When looking back at our country during the civil rights movement, many people are appalled at how people of color were being mistreated and hated for so long. In our society, today, people like to pride themselves in not being racist and being accepting of all different races and cultures. Although people like to think that they are not racist and that our society is entering a “post-racial” phase, the truth is that we are all somewhat subconsciously racist and to think that we will ever become a post-racial society is unrealistic. People may not believe that white privilege is a real issue but the truth is that it is real and it is happening in our country more than ever. Sadly, race still plays a huge and important role on how you are treated and looked at in this country, there are still people in our society who treat others differently simply because of how they look and because of the color of their skin.
How can you tell apart a terrorist or a thug from a regular working member of society? Just because someone dresses or looks a certain way does not determine who they are as a person. After the 9/11 attacks that took place many Americans started to fear and dislike anyone who looked remotely Middle Eastern or dressed in hijabs and turbans. Your typical white American family would most likely never have to experience being stopped and questioned when they are traveling through the airport. As a nation, we are generalizing and discriminating between these people simply because of how they look which makes us no better than how we were years ago during the civil rights movement. In the story “The Terminal Check” by Pico Iyer, Iyer describes his encounters in the airport as a British born Indian. He had one encounter in the O...
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...Because of this idea, people are afraid of any nonwhites and it contributes to the idea that racism is still alive and happening today. Also, minorities are now afraid of white officers and white people in general because they assume they are all racist and view people of color in a negative way.
Although some people may think that we have entered a post-racial phase in our society, there are still many things that prove that race is a still a huge factor in our daily lives. In airports, anyone who looks Middle Eastern or “suspicious” gets asked for id and taken into questioning by authorities. In our everyday lives, anyone who is a non-white is usually seen as thugs or just simply not as superior as people who are white. We might want to pride ourselves in wanting to think that we have overcame our racist and discriminatory face but sadly that is just not true yet.
Growing up as an African-American you are always taught to be twice as good. Twice as good as the white people to receive the same treatment as them. I grew up hearing this same phrase constantly but never really understood exactly what it meant until I got old enough to actually see the kind of world we are living in. The author of the article, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” Peggy Mclntosh, took as step into shoes of black America and found that white privilege not only exist, but many whites are blind to it. She gives a clear argument about how white privilege is harmful to our society and how we can work together to fix this.
Since the election of President Barrack Obama in 2008, many people have started to believe that America is beyond racial inequalities - this is not the reality. Rather, we, as a society, chose to see only what we want to see. Discrimination is still rampant in our nation. Michelle Alexander explains that since the Jim Crow laws were abolished, new forms of racial caste systems have taken their place. Our society and criminal justice system claim to be colorblind, but this is not the actuality. Michelle Alexander explains:
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. Because many white people do not recognize their unfair and disproportionate advantage in society, racial tensions can rise even more because there is a major wall blocking people from fixing the current issues.
Many people in the United States society believe that people of all cultures, races, and ethnicities are now on an even playing field. People with this belief support their logic with the argument that since equal rights for people of color and women have been required by law for some time now, we are all inherently as equal as claimed in the Declaration of Independence. Many believe that race is no longer an issue, a viewpoint frequently referred to as color-blindness. National polling data indicated that a majority of whites now believe discrimination against racial minorities no longer exists. (Gallagher, 96) Color-blindness allows a white person to define himself or herself as politically and racially tolerant and then proclaim their adherence to a belief system that does not see or judge individuals by the “color of their skin.” (Gallagher, 98) Many Caucasians in particular are of the opinion that because they listen to hip-hop or cheer for their favorite black, professional sports player that they are not racist. Still others believe that because they have a black president, we see black people in the commercial of products we consume, or enjoy television shows with black people that they are actually acknowledging race. In order to examine and dismantle this series of misconceptions, we will turn to the work of various scholars of social justice and privilege, including Peggy McIntosh, Patricia Hinchey and Johnathon Kozol as well as the story of Patricia J Williams. Through a careful examination of these works with the support of some key statistics, it is the goal of this paper to demonstrate the existence of a privileged and unprivileged America, despite the color-blindness many may profess to have integrated into their p...
“We must come to the point where we realize the concept of race is a false one. There is only one race, the human race.”(Dan Aykroyd) In this day and age people are constantly being influenced on how to treat others based on color. In “ Black Men and Public Space”, by Brent Staples, he suggests that African-American males are treated poorly due to racial discrimination. Judging the unknown, that is what we as humans seem to be doing now instead of getting to know the person first. However, sooner or later we have to realize in order to create a future worth living for we must stop and come together as one.
Have you ever heard of the term white privilege? In case you haven’t, or if you’re not sure what it is exactly, white privilege is all of the societal privileges that benefit white people and that non-white people do not experience. If you are white, your first thought might be to say, “Well, that’s not real. I don’t experience any special benefits that non-white people do not.” But it is real and you do. When you get a paper cut and you go to grab one of your “flesh colored” bandages, it will actually match your skin color because apparently light beige is the “normal” skin color for everyone. When you are watching a film, you are able to relate more to the people you are watching because you will share the same characteristics as most of them, such as having the same skin color. (It’s true. A recent study showed that, out of 100 films made in 2012, white people accounted for about 76% of all speaking characters while people of color, put together, only accounted for about 23%.) When you fail at something in life, like getting a job or getting into college, you don’t stop and think, “Is it because of my race?” White privilege isn’t something that you enjoy having, or that you can necessarily control, but it is important to understand what white privilege is because it most definitely comes into play in our everyday life, including, and especially, news and other forms of media.
Discrimination has always been there between blacks and whites. Since the 1800s where racial issues and differences started flourishing till today, we can still find people of different colors treated unequally. “[R]acial differences are more in the mind than in the genes. Thus we conclude superiority and inferiority associated with racial differences are often socially constructed to satisfy the socio-political agenda of the dominant group”(Heewon Chang,Timothy Dodd;2001;1).
White privilege are privileges that are given to white people who they do not earn, it 's an asset they get; on daily basis just because of their skin color.; White. Peggy McIntosh describes the white privilege as "an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, code-books, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks (McIntosh 1988, p175).” I believe that the white privilege is the same as racism because the word white privilege itself explains it. It is privilege given and offered towards only the white people. If someone is given a special privilege because they are white then that is racism.
The term “White Privilege” has been a term that’s been used a lot not only by me but by a lot of individuals around me. It’s such a controversial word that has a long history. Whenever I hear this word used against someone else who is white that individual usually denies that they have white privilege at all and usually end up telling me about how they make the same amount as me and everyone else or they make less than other people who are also white. They bring up how there are poor whites and how they work for everything they have. However, i’m always confused why anyone who was white can’t just admit that they have this privilege that automatically puts them higher up than others when it comes to opportunities. There is never really a reason
America has had plenty of racial unrest, and what 's shocking is how we continue to ignore its side effects. Many people believe white privilege does not exist or it’s not a real thing even though America was built by white people, with a foundation for whites. White privilege is prevalent in America. They believe there is no way the color of someone’s skin, gives them a privilege. In reality, it does. No matter how much we ignore the fact, that the color of your skin can change the way you live, it’s true. It’s not fair, but it’s true.
With functionalism, racial and ethnic inequalities must have served an important function in order to exist as long as they have. This concept, of course, is problematic. A functionalist might look at “functions” and “dysfunctions” caused by racial inequality. Social Functionalism includes characteristics such as sex, race, and culture just to name a few.
Racism (n): the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other race (Wordnet search, 1), a controversial topic in today’s society, a subject that many people try to sweep under the rug, but yet a detrimental problem that has been present in America since the colonial era. Will this dilemma come to a halt? Can all Americans see each other as equals despite their skin color and nationality; and what role has it played in past generations versus today’s generations and how will it affect our future? Has this on going way of thinking gotten better or worse? These are questions raised when many think about the subject; especially members of American ethnic groups and backgrounds, because most have dealt with racial discrimination in their life time.
Many white Americans are living with the fear that they didn't really deserve their success, and that maybe luck and privilege had more to do with it, than brains and hard work. There are numerous reasons for the widespread discrimination at all levels, but the main reason for the existence of discrimination is a privilege to certain groups of people, and widespread social prejudice towards certain groups of people. Differences between people have always existed, but they gain in importance only when are different importance given to certain differences, so it creates privileges. People who are privileged in one society are often not aware of their privilege. It is very easy to be oblivious to the privilege. The problem of discrimination is very complex and there is no unique formula that would solve it. There are general patterns in a white supremacist culture, that all white people have privilege, whether or not they are racist themselves.
Both authors have recognized the fundamental structures behind privilege –specifically white privilege in America. Their purpose and that of many civil right activists of our era is to bring awareness to those who are in positions of privilege to bring change that fosters the spirit of inclusion, reform and progression into America’s social and mainstream environments.
The world has lived through generations of racism and racial profiling. After the days of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Black Civil Rights Movement, the American people thought they had passed the days of hatred and discrimination. Although Americans think that they live in a non-racist society, minorities today still live in the chains of oppression and prejudice through sports, schools, and social media.