Thursday, March 27, 2014
peggy stuff
After reading this article, I understand peggies argument but chose to look at the situation in a different manner. I chose to see unearned or inherited wealth a gift. Not having this gift isn’t oppression but simply reality. In reality, many life obstacles must be hurdled and the gain of wealth is one of them. The ‘privileged’ enjoy the fruits of older generation and pass this down with the wellbeing of their family in mind. There is no overnight solution to poverty, only small thought out steps through multiple generations can be taken. Next onto the subject of power found in identity. Many people tend to find common power amongst those who share common identity traits. Humans naturally tend to favor those they are most similar to. Natural tendencies like this tend separate common groups. This leads to racism of those don’t share similar traits and peace communication between differences disappear.
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I can't really say that I agree with Amos. After reading Peggy McIntosh's article, I found that I agree with what she has to say and that I didn't come to the same conclusion. I am a black woman in a setting that is not one I am necessarily privileged to. Being in a university in the south, it's a lot easier to see the things that I don't have a privilege to. If I succeed in anything, it has to be twice as good or a miracle to receive the same acknowledgement as someone one of a different race. It is to be expected that if a black person and a white person are going for a corporate job, (scholarship, internship, etc.) with the same qualifications, that the white person will receive that job without a single hitch about it. But if they decide to hire the black person, that he won’t have the same opportunities in that position without working twice as hard. I don't see why it's fair to approve of this, when every white person I know, who doesn't receive food stamps or any type of welfare, feels that it's wrong that these people who aren't or weren't offered the same opportunities that the white people were and possibly by no fault of their own are getting the help that was privileged to them because of their income or race as well. Same principle, just different people.
ReplyDeleteNot even a quarter of the women on this campus are white and I am the only black woman in almost every class that I am taking. I don’t really care about things like that anymore because I’m used to being the minority in any academic situation, but there is a definite slant when it comes to classroom talks about financial aid or poverty or race. There is an assumption that I know more about it or I know someone who knows about it. And I don’t like to accredit the uneasiness to white privilege because I don’t want to think of a world where succeeding in the same task is more difficult for me because of something I can’t change and don’t want to change. It seems wrong to say that someone should give up a quality of their heritage but there isn’t a way to level the playing field without doing such.
I agree with Zajikaliboyer’ post about how “White Privilege” has been infused within our society. I am from a small town on the gulf coast that is populated with Caucasians. At first, I didn’t quite see how favoritism and “White privilege” was big in my town until I left for college and went back for the break. I am not one to pay attention to these types of situations, but being aware now it makes sense. It’s sad that that’s how our society is heading and it shouldn’t be. I, being a Hispanic, have faced similar situations like the example you wrote about the white and black man having the same credentials, one being chosen because of their skin color. As for Amos’ response on “unearned and inherited wealth” obviously you would see it as a gift since it was passed down to you, because you didn’t work for it. I find it quite interesting what McIntosh’s view point on white privilege is. I didn’t even know such thing existed I always thought of it as favoritism, which in this case both can be linked together. I agree with Amos on the view he has on racism. I partially agree with Amos and fully agree with Zaj since I have an understanding of where she is coming from.
ReplyDeleteBased on my personal experience, I disagree with Peggy Mcintosh. First of all her article is 25 years old this year and it's only been 46 years since the civil rights movement ended, and if you don't think that changes the credibility of the article then feel free to compare your views on equality to someone your grandparents age. I grew up in Waco where the population for whites is 30%, for latinos 30% and african americans 27%. In Waco, whites are not the majority. In Waco, it's common place to be bullied for being white. In Waco, everyone is poor and 20% of the population falls below the poverty line including my family. While going to school, whenever there was a class that we watched a movie it was almost always a "white guilt movie." The topic of white privilege and how white people are oppressive has been discussed in classes since I was in elementary school. I would like to clarify that I am not racist and am all about equality, but I don't feel that I receive an "invisible knapsack" full of perks. In fact, there are no black guilt movies or ways that teachers shame African American students by accrediting their race with the actions of their long dead forefathers. I could not apply to the United Caucasian College Fund because there wasn't one. Texas State does not offer scholarships exclusively for white people. And when people make fun of white people it's "funny" but when people make fun of african american people it's "racist." I also disagree with ZAJIKALIBOYER about white people having better chances at jobs and interships. While deciding if I wanted to be a lawyer, I interviewed someone who was a lawyer but also happened to be on the admissions board at Baylor Law and used to be on the admissions board at UT. During our converstion, I said I'd like to attend UT law at which point he suggested I look at a less popular college. He then informed me that caucasian males have the lowest chance of getting accepted into colleges because they aren't diverse enough. In school's search to become "diverse", the demographic with the largest acceptance rates are ethnic women with foreign sounding last names. In my personal experience, the "minorities" have more advantages while white people are guilted and shamed.
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