With white privilege comes a certain power. Wielding white privilege in your fist gives you the ability to argue that historically black colleges are racist, to argue that you suffer as much as the next person of color does, to scream and rally “All Lives Matter,” all the while denying you have this sort of power. Many white people do not know of its power, they do not know of its strength. However, they possess and use this strength in ways which they do not even realize. Without the acknowledgement of this power, people of color are left powerless and will continue to be abused by this system of bias.
Tal Fortgang’s article “Why I’ll Never Apologize for My White Male Privilege” describes his thoughts on the term “Check your privilege” and what it means to him. Fortgang explains that his grandparents have suffered from so many hardships since they were Jewish surviving the Holocaust, and because of that he does not consider himself to have white or male privilege. He associates struggle with privilege, and so many can agree with his reasoning. However, privilege and struggle are not always relative to each other. The acknowledgement of institutionalized racism and discrimination is not present in Fortgang’s essay when it is evident in society and the identification of race. So I ask this in response to Fortgang’s article: does white privilege still benefit white people who struggle or have struggled in the past?
Fortgang believes in meritocracy and does not believe, “that we are all governed by invisible forces (some would call them ‘stigmas’ or ‘societal norms’), that our nation runs …show more content…
It’s not that we’re evil, but that we’re human. The challenge is to recognize that unconscious bias afflicts us all — but that we just may be able to overcome it if we face it.” (Kristof, When Whites Just Don’t Get It, Part
Tal Fortgang’s article “Why I’ll Never Apologize for My White Male Privilege” describes his thoughts on the term “Check your privilege” and what it means to him. Fortgang explains that his grandparents have suffered from so many hardships since they were Jewish surviving the Holocaust, and because of that he does not consider himself to have white or male privilege. He associates struggle with privilege, and so many can agree with his reasoning. However, privilege and struggle are not always relative to each other. The acknowledgement of institutionalized racism and discrimination is not present in Fortgang’s essay when it is evident in society and the identification of race. So I ask this in response to Fortgang’s article: does white privilege still benefit white people who struggle or have struggled in the past?
Fortgang believes in meritocracy and does not believe, “that we are all governed by invisible forces (some would call them ‘stigmas’ or ‘societal norms’), that our nation runs …show more content…
It’s not that we’re evil, but that we’re human. The challenge is to recognize that unconscious bias afflicts us all — but that we just may be able to overcome it if we face it.” (Kristof, When Whites Just Don’t Get It, Part