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Checked Privilege 3

The third 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.

If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.

— Peggy McIntosh
White Privilege and Male Privilege (1988)

There’s no real basis for Ms. McIntosh’s claim of privilege. Both Whites and non-Whites can, if they should need to move, be equally sure or – unsure – of renting or purchasing housing in an area which they can afford and in which they would want to live. The only barriers to such relocation are economic and perceptual in nature. A White is a likely to not be able to afford to live where they want to as a non-White is. The desires of members of any race tend to far exceed their ability to achieve them.

As a caveat to the above, a generation or two before Ms. McIntosh’s writings her claim was very true. Non-White were barred from living in many areas. This wrong had, however, been corrected, both in law and public consciousness, well before 1988.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2014 at 10:09 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 2

The second 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 avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.

— Peggy McIntosh
White Privilege and Male Privilege (1988)

If one is going to take this point in its broadest racial sense, then this is hardly a “privilege” that is limited to Whites. Many of the members of each and all the races within America’s can, and often do, avoid spending time with people whom they was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust their kind or them.

This, however, carries with it the implication that race is the primary reason for distrust and ignores both the fact that trained or ingrained distrust is focused on a variety of factor, most of which are intraracial in nature. Whites distrust many other Whites and non-Whites, especially Blacks, distrust many other non-Whites.

On a positive note, however, Ms. McIntosh’s statement does imply an understanding that race-based distrust is not a Whites only phenomenon. Somewhat mitigating that positive, sadly, is her use of “trained” and “learned,” which strongly implies that Whites are conditioned to distrust non-Whites but non-White develop distrust of Whites through an experiential learning process.

On another positive note, Ms. McIntosh’s statement also implies that an understanding that a feeling of security in one’s surroundings is a privilege as opposed to a right.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2014 at 12:20 pm 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 2 »

Checked Privilege 1

The first 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, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

— Peggy McIntosh
White Privilege and Male Privilege (1988)

To begin with, this is hardly a “privilege” that is limited to Whites. Many of the members of each and all the races within America’s can, and often do, arrange to be in the company of people of their own race most of time.

Secondly, there’s a lot of question about this being a privilege as defined, as Ms. McIntosh defines it – “an invisible package of unearned assets” – in that there’s little benefit to be inherently derived from being surrounded solely by members of your race.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2014 at 11:42 am and is filed under Society. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.