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Checked Privilege 8

The eighth of 46 point-by-point analyses of the “founder” of the concept of White Privilege, Peggy McIntosh’s claims of Whites having specific and special advantages solely because they’re White.

I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.

— Peggy McIntosh
White Privilege and Male Privilege (1988)

There’s no real basis for Ms. McIntosh’s claim of privilege, even if one were to ascribe to the idea that being able to be sure that one’s children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race is a privilege or even pertinent.

Children of all races are, and have been, given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race whenever race was at all germane to the course of study at hand and there were members of their race involved in that course of study.

Now it is true that until very recently schools didn’t attempt to interject race into curricula where it was tangential at best to the course, so such testimonies to the existence of any particular race couldn’t be found in all curricula. It’s also true that the content of such testimonies might not be positive or uplifting in all cases either. Still, any parent can be assured that their children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race regularly in the course of their schooling.

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 13th, 2014 at 8:44 am and is filed under Society. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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Checked Privilege 8 »

Checked Privilege 7

The seventh of 46 point-by-point analyses of the “founder” of the concept of White Privilege, Peggy McIntosh’s claims of Whites having specific and special advantages solely because they’re White.

When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

— Peggy McIntosh
White Privilege and Male Privilege (1988)

Simply put, the truth is not a privilege, where is why Ms. McIntosh’s observation is meaningless. Whites, by and large, made America what it is. It is not privilege to be exposed to the simple facts of the creation and growth of the nation.

From the birth of our colony, through the forming of our nation, and on to its evolution into a unique culture it has always been Whites who were the movers, shakers, and architects that shaped the form America would take, Non-Whites, most especially Blacks, were the tools and beasts of burden used to perform some of the work of doing this.

Can one lament this fact? Certainly. Can one say that it was something that we now consider heinous? Absolutely. Can one deny its truth? No.

That being said, Ms. McIntosh seems to have had a very sheltered and segregated life, one with little or no access to non-Whites. Negro History Week started in 1926 and expanded into Black History Month in 1976, so there’s been an established policy of showcasing non-White contributions to American history for nearly a century.

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 13th, 2014 at 7:56 am and is filed under Society. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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Checked Privilege 6

The sixth of 46 point-by-point analyses of the “founder” of the concept of White Privilege, Peggy McIntosh’s claims of Whites having specific and special advantages solely because they’re White.

I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely and positively represented.

— Peggy McIntosh
White Privilege and Male Privilege (1988)

Given that neither television nor print news and media makes a habit of running, especially as the lead story or on the front page, positive coverage, there’s a great deal of doubt about the postulate that underpins Ms. McIntosh’s claim.

That being said, if there is a racial disparity in the tenor of news coverage, one has to strongly consider that the “privilege” of seeing people of their own race positively represented that Whites enjoy and non-Whites, especially Blacks, do not is an earned one. Crime, especially violent and sensational crime, is far more prevalent in non-Whites than Whites and, at the same time, Whites are far more likely to make noticeable and newsworthy positive contributions to societal discourse.

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 13th, 2014 at 7:29 am and is filed under Society. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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Checked Privilege 6 »

Checked Privilege 5

The fifth of 46 point-by-point analyses of the “founder” of the concept of White Privilege, Peggy McIntosh’s claims of Whites having specific and special advantages solely because they’re White.

I can go shopping alone most of the time, fairly well assured that I will not be followed or harassed by store detectives.

— Peggy McIntosh
White Privilege and Male Privilege (1988)

While it’s fairly certain that this is a privilege that Whites enjoyed at one time while non-Whites didn’t, such a disparity is a thing of past decades. Barring reasonable precautions taken by store security based upon the dress and general appearance and demeanor of the shopper, this sort of thing happens so rarely now that even the accusation of it is newsworthy.

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 13th, 2014 at 7:12 am and is filed under Society. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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Checked Privilege 4

The fourth of 46 point-by-point analyses of the “founder” of the concept of White Privilege, Peggy McIntosh’s claims of Whites having specific and special advantages solely because they’re White.

I can be reasonably sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.

— Peggy McIntosh
White Privilege and Male Privilege (1988)

Not only is the particular claim of Ms. McIntosh baseless, it’s in direct contradictory conflict with her second claim of White Privilege.

Simply put, no matter what race a person is, their neighbors may or may not be neutral or pleasant towards them and this may or may not be primarily due to racial differences, distrust, and animosity. Yet, even in cases where one is living amidst people of another race and culture, the vast majority will be “neutral” to you insofar as their interactions with you.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2014 at 10:26 am and is filed under Society. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.