Understanding White Privilege Within American Society

Meritocracy is a concept very alive within American society. It is a concept where a person’s will and their choices are the main reason for their success or lack thereof. Within this article Dr. Peggy Mcintosh makes a correlation between white privilege and male privilege and how racial minorities are systematically oppressed by a white racial majority in the same way women are within our male dominated workplaces.

This systematic oppression adds a new factor of difficulty to other racial groups and complicates the simple idea that one could get a better life by simply pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. The article compares white privilege to an invisible knapsack filled with contents to ease their journey in life, most are unconscious of its existence, which is where the problem lies since it makes people more resistant to the idea that they have it better than others. Another interesting point is the difference between an unearned entitlement and an unearned advantage, many of the privileges given to white people should be available to all since it is their human right to life and prosperity and should not be an advantage to a certain demographic of the population.

When I first read this article, I couldn’t understand it. Having lived here in the USA for the past two years helped me notice more the intricate racial relations between different groups, but it didn’t really make sense to me until I started talking to people about these problems and how they affected North American society. Initially, I thought Americans were complaining about something futile. I thought that my people’s struggle was much more difficulty, especially due to a 21-yearlong military dictatorship which included torture and murder. While talking to some friends about the topic of race, I presented my perspective on the subject and we discussed the importance of understanding the struggles of distinct racial groups.

After a while I arrived at a better understanding of how it feels to be oppressed by a system that does not respect you. Many people of color feel as if under a regime which prosecutes and hurts them constantly. House raids, unfair legal structures and mass incarceration are things that happened to my compatriots and that still happen to many people in the bottom of the social hierarchy. Within the society I was raised, race did not matter, social class did. My father taught me that he had pulled himself up by his bootstraps but that there are many who did not have the same opportunity and will that he did. He taught me that when a person has a good financial condition, they should help others to grow and develop financially. Now I understand that the same can be done about race, we can and should use our racial privileges to help others who do not have the same advantages we have.

After having read and discussed this article with people close to me, I arrived at a better understanding of the realities of people of color within American society and the difficulties they experience on a daily basis. Having empathy for others and truly paying attention to the point being presented by Dr. Mcintosh helped me make sense of what she was trying to say. It is interesting to realize now that the difficulties she describes are very similar to many other struggles within human society. For a long time, I had believed that race was not that big of a deal, especially since class always seemed to have shaped human society in a much stronger fashion.

Now I see that race is one more facet of the class struggle since many minorities are made to stand at the bottom of the social hierarchy. We must work towards destroying these social structures that separate us and fight for a more equal society in which all people receive the help they need and have equal opportunities.