoughts to the original post, otherwise all you are doing in inciting (especially with some of the more stupid articles)
Tell me how that works again?
This is a pretty good piece expressing very salient and sobering points about the invisible and visible mechanisms of white skin privilege in this country, and the way they impact the inner workings of both black and white consciousness and status. Just because you dont like it doesnt diminish that fact.
But instead of providing any sort of intellectual counterbalance, you want to start taking cheap shots at Playa. Thats wack as fukk. I thought this board was better than that.
Solace wrote:This is why you get no respect on this board. Instead of just discussing what is on your mind with some dignity and respect, you post a list intended to incite and offend people, with no provocation. Why are you posting it here, playa? I think you could get a decent discussion over particular points, but when you post a list like this, you're doing exactly what nobody here likes: stereotyping.
This is such a reactionary and weak response.
sebstar wrote:Solace wrote:This is why you get no respect on this board. Instead of just discussing what is on your mind with some dignity and respect, you post a list intended to incite and offend people, with no provocation. Why are you posting it here, playa? I think you could get a decent discussion over particular points, but when you post a list like this, you're doing exactly what nobody here likes: stereotyping.This is such a reactionary and weak response.
What are we talking about here? The 50 points are broad generalizations that are often untrue. The way it was presented was offensive; it just takes common sense to realize why. If you want a reactionary and weak response, check yours. His post was incredibly inappropriate for a basketball board.
sebstar wrote:Wait wait, hol up. So playa starts a thread where he posts a piece by a distinguished professor from a very distinguished school, on the topic of race, and for it he gets attacked and called out of his name. And you're trying to tell me that he is inciting?Tell me how that works again?
This is a pretty good piece expressing very salient and sobering points about the invisible and visible mechanisms of white skin privilege in this country, and the way they impact the inner workings of both black and white consciousness and status. Just because you dont like it doesnt diminish that fact.
But instead of providing any sort of intellectual counterbalance, you want to start taking cheap shots at Playa. Thats wack as fukk. I thought this board was better than that.
seb if you are tired of the way this board is run, go find a different one.
Solace wrote:sebstar wrote:Solace wrote:This is why you get no respect on this board. Instead of just discussing what is on your mind with some dignity and respect, you post a list intended to incite and offend people, with no provocation. Why are you posting it here, playa? I think you could get a decent discussion over particular points, but when you post a list like this, you're doing exactly what nobody here likes: stereotyping.This is such a reactionary and weak response.
What are we talking about here? The 50 points are broad generalizations that are often untrue. The way it was presented was offensive; it just takes common sense to realize why. If you want a reactionary and weak response, check yours. His post was incredibly inappropriate for a basketball board.
LOL. You're gasping for air at this point.
Offensive? How so? Its communicating the realties african-americans have to face on a daily basis and a lot of the things that white people take for granted which reinforces their superiority.
Of course some are generalizations, but there are no absolutes in human interaction. This was not however a pointed attack on white individuals or any culture at large. The fact that you would jump up and take it as such says more about you.
When people use phrases like institutional racism and why "blacks cant get over stuff" this piece goes a long way in examining that. Again, you have no real way to respond so you take the cheap way out.
For an anecdote I took a friend of mine to an all black party. He was the only white face in the sea of brothas. It was a very small taste ---- not even a taste but an idea --- of what we face everyday. He pulled me aside and said "dang flip, I can see what you're talking about it comes to being in the extreme minority and feeling out of place"
You should check yourself.
martin wrote:sebstar wrote:Wait wait, hol up. So playa starts a thread where he posts a piece by a distinguished professor from a very distinguished school, on the topic of race, and for it he gets attacked and called out of his name. And you're trying to tell me that he is inciting?Tell me how that works again?
This is a pretty good piece expressing very salient and sobering points about the invisible and visible mechanisms of white skin privilege in this country, and the way they impact the inner workings of both black and white consciousness and status. Just because you dont like it doesnt diminish that fact.
But instead of providing any sort of intellectual counterbalance, you want to start taking cheap shots at Playa. Thats wack as fukk. I thought this board was better than that.
seb if you are tired of the way this board is run, go find a different one.
Huh? I dont even know what you're talking about but if you're trying to punk me out like this I got one response.
PEACE.
Solace wrote:OasisBU wrote:Solace wrote:playa2 wrote:I didn't write the article I'm just astonished that a white women could be so candid about her observations that many are afraid to discuss let alone think about.I hear you. Well, nothing surprises me. Everyone has their opinion. I think the internet has bred a lot of candid opinions. Some can be out of proportion, I don't think this is anything that new. I think there was some truth in the list, but to form something in such a stereotypical manner is not really very endearing.
I am curious about which ones you find to be particularly true? Because I think you can say these things about many races on this planet.
Racism is not just a white issue, it is a problem with all of us. Until the dialogue is changed from pointing the finger and blaming to discussing the issues on all sides and finding common ground - there will be no solution.
Sorry for the confusion. I don't particularly agree with any single point in the form it was presented. However, there are certainly situations where some can be true and situations where they are not. I think it is more common for most of these that they are generally not true. The overwhelming stereotypes as if they apply to all people of a particular race have a common trait of always being incorrect and too broad.
I very much agree with you about pointing the finger. I hate the mentality of blaming.
Well I agree that there are many stereotypes about white people that are true, this list certainly hits some sore spots and some that I think are not true. In general every race has stereotypes that are common behaviors.
I won't deny that white people are privileged but many of us work very hard, and the expectations on white males have increased tremendously in the past 15 years. I have attended two universities (one for undergrad and one for grad) that I would not get into today simply because of my skin color - or if I were to apply I would have to be in the 95th percentile. Would I have help to get into that 95th percentile? Sure - my family would do what they can, I would save money to take classes and pay for my education while supporting myself as best I could, I would work extremely hard - sacrificing weeknights and weekends to studying and working hard, etc.
My point is - it isn't easy being a white guy either. I think our society is a tough place to navigate no matter who you are.
sebstar wrote:martin wrote:sebstar wrote:Wait wait, hol up. So playa starts a thread where he posts a piece by a distinguished professor from a very distinguished school, on the topic of race, and for it he gets attacked and called out of his name. And you're trying to tell me that he is inciting?Tell me how that works again?
This is a pretty good piece expressing very salient and sobering points about the invisible and visible mechanisms of white skin privilege in this country, and the way they impact the inner workings of both black and white consciousness and status. Just because you dont like it doesnt diminish that fact.
But instead of providing any sort of intellectual counterbalance, you want to start taking cheap shots at Playa. Thats wack as fukk. I thought this board was better than that.
seb if you are tired of the way this board is run, go find a different one.
Huh? I dont even know what you're talking about but if you're trying to punk me out like this I got one response.
PEACE.
seb, don't leave on that dude.
come back to us for a minute.
BRIGGS wrote:Ive actually always like that green chick on Star Trek myself--perhaps my first crush--anyone remember her? I think they were called Orions
haha! briggs that's hilarious.
i know this is a serious thread, but did you ever see eddie murphy's bit on the green chick?
NSFW: