One of the classes I’m taking is an anthropology course called Society and Culture. It has made me examine the fact that there are some things in life that go unnoticed, one example of which is white privilege. In the course I’ve been involved in, we discuss such things and set them under the microscope. In the article White Privilege and Male Privilege, McIntosh states “White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks.” McIntosh is describing white privilege as an advantage in life, which in most cases it is. Even if someone is not technically white, as long as they are perceived as white they are bestowed with these privileges. People unconsciously have preconceived notions about individuals' actions and behaviors based on their perceived race. These advantages range all over the spectrum of how society treats an individual based off race, skin tone, and overall appearance. McIntosh explains how she can do well in a challenging situation, without being called a credit to her race, because she is white. She has the privilege of not having to be questioned about what she does because she is white. People are born with privilege, it is not something that people earn.
It makes me question why some are born with more privilege than others. Such as the difference between my sisters and I. They were born white in a middle class white family, which grants them certain privileges -- some of which I don’t get the luxury of since I’m Chinese, and adopted into a white family. Nonetheless, when I applied for college I had a certain advantage over white students, because I'm considered a minority. It gave me a better chance of being accepted, since colleges are trying to improve their diversity overall. On the other hand, they get to go throughout life without being questioned on their opinion based off of their race. They also get to walk down the street and pass others, more commonly people of their race, without other white people feeling uncomfortable or unsafe. This is part of white privilege, which is given a certain power.
McIntosh mentions “Moreover, though privilege may confer power, it does not confer moral strength” and “Such privilege may be widely desired without being in any way beneficial to the whole society.” To clarify, McIntosh is talking about how it is the white race that holds the power of determining who has privilege based off of their race or appearance. Along that topic, many people desire to have white privilege, because it would make life a lot easier. Most white people don’t realize what they have and take their privilege for granted. Our world could be a better place if people didn’t give white privilege so much power.
If our society could refrain from making snap judgments about people’s races, it would avoid many preconceptions about that individual's privilege. McIntosh says that people are oblivious to white advantage, which is strongly inculturated in the United States. “Keeping most people unaware that freedom of confident action is there for just a small number of people props up those in power and serves to keep power in the hands of the same groups that have most of it already.” Everyone, no matter what the race, give certain groups of people more power than others based off of their race. White privilege has been given the most power over thousands of years.
We have adapted it as our "alpha race" in a way; we see it as the prize we all want to obtain.
White advantage is one of the biggest topics that isn’t talked about in society. We avoid talking about it, even though it is apparent in everyday life. If our society could work on being more aware of how they give advantages to certain people based on their race, we could slowly eliminate the negativity that surrounds white privilege.
I hope this article has enlightened you, and make you think twice about your behavior towards an individual.
