My White Male Privilege Summary

Have you ever read an article that made you so mad you just had to go blow off some steam? Yeah me too, I was asked to read two articles about privilege, and I was surprised to find myself getting irritated the farther I read. I know what you’re going to say, “Well it’s because you agreed with what was being said” or “Well that’s a natural reaction to this controversy.” But honestly it wasn’t anything like that. The two articles are all about privilege, the first one that I read was written by Tal Fortgang called “Why I’ll Never Apologize for my White Male Privilege,” and the second was written by Briana Payton called “Dear Privileged at Princeton: You. Are. Privileged. And Meritocracy Is a Myth.” Fortgang was told to “check his privilege,” which he did and came up with hard work and his earned right to where he is now; he says “while I haven’t done everything for myself up to this point in my life, someone sacrificed themselves so that I can lead a better life. But that’s a legacy I’m proud of” (Para. 15). Payton’s article was a rebuttal to Fortgang’s, which stated that he is privileged because of his white male status, and that’s ok. Payton says, “…Fortang is privileged. Is that clear? You. Are. Privileged. It is OK to admit that” (Para. 8 &9). Most people would say that those are really great arguments, which I agree with, but the part that irritated me was the fact that two Princeton students are hashing it out, in articles,

People like Payton and Fortgang can really make a difference in the world to millions of people, but they’re using their resources wrong. If there is an issue in the world go out and fix it, be that person that makes a difference in someone’s life. It’s a simple thing to write an article online, but it takes a mountain of a person to help others who are in