Today, social inequality exists all around us. Discrimination is happening every day in our society where there is diversity. The common discrimination in the United States is Racism. Since U.S. has become increasingly multiracial and multicultural, racial discrimination is an everyday thing. Many organizations banned the racism, and the laws against racism have been established and modified throughout the history. However, when it comes to discussing the racism, it is still controversial. Especially, between majority and minority, their view of deciding whether it is racism or not is very different. Whites do not realize that they have been getting unfair advantages implicitly from the society, which can be described as white privilege. From the view of non-whites, it often seems as racism to them. As the third party from another country, I also can see non-whites get less advantages comparing to the whites in the U.S. There is a need to define racism from broader perspectives. The term racism should be considered to mean the advantages that majority gets from their positions and disadvantages that people of color experience through the white privilege.
People generally know that Racism means a discrimination based on race. Oxford English Dictionary defines Racism as “The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.” (“Racism”) Most of the definition in dictionary do not include the power of majority to maintain their advantages through systematic discriminatory acts in the society. The power of whites has been continued and grow upon the non-whites throughout the history of U.S. "Be...
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...e different. By including white privilege in the definition of Racism, Whites will try to stop use their privilege not to be ignorant and decide to look clearly. In this way, social change in racial inequality will be improved.
Works Cited
Adair, Margo, and Sharon Howell. The Subjective Side of Politics. S.F., CA: Tools for Change, 1988. Print.
Kaufman, Cynthia. "A User's Guide to White Privilege." Radical Philosophy Review 2nd ser. 4.1 (2001): 30-38. Print.
McIntosh, Peggy. "White Privilege: Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack." Independent School 49.2 (1990): 31. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
"Racism, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2014. Web. 12 April 2014.
Stossel, John, and Gena Binkley. "Is Your Skin Color an Advantage?" Abc NEWS 10 Sept. 2008: n. pag. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. .
In Days of Destruction Days of Revolt by Chris Hedges Chapter 2, he shows that the minority is fully aware that White privilege is there, in a quote saying “I had urged [the minority] to have faith in America and in white society” (Hedges 2012: 60). In this quote, he shows symbolic interactionism by using the Labeling Theory. The labeling theory is when a label is being put onto something to describe it. And in that instance, it was put onto society and it was the word “white.” It was being put there to show the minority that had to hope in society, but mainly in white society because he feels that the majority of our society is controlled by white people. Coming from Schaeffer, he says that Blacks are discriminated against because they are inferior to whites (Schaeffer 2012:62). This is important because when related to Symbolic interactionism it is labeling Blacks as inferior and Whites as superior and coming from Lipsitz, “‘Americans’ means ‘whites’”(Lipsitz 1998: 67). It symbolizes that blacks think that they are not Americans and making them less a part of our country. This explains why white people are unaware of their superiority and how black people are aware of that they are inferior to Whites. This should
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.
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.
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.
White privilege is a benefit that society gives to a white person. It is embedded in and supported by institutions, where it overtly manifests and reproduces as inequality (Cox & Taua, 2016, p. 48). This translates into preferential treatment for white coloured individuals. Such injustice results in the oppression of those who are not white, leading to unequal access to education, healthcare, housing, and employment (Gorski, 2003, p. 9).
With all of these facts, the author tries to prove that racial differences and privileges appear exaggerated and unrealistic. The privileged and less privileged exist at all levels of society. Duke wants white people to understand that they are in the same position as all other races. The awareness of “white privilege” is only a fallacy that causes feel of guilt without foundation.
There are two views, which are used to explain racism. One of the basic views is the class interest and the other is the white skin privilege. The white skin privilege view is a basic idea that places white skin as an averagely better than black people, American Indians or the Latino and other groups of people. The idea also is that white people benefit largely from the inequality that surface from a result of the privil...
Let’s start with the definition of racism. Racism refers to the belief that race is the primary determinant of human capacities, that a certain race is inherently superior or inferior to others, and/or that individuals should be treated differently based on their ascribed race.
Racism comes in many forms ad can be expressed in many different societies in various ways. 1 The dictionary defines racism as the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. This definition of racism makes it clear that it is a perceived point of view that implies prejudice towards people or a person based solely on their race. Racism has been an issue in many societies for many years and still is an issue in modern society. 2 Recently in the U.S. many cases of racism towards African Americans have been shown in the media. However racism is not just a U.S. culture based issue but also a cross-cultural issue
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).
According to Roget's Super Thesaurus, racism is defined as prejudice, discrimination, bigotry, bias, segregation, apartheid, intolerance, and white supremacy, (463). Throug...
Racism is a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others. This trend has been around for a long time, from slaves, to discrimination, etc. Although in many cases, people in the time period often tend to act like it does not exist. When looking back on certain situations and their aftermath people then realize the true nature of racism. In 1962, 85% of whites thought that black children in their community had just as good of a chance of getting a good education as white children. The constant trend for lack of knowledge about racism and/or discrimination is real. Now, whites, realize that in 1962 black children did not have as good of a chance, if any, of getting a good education in comparison to white children. In 1969 nearly half of all whites (45%) believed that blacks had a better chance of getting a good-paying job than they did. Once again history repeated itself, in that many whites now realize that blacks not only did not have a better chance of getting a good-paying job than they did, they had a worse chance. (Abagond)
We have a long history of racism in America that has been structured to favor White people. Structural racism can be defined as, “a system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity. It identifies the dimensions of our history and culture that have allowed privileges associated with “whiteness” and disadvantages associated with “color” to endure and adapt over time”(Structural Racism, 2004,p. 11). Overt racism became illegal during The Civil Rights Movement that took place between 1954-1968 (Tuck, 2015). Although society seemed to be heading toward a more socially acceptable society, the movement enabled white people to blame the struggles black face as a character flaw. White people will believe that black people have a lot of problems because their culture is bad or they have bad values. The message they are reinforcing is that being black is inferior, and this is an example of structural racism operates. Structural racism is a system of forces that keeps people of color in a permanent second-class status, and it is the foundation of racism in our society. Society is structured in a way where the hierarchy of white people oppresses Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, etc and has
If the system undoubtedly favors one race over another then it should be easy to point out the privileges. Paula S. Rothenberg mentions in her book “White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism” that we cannot avoid this problem, “As for the concern that looking at whiteness and white privilege will deflect our attention from racism, this could not be further from the truth” (Rothenberg 2). Failure to observe things from the side of the privileges overlooks many of the benefits of the institutional racism. By examining the benefactors of the system two things can be learned: who benefits from the system and how they do it. It is quite easy to shame racism and call it deplorable but it is much harder to realize that white privilege is other side of racism. However, failure to recognize this allows racism in our education systems to exist and flourish. Only when people in privileged positions fight for the equality of others will the institutional racism be defeated. One simple way to the privilege in the school system is when you compare how minorities learned about race and how white people learned about race. Often time minorities learn about race through a painful experience or a realization that they are different. In contrast many white people were probably unaware of their whiteness because it was the norm an everywhere. Robin
There are commonly believed to be four major races on Earth, but over the course of history, one race almost always holds power and privilege. Race is a completely socio-historical concept that society has created based on the way that people look, meaning that the power and privilege is based on merely perceived differences. Since the “discovery” of America, racism has been a prevalent part of society. Whether it be the slaughter of the native people, the enslavement of Africans, the resistance toward the civil rights movement, or even the ongoing issues of police brutality, it is undeniable that Americans have used power and privilege to oppress other groups, most often racially. Individual, institutional, and societal oppression are the