Reflection on White Privilege

Peddy McIntosh highlighted numerous unearned white advantages in her autobiographical post "White Opportunity, Color and Criminal Activity: A Personal Account." She showed the white benefit as an undetectable plan of unearned properties that one white individual could rely on moneying in each day. White individuals have these benefits offered to them by the society in which they live in. The exact same society taught them to be oblivious and unawareness of these benefits. This system of unearned opportunities developed by white individuals made individuals of color feel oppressed.

In this system being white is a norm and dominant power. Caucasians, who benefit most from the white benefit system in the United States, are most likely to be blinded to the presence of advantage system and take these advantages for granted it. In this reflection analysis, I will elaborate on most common white privileges mentioned by Peddy McIntosh through my individual experiences. As Peddy McIntosh distinguishes white race has unearned advantages over the color race that white individuals do not even realize.

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Caucasians have an unique provision, passports, and visas that color people among the world don't have. For example, individuals from third world don't get tourist visas to take a trip around the world and find brand-new places as the white do. From my individual experience, people in India who wishes to circumnavigate or settle in a various nation don't have these advantages. However, they are not able to achieve their aspiration. These people don't have these provisions and opportunities since the entire system is established based on white individuals.

They've approved greater advantage amongst the same skin color individuals while restricting and lesser benefit towards the color people. Peddy McIntosh made a similar point that United States' claim to be a democracy in which worth is just rewarded to white people. She discussed white people are unaware of these opportunities and they are in process of taking advantage of the advantages of bigotry. Another opportunity McIntosh classifies is being surrounded by white individuals company.

It is easier for a white person to fit in any community because majority of the communities are dominated by their race. For example, if a white person moves in a new house, they are pretty sure greater parts of their neighbors are same race as them. When I moved in the United States many years back, I felt left out and it was difficult for me to fit in because I was a minority. I was mocked by mostly white students about the way I dressed and teased about being different from them.

White students don’t encounter these problems when they transfer from one school to another because they figured majority of the students they’ll be surrounded by will be same skin color as them. Another difficulty I had was shopping at a supermarket was finding my cultural food. It won’t be difficult for a white person to fit in a community and find similar food to their culture. A person doesn’t realize these privileges until they image themselves in color individuals’ shoes.

In conclusion, Peggy McIntosh pointed in her article, white privileges don’t come from an individual person or flaw of a person. White privileges arise from the flaw of the system placed in a society. Therefore, if we want to change the society and equalize the privilege amongst whites and colors, then change must happen within the system. It is the system that influences individuals to act upon in the society. A great way, we can demise these privileges among white individuals, is through educating the whites and making them aware of these unearned benefits and privileges.