In society and religion you can either unite individuals for agreeable achievements or continue to focus on the mistreatment and enduring of other individuals. In this essay I will be providing a rhetorical analysis of an essay called “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” By Peggy McIntosh. Also providing a secondary source by Tommie Shelby “Social, Identity and Group Solidarity, We Who Are Dark” explaining some of the similarities and differences of the two readings ,and the proper principles as to why I chose these two for my term paper. All throughout the beginning of my essay I will be identifying the particular strategies that the author McIntosh provides to appeal to her audience. The main purpose of her essay is to …show more content…
After that she provided several short organized statements regarding her proven thoughts of white privilege. They all provided minimum information to reflect on and be a helpful understanding to what white privilege is itself. As I said before these were advantages of her life and the things that she was proven granted as a white privilege. At this point McIntosh has gave multiple allegations of white privilege to her audience. For example some of the white privileges she stated she received things like: “I can easily find academic courses and institutions which give attention only to people of my race.” (McIntosh), and I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me. These are just two that caught my attention the most because many people of different races can actually relate to having difficulties in getting good legal health help, and also perfect education opportunities. Over all looking at the principles of the topic that McIntosh makes to get us to understand that white privilege exist makes me think about a reading I had read once before called “We Who Are Dark” by Tommie
As a result of her comprehensive definition on white privilege and endorsement to her academic background, McIntosh begins to persuade her audience that unearned white privilege does exist. The first couple of paragraphs of her essay she gives to define white privilege, so it is recognizable that this definition is necessary for her essay and her argument.
In response to “Making kids read The Help is not the way to teach them about the civil rights struggle”, writer Jessica Roake informs the audience that she is giving facts about how kids shouldn’t read these books because it’s written by white authors in her article “Not Helpful.” Using several rhetorical strategies, Roake effectively builds her argument. One important rhetorical strategy Roake uses is Logos. She builds her argument by using facts about the Jim Crow laws. She establishes “Jim Crow was a time of systematic oppression, when an entire population was terrorized because of the color of their skin” (Roake, 2).
This week we were assigned to read to different articles. The first article was written by Peggy McIntosh titled, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”. Throughout the article, Peggy showed the readers what it means to have white privilege. She showed the readers 50 different types of “advantages” that whites get over other races, such as African Americans. This is the biggest theme throughout her entire piece.
The central them of White Privilege Knapsack is about how certain people have better advantages simply because of what they were born into. Whether it is being a specific race that is believed to be superior over others or being males versus a female. What was the article about?: Growing up children learn from an early age of what is acceptable and what is expected of them.
After violating Virginia's Jim Crow laws, a short arrest, and fundraising for an unfair trial, she decided to apply to Howard University's School of Law-her subject of interest was civil rights law (Murray 1987, PAGE # UK). Mack described her allegiance to civil rights law as an extension of her quest for" personal autonomy" (2012, 208). Despite her academic successes, she was denied admission to Harvard, the graduate school of her choice, because of her gender. Career stability did not come to easy to Murray, she lived as "a minority within a minority" and suffered the consequences of being a marginalized member of society in all parts of her life. She instead continued her studies at Berkley, there she was exposed to more minorities and sympathized with them (Murray 1987, PAGE # UK).
“Behind every success, large or small, there is a story, and it isn't always told by sex or skin color” (page 2, par. 15), Fortgang, T (2014). Some people base their success on their racial background. “Checking My Privilege” by Tal Fotrtgang was written in an effort to voice his opinion on this matter. In his essay, Tal Fortgang says, “I actually went and checked the origins of my privileged existence, to empathize with those whose underdog stories I can’t possibly comprehend. I have unearthed some examples of the privilege with which my family was blessed, and now I think I better understand those who assure me that skin color allowed my family and I to flourish today”
Tatum uses the theoretical perspective of both symbolic interaction and conflict theory in this book. The symbolic interaction in this book looks at the social interaction between racial identities, how we see ourselves and how others see us. Furthermore, it manifests itself in the stereotypes and prejudices that are perpetuated in our society; stereotypes help to reinforce negative images and ideals that we have about different races. An example in her book Dr. Tatum explains that one of her white male student once responded in his journal “is not my fault that blacks do not write books” (1445).
There is so much truth to Dr. Goffman’s words in regards to specific entitlements just for the color of one’s skin. I am sure all of us can give several examples of school fights – and I (as well as my white friends) tell these stories with half-hearted grins, or similar to embellished fishing stories, and these stories never end behind bars, or in court rooms.
In the Axworthy Lecture, Cornel West discusses what it means to be human and have traits such as integrity, honesty, decency, and virtue, despite your humanity being rendered invisible. In America, the word justice has been altered to benefit the oppressor, rather than the oppressed. Incidentally, West states that in order to resolve justice, love needs to be implemented, publically, privately and tenderly within the system. Historically, American societies have imposed a form of “death” upon minorities, comprising of categories that include social, civic and spiritual assassination. Furthermore, West suggests that the identity of the oppressed is not defined by their features, but by the scars they have inherited.
I sometimes get irritated when people don’t agree on the same ideas that I have or when the other person says something that I don’t agree with. The objective of this chapter made me comprehend that based on an individual’s experiences and viewpoints impacts the person’s behavior. Some experience may deal with the oppressions and privileges a person has, the article “Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person…” made me realize that I am more privilege than what I thought. The author didn’t think she was privilege until she read a book she got recommended and from her article she summarizes
Stokely Carmichael was a black civil rights activist, who gave his speech, “Black Power” on the twenty-ninth of October, 1966 to other civil rights activists on the basis of black power, or black rights. Carmichael's tone for this speech is most noticeably empowering, and thought-provoking. Carmichael’s main use in his speech was his choice of diction. He created a vast majority of degrading words towards those who were white, such as, “That failure is due to the white’s incapacity to deal with their own problems inside their own communities.” Here, Carmichael is degrading the white population, in which they can not deal with their own problems.
White privilege is defined as “…………..” After reading this and comparing it to my life and experiences I can recognize the resemblance. As a white person in my society, I hold copious privileges and forms of power that I have not earned, but has been handed. Although, I cannot speak for my entire race when I state this, I believe that any Caucasian person living in Canada, who would be willing to take the time to stop and think about their lives, would realize that they hold power over other racial minorities. This power is acquired solely due to the fact that they have a different colour of skin.
White privilege was identified in her article by a list of fifty items that Caucasians never have to deal with as a daily concern. Matters such as leading a group, schooling that supports our race, living situations, institutions that do not judge our race. These are issues a Caucasian family will never have, and a child of that race will never face feeling judged, and never have to learn that the very entity there to protect you may be responsible for your death. Whites are privileged, though this way of life should be common for every race. Our privilege should not be taken away it should be granted and transformed into a greater idea American Privilege.
An area of contention in America with regards to racial relationships is the idea of white privilege. The notion that certain people within a society have unwritten societal benefits due to the color of their skin seems unbelievable to some. I want to figure out exactly what white privilege is and if this privilege is universally applicable to all whites in America. I want to know why so many White Americans deny this idea. Can it be explained, or reasoned in a way that makes sense to even the most ardent critics?
The term white privilege has become a bad term, just like the word feminism. Society has found a way to distort and change the definition of terms like these to avoid the actual issue that the term is bringing up. By definition feminism is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities, but the word has come to carry a negative connotation (Webster). Many who believe in the principle would not call themselves feminists or participate in trying to reach equality to avoid that connotation placed on them. Their silence only aids the continuation of inequality between men and women.