Hi everyone,
We will use this blog space to add to our class community. I will also use it sometimes if I am out of town at a conference. We can then have an online discussion about the important topics and theories we are learning in CMN 145 (Gender and Family Communication).
Jane Lister Reis
23 comments:
Dear Peggy McIntosh,
After reading "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" I really understood your point of white privilege and the racism that is happening all over. What grabbed my attention and would really like to discuss was when you said “my racial group was being made confident, comfortable, and oblivious, other groups were likely being made unconfident, uncomfortable, and alienated. Which is very true especially these days as whites always are confident in what they do because they know that they have luck in achieving their needs and goals without trouble and harm. Also whites are born confident especially with people all around them with the same color and race. While other people “(not white) have no confident and are born to be tortured and recognized as the bad people, where they are hated and treated badly. For example if there were two people: one white and the other (not white) and they were applying for the same job and both had the same qualifiers for the job, but of course who will be picked? The white guy…
What also interested me was the points that you put about white privilege especially when you said “whether I use checks, credit cards, or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.” what do you really mean here? Do you mean because of our race or color we can get away with everything or we wont be judged negatively. Or because whites are considered good people so we don’t expect anything wrong coming from them. Why do we differentiate between colors? Aren’t we all humans?
What you mentioned is all true, as we are facing such problem in our society. And as you also mentioned that if we are going to distinguish between color that will not be considered “freedom” that we all have. For example why are we taught to watch out from other people(not white) and not talk to them, since they are considered bad and dangerous people. What’s surprising is the fact that most of the criminals are white. Why do we have to differentiate between such people. When are we going to learn to quit this non sense and think wisely? Are we going to teach our children the same thing about race and the importance of being white and not another color?
Finally, I don’t blame anything on you, I blame this to me and all people who still think that way. I think we are smart enough to make our decisions and not to judge the person on his color but on his personality and thinking. I hope you understand my point and I hope such thinking will change, so we can all live together, free and happy.
Thank you.
Dear Ms. McIntosh,
In reviewing your work "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack", I was both delighted at your understanding of the hidden privileges that whites are accustomed to and concerned about the wider idea of privilege in general. Many of the points that you make I believe to be essentially true. However, I would go further still and not only classify these privileges as White, but Middle Class White.
I believe that with point #12 "I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race,” this privilege is conditional. I have seen first hand how people who are white and considered "white trash, trailer trash, hicks, etc." are treated with disdain and mistrust. I have personally witnessed a person who would seem to be economically challenged and white, being asked for two pieces of ID when writing a check, when I was asked for none.
I agree that minorities have the lion's share of discrimination, but there are also discrimination sects within the white community, particularly when economics and religion come into play. You stated "...some of the conditions I have described here work to systematically over empower certain groups. Such privilege simply confers dominance because of one's race or sex." When you made this comment, were you referring to this list being conditions that not only can be ascribed to white people, but wealthy people as well (or heterosexuals, highly educated etc.)?
I truly agree with you that there are things that have never come to my mind as being a privilege. My mother is half Native American and my father is white. None of us children has ever been blatantly discriminated against as being a part of a minority, but I believe that it is because we look white. However, in looking back, my mother was adamant about our race always being listed as Caucasian, I believe probably because she knew inherently the problems that come with being a minority.
Your comment "Since racism, sexism, and heterosexism are not the same, the advantaging associated with them should not be seen as the same ... it is hard to disentangle aspects of unearned advantage which rest more on social class, economic class, race, religion, sex and ethnic identity" could be a reasonable separation of economic class from the list of advantages of White Privilege.
Another interesting point is #22 "I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having coworkers on the job suspect that I got it because of race." I read this with interest as we are now entering into an era where our society is doing away with "Affirmative Action" as in the case of University of Washington and their admissions policies. It is now no longer a privilege to be white as entrance is now based on merit. Will this idea still be valid in a society that is slowly changing in education and starting to also change in the workplace, keep changing as we continue to stop using affirmative action to create equality in the workplace? Will it still be viewed as a "white privilege" to have a decent job? With minority populations growing in the United States and the birth rate of "Caucasians" declining, will it cease to be a white privilege and will it change to having a job at all being the privilege?
This is a challenging paper, which inspires one to think about themselves in a way that is new and different, and to try to identify things in life that we may take for granted. I enjoyed reading it and look forward to seeing other aspects of your research.
Thank You
Kim Smith
Response to "Emotions and Conflict Resolution"
This article seems to be a good guide on how to argue effectively, but there are some questions I had as to how to remain emotionally detached during an arguement, which is the main idea I got from reading the guidelines.
The idea of "Dealing with emotions without being overcome by them" seems like an almost insurmountable task. I know for a fact that with extreme anger or frustration, I will sometimes cry, which I believe reduces my effectiveness to voice my feelings.
Trying to remember these "guidelines" in an emotionally charged moment may be the right thing to do, but it seems almost impossible.
The statement of "being in touch with feelings may seem simple, and is basic, many people have been trained by their family of origin to ignore their own emotions".
Wow, this statement really is strong and makes a great point. Many children raised in the "children are to be seen not heard" scenario probably do not know how to get in touch with their feelings. I also thought of boys being raised with the idea that "boys don't cry" or "crybaby" and other comments that are mainstream and accepted. If boys or girls for that matter are not allowed to cry or be "sissies", how are they to learn how to control their emotions or even let them out. Pent up emotions are unhealthy and can lead to painful outbursts.
This is an interesting article and really speaks to me about being constructive with emotions and in particular anger, and how to let people know how you are feeling.
Dear Peggy McIntosh,
Thank you for your article, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack". You brought up some very good points. I know I'm not racist, and before I started reading I thought there was no way it could pertain to me. I was wrong because it's not so much about looking upon other races as if you are better, your article is about the fact that despite WANTING to be a privileged race, whites are. I have taken a few women studies classes so have had my eyes opened to the fact that men are privileged wether or not they realize it, and the same goes to me because I am white.
The point that really resinated with me was the one that stated "I can do well in a challeging situation without being called a credit to my race". That is very true. I feel like there is a stereotype that blacks or whatever race, aren't as "smart" or educated as whites. So when someone of color accomplishes something big, I think society will use them as an example, kinda like "look, they can do it too". And that's ridiculous. There shouldn't even be the thought that blacks can't accomplish just as much as whites can just because of their color.
The next point that really stood out to me was the one that said "I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race." I grew up in a suburb of Seattle and then moved to innercity Portland, where I was a minority as a white person at my high school. I learned so much from that. When I was in Kirkland, no matter what i was wearing, or how I was acting, people new that I was privileged. Then when I moved to Portland, I really was seen for my actions and my appearance in a more realistic way. If I looked like I was underprivileged, I was seen as underprivileged. If I was swearing and carrying on with no class, I would be seen like I had no class. It really showed me where you live in the world, and what you look like will effect what people think of you. SO i agree with that statement, as well as disagree.
Ultimately, I do think that being privileged just because of your race or color is real, but at the same time, I never would think less of someone just because of their color or race. Reading all of the statements, I can honestly say I don't agree with most of them. But maybe I'm just blind to my privilege.
After reading the article on emotions and conflict resolution I must say I agree with most of your conclusions. I do think that half the battle with expressing your feelings, is understanding your feelings. And I also think that peoples experiences shape their emotions, or how they percieve relationships.
Once you've identified what it is you are feeling, you must then identify what is a valid point to bring up. I am a firm believer that if something is bothering you, then it is a valid point. BUT at the same time, your psychological health or emotional stability has a lot to do with how you feel. You must first recognize, are you having a problem with this other person, or yourself.
And as far as not expressing your emotions, I agree with the article. It could be because of social expectations, vulnerability, or social and professional roles. For me, vulnerability is it. I hate feeling vulnerable and i know that will prevent me from telling my boyfriend how i really feel sometimes.
The biggest thing I take from this article is becoming more aware of your emotions. Really listening to that inner voice, and identifying the primary or main feeling. And everyone has the right to express how they are feeling, I think everyone should do it more often!
Responce to emotions and conflict:
This article was really factual as it is something we all do and feel. Each and every one of us has emotions and expresses them in a different way. And the way they described emotional intelligence is also true. It is really hard to understand what the other person feels and thinks, it is also difficult to feel with others by listening.
This article talks how to deal with arguments and how to control our anger, especially that anger destroys trust and also destroys communication as it is very hard to communicate with people when they are irritated.
What I really liked was the fact that conflicts could be solved through communication and dealing with others. Also when they mentioned why we cant express some emotions and the main reason is that we are afraid to hurt others feeling or disturb them with what we have to say.
What I can say is that it is really hard for a person to express their emotions so freely and state what is on their minds. The only way I express my emotions is by crying which is good and bad at the same time. It is good because I feel better afterwards but what is bad is that my feelings stay stored inside which hurts especially when you are frightened to express them. I wonder when are we going to feel free in expressing our emotions without being afraid of what others would think?
Response to "Emotions and Conflict Resolution"
The article agreed with a lot of beliefs I already held, namely that one of the keys to properly expressing your emotion in a constructive manner is to understand it at first. Discovering why you feel a particular way is important because it allows you to communicate with others more effectively.
It is my understanding that in the communications field there is no real "conclusion" per se on what an emotion is, and that this article uses a combination of different theories to define the different attributes of an emotion. I didn't realize how much research has actually been put into it by scientists, although I've read philosophy (Emotions by Sartre) on the subject, I never really looked into scientific research.
I didn't particularly agree with some of the points, but I believe it was more a set of guiding principles than ironclad rules of how emotions should be felt and dealt with.
-Nick Klinke
Dear Peggy McIntosh,
I read your piece on “White Privilege” and although I didn’t necessarily agree with everything that was said, I believe some of your key points were well thought out.
The notion of white male dominance and the intrinsic privileges we are given from birth simply because our sex and race is not a new idea. I recognize that there are certain freedoms I enjoy that I don’t even think of as privileges, but more as rights. I feel that I have a right to windowshop without being harassed or monitored, as opposed to some who would feel privileged for that to occur.
This disparity in treatment based on skin color or sex hasn’t gone away, but it has lessened in the past few decades, at least within the United States. However, the “average” white mans ability to recognize his privilege in the United States is still a large problem, as they have a tendency to focus on the extreme end, and less prevalent, issues regarding race.
One problem I see with implementing ideas of white privilege is the sect of middle class white americans who are tired of being “penalized” for being white, or perceiving as having blame casted on them just because of their skin color. This reverse racism they call it does have some legitimacy in my eyes, as nobody should be outright penalized or looked differently because of their skin color. However, educating and raising an awareness that these problems do exist is important in addressing the problem as a whole.
In my experience, reading history, anthropology, psychology and sociology texts, along with my life’s experiences, there is always a dominant class. This dates back thousands of years, as tribal creatures humans naturally will have an elite or ruling class. Even today we brand ourselves as white or black, while this is part of our identity, it also pushes us into groups. One group will always dominate the other, because society as a whole does not function on a large scale without government.
Even democracy is based on a majority, (whites in the United States) that can impose their will on minorities, although certain balances are put in, the reality is that groups or tribes will be looked on favorably by other members of the “tribe” or group they belong to. I personally don’t see how this “white privilege” can be dealt with, as humans are built psychology and socially to discriminate and show favoritism.
Signed, Nick Klinke
Dear Peggy,
While I was reading you article on white privilege I had a lot of thoughts going through my head. I think that you are on the right path to think that different races go through different struggles and positive situations, however, I really don’t think that white people always have the upper hand. Specifically, I really did not identify with number 24: I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me. I have been in a couple of medical situations where I have not been assisted in funding for medical activities because of my race. For example, I am white, I wanted to donate bone marrow. Oddly enough, Caucasian people have to pay a fee to donate bone marrow, however African Americans do not. My financial situation is not assessed at all, it is all based on my race, and not in my favor. I also do not agree with number 18: I can be pretty sure that if I ask to speak to ‘the person in charge,’ I will be facing a person of my race. The two highest up people in my current job, are actually both black females. Maybe some people’s experiences have been primarily with white people, but that is not that case in my life. I have been surrounded by bosses of all races: Chinese, African American, Korean, and Cambodian. Some of my bosses have been Caucasian, but I think it is difficult to say, without research that this statement is true. I understand that you are saying that these are generalizations, but I think that in this day and time I would really like to think that things have developed. We are furtherer along in our advancements than most people seem to give us credit. Something I thought was really interesting while I was reading this article is how sometimes I feel discriminated because I am white. There are shows about what it is like to be Jewish, African American, Asian, etc. but we rarely talk about what it is to be white. In middle school I was one of the only Caucasian kids and I sometimes felt alone, discriminated. In high school, there were clubs for all different ethnic groups. There are different holidays for different races and celebrations for their culture. Anytime discrimination is discussed, I feel white people are discriminated because we aren’t the race that is being discriminated, but that discriminates against white people which I thought was the whole issue. Overall, I don’t think any race in particular is discriminated more than others. I understand there were times in history that others races suffered and went through hardships, but we never know what it is like to walk in other people’s shoes. I think that we all need to be accepting and realize that we are all different and go through challenges and we should learn from them and go from there.
Dear Ms. McIntosh,
I just read your article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”. You wrote about males and whites being over privileged. Whites and men may admit that blacks and woman are under privileged but will ignore the fact that they are over privileged. Therefore, whites or males never think of lessening their power in order to change this. Some may not even want to change this, they have gotten used to life the way it is. Being white, I agree with you on the fact that whites do not tend to think of their skin as a privilege. However, just because you and I have found common ground on this issue does not mean that it applies to all people. Personally, I would like to know what is backing up all your statements. Have you done a survey?
You list the white privileges and one of them is going shopping alone without having to worry about being followed or harassed. Well, in this time I do not think this is a current issue black people face. Back in the seventies, this might have been true but I am doubtful this is true right now. When I go shopping, I never see people of other colors harassed or followed. You also said that another privilege whites have is that we “can arrange to protect our children most of the time from people who might not like them”. This rings true for blacks as well. I have noticed that black people are very good at standing up for themselves.
Some of the privileges that you have listed I have found to ring true. You said that it is easier for white people to buy toys and dolls featuring people of our race. Recently I was looking for a doll for my little black friend. I wanted to buy a black doll for her but the store did not have any black dolls although they did have a large variety of white dolls.
I had an interesting time reading your article. I hope that I had not offended you in any way. Sincerely, Larisa Borisenko
Responding to Emotions and Conflict:
I agree with the author of the article. I think it is important to be able to express our emotions in the right way so others would not get hurt and we'ld be listened to.
Since I was young I have been taught how not to express any emotions because if I expressed any emotions my mom would give me a nice long lecture. I constantly struggled to keep my emotions in check so this article was fun to read and the little quiz at the end was great. I discovered that I have low argumentativeness.
Dear Peggy McIntosh,
I would like to thank you for writing “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”. This is such an insightful article about racism. Your thoughts on this subject have really opened my eyes to aspects of racism that I was completely oblivious about (I guess, that was your point). My reaction to this piece can be summed up in your words.." I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group".
Reading your words saddened me, because now I am beginning to see just how deeply embedded racism is into our society. Most of us wake up every morning and go about our daily lives not giving any thought to the privileges, or lack there of, that are the product of our skin color. Getting a glimpse into the many ways invisible racism affects our society makes me realize that we have a lot more work in front of us then I ever imagined.
Each one of you 26 white privileges stuck a cord with me. Some of them I did not agree with, such as; #3 " I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me" I can think of a few neighborhoods where an upper middle class white woman would not feel very welcomed. And #4 "I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed" I believe that this is more of a economic class issue. If you looked poor and disheveled during these shopping trips I think you would get followed and harassed even as a white woman. I do however see how these points are relevant to what you are trying to say. The privilege that had a truly emotional effect on me was #21 "I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to, feeling somewhat tied in, rather then isolated, out of place, out numbered, unheard, held at a distance, or feared" I know the opposite of this feeling all too well. As a 10 year old non-English speaking poor immigrant, I was placed into a predominantly white upper-class elementary school where every single one of my classmates looked and acted alike and I was the feared outsider. That year of my life did more damage to my self esteem then anything else I can think of. I wonder how different my life would have been if just one of those parents instilled values of equality in their child. I know for a fact that I would be a more trusting individual today.
Going about solving this problem seems incredibly daunting. Like you, I always thought that “racism could end if white individuals changed their attitudes.” But now it is becoming clear that since most of us are not even aware of how deeply white dominance runs, we are very far away from a solution. I am very grateful for your article, because like most problems in life, the first step to change is the acknowledgement of the problem. Thank you for your great insights.
Dear Ms. McIntosh,
After reading your work "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack", I found that I was in agreement with most of it. I feel that more white men are comming to realize the previlages they have compared to minorities and women. But there still is not alot being done with that knowledge. I find that there has been some change in minorities and women being able to get better jobs and that people take racial and gender bashing or harrassment more serriously. But there is still a long way to go for there to be any kind of equality. I also find that it depends on a persons econimic standing. There are still many white people who are lower class and a treated poorly and are disadvantaged. I think that social classes and standings are becoming very divided. Rich people in general have the upper hand so if a person is white and poor they still have to face simliar stereotypes and disadvantages as many other minorites due to being lower class. This article helped give me some more perspective on "white privilege", so thank you.
Response to "Emotions and Conflict Resolution"
This article help clarrify some questions I had on how to effectivl communicate my emotions without letting them run wild. I find that when it is a highly emotional and personal conversation people can get carried away when they try to express there emotions. This article helped me realize how to still get my point across but in a proffesional and more effective way. By staying slightly detached you can avoid becoming emotional and then you end up straying from the point at hand. I also realized how passive aggressive I can be sometimes and by reading this article I have discovered new ways to improve myself.
Dear Nick,
I found your letter to Peggy very interesting and it posed many questions for me. I do not think I am in agreement regarding your "dominance" theory. I believe that there may still be a "survival of the fittest" mechanism in place in humans, but I don't see a dominance theory in play.
With your comment "I personally don’t see how this “white privilege” can be dealt with, as humans are built psychology and socially to discriminate and show favoritism."
Would it be the same case of dealing with "black privilege" if white's were the minority in the US? What will happen in 60-80 years when our melting pot becomes a pot that is primarily light to dark brown due to the mixing of ethnicities?
There is also more of an understanding in this era that there is no difference genetically between races, we are all one, human. Do you think broader knowledge will help to alleviate racism?
I appreciate you taking a risk by putting yourself out there with your ideas to be shared with the group and I think that they are interesting and thought provoking.
Thank You
Kim Smith
Peggy McIntosh,
Your article, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" was eye opening. I had never thought about all the "privileges" white people have. A lot of your examples in the article were valid arguments, yet I do believe there are many examples to contradict what you've stated. I am in agreement with a lot of the statements you have made but there are a few particular examples that i am not sure i fully agree with.
The first example being number 20:I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children's magazines featuring people of my race. This day and age, our culture is becoming more and more integrated. I went to Fred Meyer just a couple months ago to buy my half Asian cousins some barbies. I expected to find only Caucasian dolls, but i was pleasantly surprised to find quite a large selection of non-white barbies. There were African-American, and Asian barbies. I think that this is an important fact to note because I feel that slight changes like this, are saying something about our culture and changes that are occurring throughout it.
The next example that you have given that i would like to say something about is number 18 which says I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to "the person in charge," I will be facing a person of my race. I, personally, have experienced having a person in charge that was of African descent . I know plenty of people that would argue this statement as well for they also have people higher up than themselves, who are of another race.
In our culture, it may be true that Whites have privileges that other races may not have, but not in everything. I am fairly certain that there are things that other races have privileges for rather than Whites. If we went to another country...in their culture Whites would not have all these so called "White Privileges." I believe every culture, and their dominant race, will also have privileges for that race.
I appreciate your thoughts but I think that some things should have a little more research and investigation put into them. Hopefully one day, a lot of the racial comments and acts against people of different races will be put behind us because there are things that are more important about a person than their race.
Thank You,
Laura Thoreen
Response to "emotions and conflict resolution"
I feel this article was very insightful when it comes to effectively communicating emotions. I know that I have a hard time communicating negative emotions i may feel to other people, especially people who contribute to those negative emotions.
I think that, overall, this was a good read, but some questions did arise to some of the points that were stated.
The myths about conflict were interesting to me. All of them but the first one, I thought were true. I grew up with people telling me that every conflict could be resolved if you talked about it and if you told people your feelings.It made sense to me. The section about choices for conflict management i think will help me out in the long run, though it may take awhile to incorporate those guidelines into my everyday life. It isn't going to be an overnight change, it'll take some time.
I think this was a good article overall though there were some questions that arose when i read some of the points that were stated.
In response to Kim's letter...
I really liked the points that you brought up in your letter [and also during seminar today]. It adds a different perspective to the ideas presented and challenges what Peggy was saying. I espeically liked the point you made about how you thought that you could replace White with Middle-Class. It seems as if Middle-Class White people would be a more sufficient [for lack of a better word] title for Peggy's article.
I agree with everything you have put in your letter to Ms.McIntosh, and I can't think of any way to challenge your ideas... so I guess I'm done :)
In response to Lauren:
I could really identify with what you said about being vulnerable, and how it's an uncomfortable position. Throughout the piece and some of the other class readings I've noticed a trend towards being open and vulnerable, but I also believe we have our armor on a lot of the time for a reason.
While it's important to drop the shield with people, knowing when it is appropriate and constructive is also key, as I imagine it's almost as detrimental as having your armor on all the time versus never having it on.
Seminar Summary:
I was chosen to summarize how our seminars went today.
A large part of our seminar centered around White Privilege and the idea that we may be more of a classicist society vs. a racist society. Several people brought up experiences that reflected a societal trend judging towards appearance of being lower class, which often coincides with being a minority group. We also questioned the validity of some of the statements made as they seemed a bit dated.
One reoccuring point we discovered through all the pieces was the fact that they were primarily based on being aware of one's privilege or of how things are/ought to be, and very little was written on how to actually address the problems. We concluded that many of the problems are being addressed, but it is a slow gradual change that will take time, as civil rights traditionally take time and effort more than anything.
Dear Larisa
What you mentioned in your letter is something we discussed in our seminar today, especially about the doll. And it is true that when we go to buy toys we rarely see black dolls we usually see white barbis and white dolls.
and about blacks when shopping i agree with you that no one gets treated in a different way and i work at the mall and i treat all races the same. i dont prefer one on the other or differenciate between them.
so i agree with you..
Dear Ms. Mcintosh,
I would like to give you my input on "White Privilege." I must say I agree that White people have the advantage, more so than african-american or any minorities here in the United States. However, I very much disagree with "all" the privileges that you stated. Particularly #4 "I can go shopping alone..well assured that i will not be followed or harassed." Does this mean you were never been harassed in your entire life because you are white? I'm not sure if I will call that privilege..maybe it's just pure luck? #5 "I can turn on the tv or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented."..how are these people of your race widely represented? "in a good way or bad?" #18 "..If I asked for a person in charge, I will be facing a person of my race."..
I understand that you call these statements "white privileges". The way I see it..it's more of a discrimination of race.
Post a Comment