Talking Points 1, White Privilege

Peggy McIntosh, "White Privilege"                                                            Erin Straight

Quotes:

1. "As a white person, I realized 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 which puts me at an advantage."

I found this first quote to be interesting because the author starts off talking about how being a white person we are told racism puts others at a disadvantage but at the

same time so does being white. Labeling ourselves as white people puts us at a disadvantage too because we are separating ourselves from other people. 

2. "I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege."

I one-hundred percent agree with this quote. It is a known fact that males in America have a higher privilege over females. It has been this way all throughout the history of our country and males are taught not to recognize their privilege but it is something that is well known. The same thing goes for white people in America, they have had a higher privilege over other types of people in America because that it was we are taught. We are taught not to recognize any white or male privilege but it is still well known.  

3. "My schooling followed the pattern my colleague Elizabeth Minnich has pointed out: white are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative, 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.'"

This quote was interesting to me because the problem of racism in America is not going to be solved any time soon because white people are taught to think of our lives as normal, ideal and average. We are basically taught that the 'white' way of life is the best. This quote sums up the idea of racism in America and why whites are to blame for it.

Questions/Comments/Points To Share:

I thought that this article was one of the more interesting articles and it was very easy to read. I thought that the list of white privileges was really interesting and it really helped me realize just how far the racism problem is in America. The white privilege number twenty-six really stuck with me. This privilege said that, "I can choose blemish cover or bandages in 'flesh' color and have them more of less match my skin." This quote really bothered me and stuck with me. I never really realized or stopped to think that band-aids only come in one color usually and the most common color is flesh. The flesh color is white on a band-aid and that only helps the white Americans, what about the others? This relates to the other texts we have read because it discussed the racism problem in America. The article also relates to SCWAMP because it discusses being white and being a male and how being those two things can give you privileges in America.

Think Piece #1

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to post the think piece on here.. so I am going to do it anyways... (:

My first thought after reading Johnson’s article was that we have dug ourselves a very deep hole. I never really thought about how big and bad the racism problem is in America until now. This article really put it into a different perspective. Being a white American is considered more superior than any other type of American and we have brought that assumption into every day thoughts. The whole idea of racism has gotten out of hand. We have created a problem that is so big we do not know how to fix it now. We could fix it but we would not even know where to begin.



To me, the problem of racism stems way back to the days of Rosa Parks and when she sat in the white section on the segregated bus. I think the whole problem of racism started with superior white men owning slaves. I don’t know why we thought that was ever okay but it was not.


In the article by Johnson on page 8 the author states, “She also can’t go for a walk alone at night without thinking about her safety a lot more than I would – without planning what to do in case a man approaches her with something other than good will.” This quote really bothered me. As a teenage white female I would never go for a walk alone at night, if I did that then I would be pretty much asking to get kidnapped. The author states in his writing that he is a white male and I think that from that statement he was being racist towards black females. I didn’t appreciate the quote from the text because it really made me ask why he would just say that about a black female walking alone. If I white female walks alone at night she could easily get killed, raped or kidnapped just as easily as a Chinese female or a Black female. The whole idea is that you are a female walking alone at night, simply not a good idea. The topic of racism is a tough topic for an author to talk about without sounded racist himself but this author did not impress me at all with that quote.


At one point the author Johnson discusses that at retail stores, grocery stores, banks and at similar places white people are more likely to get faster service than any other race. The sad part is that this is very true. It is usually white people working at these stores and they are more likely to service their own race before any other race. It seems like this never ending battle because if a black person worked at a grocery store he/she would be likely to service a black person before a white one. The author also states something about being in a store or a bank and seeing a black person in the same place as you and then you start thinking if that black person is up to no good or stealing something. I find this statement to be very true and I admit I am guilty to thinking this sometimes. If I am in line at the bank and all of a sudden a black man comes walking in, I do get a little bit nervous. I grew up watching movies, hearing stories and people talking about robberies and shootings and it is almost always a black male that is responsible for the crime. I am not saying that I am racist but I am saying that growing up as a white person I was told by teachers and friends certain things that lead me to believe that certain black males are bad people.


In the introduction the author states that, “All of us are part of the problem. There is no way to avoid that as long as we live in the world. But we could also make ourselves part of the solution if we only knew how.” This quote is a perfect explanation to the racism problem in America. White people have caused this problem many years ago and we have caused ourselves a very big problem that we could not have avoided but we can be part of the solution, however the problem is too complex for us to even begin to find a solution.

Who I am..

I am Erin Straight and I am not really sure how this whole blog thing works. I just started my sophomore year at RIC and I am going for elementary education with a minor in special education and I am staying for my middle school endorsement. So far this semester is going good, but it is still only the second week so a lot could change. I am a part time waitress and manager at J&D's Family Restaurant in Johnston and I love it. I don't know what else to say but that is a little introduction about me. (: