Peggy Mcinntosh On Whiteness

My initial thought about privilege when I read the paper written by Peggy McIntosh was to instantaneously think about entitlement and the minimization of a cultural and a class of people. It’s not that whites are exclusive in the usage of systematic racial intolerance, it’s that they appear to be oblivious to the benefits of this entitlement. The author attempts to debase and use some forms of lightheartedness to point out the luxury she possessed as a result of simply being white but it’s much more than simply being white.

Any attempt to suggest that whiteness has an invisible power or a privilege may be viewed as attempting to rehash the discussion of slavery, discrimination or injustice. For many this dialogue by those that wish to

The author was simply taking ownership or deflecting but simply realizing that a privilege exist. In most cases when one attempts to discuss a topic such as privilege, it is reduced to a “tit for tat” scenario. You mention “white privilege” so I must mention “affirmative action”. The reality is the two are not connected but I understand the necessity to defer and deflect. Noted Author Dr. James Cone has always suggested that he would rather be a descendent of a “slave” than a descendent of a “slave owner”. Why? Being a descendent of a slave owner and white is the equivalent of being privileged and connected to atrocities and connected to guilt while reaping all the associated benefits. While being a descendent of a slave has the dignity of being oppressed and all the associated remorse from the

It goes without saying that we are connected to our past. It doesn’t mean that we are our past but it does provide a glimpse of the thought process and access to socio economic entitlement. I’ll defer to what Dr. Cone referenced, we are in essence victims of our reality. No one wishes to believe that we haven’t earned everything that we have or that our skin color has enriched us or deprived someone else. Part of the problem is our inability to be honest about the past. We can’t escape the systems that we’ve set up in colleges, universities, private and public sectors as it relates to jobs, economics. These systems are the root causes for privilege and entitlement. It isn’t about whether or not a race has failed or that specific individual have succeeded but rather that system been fashioned that requires those that are disenfranchised to seek recourse from laws and the courts. It’s hard for people to accept that they are racist or that a system is holding others back despite the appearance of