Sunday, December 11, 2011

"White Privilege" by McIntosh ~ Argument

Before reading McIntosh, I never realized the white privilege that I have. After reading her list I can clearly relate to each point and identify it as having a better advantage. I live in a part of Rhode Island that has a white majority. I really didn't go to school with people of other races until I went to RIC. According to Infoworks there was a 98% white population in my school, only 2% was a minority. This was a Ponaganset High School for the year I graduated.
I have also begun to realize that for many white Americans, they place an emphasis on not being racist. Part of that is because there that undertone of white privilege is so strong that many people feel like they need to say that.
What I am unsure about is why is there a blanket over white privilege and not white upper class privilege. There was a quote that McIntosh said that, "I can swear, or dress in second-hand clothes, or not answer a letter without having people attribute these choices to bad morels, or poverty or the illiteracy of my race." Yes as a white person I do have those advantages, but there is also the class aspect to it. If I dress in second-hand clothes, ill fitting clothes, then I am a poor white American. From then on out my actions are being judged because I am classified as a poor white America, if I swear, I have poor morals. Over all McIntosh is right about privilege, but there is more to it than just race.

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