Erin Goldberg, Post 13
So I'll be honest, I had never really thought about the concept of white privilege before this class. And now that we are examining it in class, that doesn't really surprise me. As the book said, white privilege is the ability to not have to think of race on a daily basis. However, as a gay person, I have often had to think about the idea of heterosexual privilege. That has been something that I've encountered before, such as whether it is okay to hold my girlfriend's hand in public or whether the crown I am in is gay friendly. These are things that heterosexual people do not have to think about, let alone the right they aren't denied by being considered the social norm.
When it comes to my white privilege, I admit that I do not have to consider my race on a day to day basis. I know in class we debated whether or not white privilege equates to 'green privilege.' And to be honest, I'm still not sure. I don't know if it is possible for minorities to completely forget that they are a minority, but I do know that not all white people have white privilege. I believe that if a well spoken, well off black or Hispanic man and a poorly educated white man were put in scenario where their credibility was in question, the black or Hispanic man would be given the advantage. However, I know that the context of this kind of 'experiment' would be dependent on the location and situation in which it took place. For example, in the south, the white man still might be given preference over the black or Hispanic man.
I'll be honest, this is the one subject that we have talked about so far that really confuses me. I still don't feel like I have a set answer.
Alaysia definitely brought up many complex issues within her presentation, many of which we may not be able to provide concrete answers to.
ReplyDeleteIn thinking about how white privilege compares to "green privilege" are we incorrectly conflating privilege on the basis of racial identity to privilege on the basis of social class? Our confusion may lie in the fact that while race and class privileges may overlap, they also may have many points of divergence that are important for us to pay attention to.
You write: "...but I do know that not all white people have white privilege."
Is this statement universally true? Do not all whites--regardless of social class--have privileges that people of color--again, regardless of social class--do not have due to the very fact that they ARE WHITE, and that white skin is viewed as the social norm, no matter how much "green" one has?