What is a privilege? Privilege is defined as “a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most” (dictionary.com). Privilege is different for everyone, and how an ethnic group chooses to see or act upon a certain privilege. White privilege in particular, is all around us; people who choose not to see it or are unmindful of its presents seem to be living in denial. Others in the white community feel that being white is not a privilege but a disadvantage, they feel that other ethnic groups are actually the more privileged group. The white community often takes everyday life experiences for granted, experiences that other ethnic groups only hope for.
White Privilege is “defined in relation to a group …show more content…
We live our lives day by day, expecting things to go a certain way or for people to treat us in a particular way, and never realizing that this is a privilege to us due to the skin color. I really feel naïve and thought the privileges I take for granted were also extended to everyone regardless of race or ethnic background. As we read through “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” (Rothenberg 121) and began to understand what exactly a “privilege” was it was then that it became understood that as a member of the white community I am privileged. Many people want to ignore that white privilege exist. Often time’s society puts on their blinders to act as if these privileges that are available to a certain ethnic group and that those privileges really do not happen. Privilege is not just a race issue but a gender issue as well. Women are often times seen as inferior and not able to do the work of a man, therefore treated differently, “whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege” (Rothenberg 121). Modern societies continue to support white privilege in the way society treats and classify people in particular ethnic groups. Often times society treats people differently because they are not informed and have certain mindsets about other groups. This just adds to the invisibility of white privilege, “the invisibility of privilege …show more content…
I never really felt that my race was a part of how I was raised because it was never brought up or an issue, that is a benefit of being completely unaware of my skin color. I always thought that because I never was aware of skin color that made me non-prejudice, because I believed that everyone was the same. Now I understand that I was just taking advantage of my white privilege and I will never understand what it is like to have ancestors that were persecuted for their skin tone and I will never understand the struggles that my African American friends go though daily. Another example I could relate to was written in chapter three, something I have never thought about, “I can choose blemish cover or bandages in ‘flesh’ color and have them more or less match my skin” (Rothenberg 123). The list of instances provided are things that I have never thought about, it makes me extremely upset with myself that I have never thought of these things as being a privilege. As a member of the Caucasian society, I have the benefit of being completely unaware of my own privilege, something that non-ethnic groups may never get to
White Privilege is “defined in relation to a group …show more content…
We live our lives day by day, expecting things to go a certain way or for people to treat us in a particular way, and never realizing that this is a privilege to us due to the skin color. I really feel naïve and thought the privileges I take for granted were also extended to everyone regardless of race or ethnic background. As we read through “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” (Rothenberg 121) and began to understand what exactly a “privilege” was it was then that it became understood that as a member of the white community I am privileged. Many people want to ignore that white privilege exist. Often time’s society puts on their blinders to act as if these privileges that are available to a certain ethnic group and that those privileges really do not happen. Privilege is not just a race issue but a gender issue as well. Women are often times seen as inferior and not able to do the work of a man, therefore treated differently, “whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege” (Rothenberg 121). Modern societies continue to support white privilege in the way society treats and classify people in particular ethnic groups. Often times society treats people differently because they are not informed and have certain mindsets about other groups. This just adds to the invisibility of white privilege, “the invisibility of privilege …show more content…
I never really felt that my race was a part of how I was raised because it was never brought up or an issue, that is a benefit of being completely unaware of my skin color. I always thought that because I never was aware of skin color that made me non-prejudice, because I believed that everyone was the same. Now I understand that I was just taking advantage of my white privilege and I will never understand what it is like to have ancestors that were persecuted for their skin tone and I will never understand the struggles that my African American friends go though daily. Another example I could relate to was written in chapter three, something I have never thought about, “I can choose blemish cover or bandages in ‘flesh’ color and have them more or less match my skin” (Rothenberg 123). The list of instances provided are things that I have never thought about, it makes me extremely upset with myself that I have never thought of these things as being a privilege. As a member of the Caucasian society, I have the benefit of being completely unaware of my own privilege, something that non-ethnic groups may never get to