Discrimination towards minority groups based on their race, gender, and sexual orientation has existed in our society for decades. Till this day these stereotypes and prejudice towards an individual’s race, sexuality, ethnicity, and background still exist. There are particular barriers such as activities and interactions with people occurring daily, as well as plenty of disadvantages for those from different cultural backgrounds other than white. The term racism comes to mind when an individual draws negative thoughts about others due to their biological characteristics. Peggy McIntosh lists a number of conditions in her essay, White privilege, pointing out how her group in other words the advantage of being white protects her from racial …show more content…
I’ll like to point out that I personally never had felt discriminated in any way or manner, not sure if it’s because I certainly do not care what others think about me, do not pay attention, or simply choose to ignore it. During grocery browsing I first went to Jewel by sections, something I usually don’t do since I go straight for what I need and head out. I did notice they had multicultural sections for Hispanics, African-Americans, and Chinese. However, they had a single, categorized isle for each section, while the entire store was full of American groceries. It would only make sense if the entire store had a complete mixture with multicultural foods all around the store, since multicultural consumers are critical for growth of food companies. Therefore, retail stores should include a wider range of brands and products inspired by flavours and influences from a variety of cultures, and not categorized by a single section. One thing that intrigued me the most was the limited section of Indian food they had on the back of the store. I literally found it insulting, not only because it was basically hidden, but due to the fact it was a pretty cramped section. I did, however pretend to be looking for Dhania which is an Indian condiment otherwise known as Coriander seeds, and asked an employer at the store for their location since they weren’t located on the condiments section, and asked why they didn’t carry a larger variety of products in the Indian section. The employee’s response was very vague, saying Jewel does not carry many Indian foods because there are special stores for Indians, suggesting trying one of their stores like Spicy Mart located in Aurora or Southern Spices closer to me located in Naperville. After visiting Jewel Osco I stop by Target to get a birth day card for my cousin’s 16th birth day. Right away as I was entering the store I notice
Peggy McIntosh wrote this article to identify how her white privilege effects her life. Each statement is written as a privilege that Ms. McIntosh does not need to consider or fear as a white woman. From financial credibility to national heritage, this article makes a valid point regarding the way white people can be arrogant and naïve when the same treatment is not being given to their neighbors, coworkers, and peers. There can be two responses when reading this. The first would be a person of color. They will appreciate the attempt at realization of what white people take for granted. The second would be the reality that smacks the white people in the face when they realize how true all 50 statements are. Once this begins to sink in, many will start to broaden their competence realizing the unfair treatment of the people in this world. Moving down the timeline, we can see how the acknowledgement can mend broken relationships. Owning the reality and doing something to change it can give the people of different races the treatment they deserve (McIntosh,
Dr. Peggy McIntosh looks at white privilege, by “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” She describes white privilege as almost a special check or coin that she gets to cash in on. Dr. McIntosh tells that white privilege has been a taboo and repressed subject – and that many white people are taught not to see or recognize it. However, she is granted privileges (McIntosh 30). Dr. McIntosh goes on to describe twenty-six ways in which her skin-color grants her certain privileges. In example twenty, she describes how she can buy “…posters, postcards, picture books…” and other items that “…feature people of my race” (32). Additionally, in her first example, she talks about being able to be in the “company of people of my race most of the time” (McIntosh 31). Instances in which a privilege person would not even recognize unless they were looking, show evidence for white privilege. People take these advantages for granted because they simply expect them. Due to the lack of melatonin in her skin, she was granted privileges and her skin served as an asset to her. Dr. McIntosh conveys how her privilege is not only a “favored state,” but also a power over other
In her 16 January 2016 The Washington Post editorial, “What is White Privilege?”, Christine Emba asserts white privilege is a societal advantage inherent in people who are white, irrespective of their “wealth, gender, or other factors.” According to Emba, white privilege makes life smoother and is an entity that is hidden or unknown until the privilege is taken away. Although racism is still a rampant issue in society today, white privilege is a concept created by the progressive left in order to brand whites as a scapegoat for issues and adversities that non-whites face. This concept of privilege ultimately causes further dissension between whites and non-whites.
When the word “race” arises in a conversation, most people in general automatically think skin color, then ethnicity, culture and traditions, but sadly never one before the other. Society is to blame for the reason being, due to lack of educating unity between individuals and developing the non-discriminatory environment and state of mind. In the Oxford dictionaries, the definition of privilege is a “special right, advantage, or immunity granted”, whilst Peggy McIntosh, an associate director of the Wellesley College center for research on women, argues in her essay titled “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” is “an invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was meant to remain
White privilege is a concept that many people are unfamiliar with, but not because they do not benefit from it. In the paper “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh, argues that white people have an advantage over those of other races, though most are completely unaware of it or simply take it for granted. Her recognition of white privilege came from the concept of male privilege. She says that she looked at that concept and realized there was certainly something similar to it in regards to race (McIntosh, 1988, 11). This paper has great importance to the function of society.
During the semester we have explored multiple case studies that have had some rather cut and dry solutions. Our final case study features the very grey area of workplace cultural discrimination providing a scenario in which there is possible evidence of several counselors who, during lunch break, are singling out clients of a certain minority and speaking in a highly derogatory fashion about them. In this scenario we are part of the supervisory staff and the counselor who brings us this information has been in the field for half a decade and is the same race as one of the main counselors he has concerns about. That counselor has only a brief amount of experience and this is his first position since obtaining his CSC-AD certification. We
Most people are often unaware or misinformed of many situations that affect them in their everyday life. Some of this issues could include the topics that the authors mention – multiculturalism or white privilege. Gates explains that “the debate [on multiculturalism] has been miscast from the beginning [and] it may be worth setting straight” (26). Gates is addressing the opposition to multiculturalism by expressing that the topic that they might have original viewed as negativity, could actually the key to achieving true ethnic diversity. He is stating that if people continue to believe that multiculturalism is just a way to boost the self-esteem of minorities, then it will continue to create a problematic situation where different ethnicities constantly clash because people fear what they do not understand. McIntosh reveals a prime example of this dismissive nature of understanding cultural diversity. She states that she believes that “whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege” (1). Gates is able to shed light on McIntosh’s claim because the miscomprehension of cultural diversity and the idea of white privilege are intrinsically tied. If people are not taught to respect other ethnicities and their traditions then it creates this idea that the cultural that is being taught – in this case white – is the dominant one. McIntosh states that this is an unconscious effort and I would have to agree.
By illuminating the many forms that white privilege takes, Peggy McIntosh urges readers to exercise a sociological imagination. She asks us to consider how our individual life experiences are connected to and situated within large-scale patterns and trends in society. She includes a “white privileges” checklist which includes answering yes or no to statements. For example, can Chad Aiken confidently say “I can be pulled over by a police cruiser and not have to worry about it being about my race”, or “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”. White people are generally free from this systemic bias, suspicion and low expectations that racialized people must endure everyday because it is built into our culture.
In the world today, racism and discrimination is one of the major issues being faced with. Racism has existed throughout the world for centuries and has been the primary reasons for wars, conflicts, and other human calamities all over the planet. It has been a part of America since the European colonization of North America beginning in the 17th century. Many people are not aware of how much racism still exist in our schools, workforces, and anywhere else that social lives are occurring. It started from slavery in America to caste partiality in India, down to the Holocaust in Europe during World War II.
Both points serve McIntosh’s objective of making clear that the notion of white privilege is not a myth. Due to the socially constructed and arbitrary nature of ideologies concerning race (a biological, phenotypic/ (physical) expression of human features) the highly immoral and nonsensical practice [whether recognized or not] of white supr...
We all have prejudice about members of social groups that we do not belong to, it is impossible to avoid and it is engraved into us through socialization (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2017, p. 51). I decided to choose this topic since I often see people’s prejudice turn into discrimination, and more specifically in Canada, there is a great deal of discrimination which takes place against First Nations. This specific topic peaked my interest recently since I am taking a First Nations course, and it has allowed me to realize the extent to which the First Peoples of Canada are discriminated against through government policies, everyday occurrences and terminology on the territory that belongs to them. In my everyday life, I have started to notice more
The term racism means inequity or injustice based on race. It can also be the principle that talks about the differences in human personality or capacity and that a specific race is absolute to others. This can be as a result of language, traditions and customs, or any feature that the person possesses. The idea of racism has been in existence in the history of humans for a very long time. For the past years, racism of westerners towards those who are not from that region has had more impact than any other type of racism. The most well-known instance of racism that occurred in the West was enslaving Africans. One vital feature of racism, particularly concerning the
For hundreds of years, racial discrimination has been occurring in our society affecting families and underprivileged kids. Therefore, the racial slurs and the actions towards one another is based off bias, where we grew up and how we were raised as a child individually. From past experiences, to our current lifestyle, there will always be a discriminate person or group protesting and starting new revolutions because of the hatred and undoing actions that have occurred in our past society. Racism and bias opinions are understandable because they derive from from a person’s cultural influences, exposure to dominant racial organizations, and the tendency to conform to expected stereotypes.
Everyone deserves to have their human rights respected, no matter the gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation. This law applies to everyone everywhere they go. But recently, in Latin America there’s been several issues with discrimination towards LGBT people. The discrimination seems to be culturally accepted therefore causing violence, hatred and overall fear to LGBT people in Latin America. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is what’s going to put the prejudice to rest.
Prejudice and Racism. Is racism an individual or social problem Racism and prejudice are found in all public discourses not only in South Africa but also in other countries. It is universal, exists across cultures; emerges when there are perceivable differences among groups struggling for social power. Further, De La Rey & Duncan (2003) views racism as an institutional system which systematically marginalise or dominate another group. ‘Race’ is the dominant explanatory concept for the composition of South African society.