White Privilege By Paula Rothenberg Sparknotes

Racism is still a very prominent issue in America today. Yes, it has improved from the days of slavery, and we do have a black president; but society is nowhere near equal, and that is not acceptable. White Privilege by Paula Rothenberg truly opened my eyes to the extent of the social injustice on African Americans. Many people are implicitly racist, meaning that they are unaware of their racism. And in fact, just by being white, one is oppressing another race because the privilege and respect that comes with the skin color. Whether intentional or not, the racism is still there and present and that is not acceptable. Being white, I’ve never suffered from the repercussions of racism, but after reading and becoming more aware of the suffering

Just by being white, I am privileged, and that puts down an entire race. It is very hard for me to think of how I have benefited from white privilege, as the book White Privilege suggests, this is because “whiteness has often gone unnamed and unexamined because it has uncritically and unthinkingly adopted as the norm throughout society” (Rothenberg 2). The book mentions a few ways I have benefited from white privilege that I have never thought of before. In a store, I never good looked at with suspicion. A privilege I have taken for granted because I am white and as Rothenberg suggests, white privilege is simply coextensive with [white] life, and whites do not notice their privilege any more than they would notice their whiteness. So, I am sure I have benefited from white privilege in many ways, but it is incredibly hard to think of how since it seems like the “norm” and as suggested by Rothenberg that it is other people who are raced, not me. Whites are just people and in other words, white is not of a certain race, they’re just the human race. As the video “The Color of Fear” proposes, American, white and human are used as synonyms. Although I have never viewed myself as privileged, I see more than ever how wrong I am. Harlon Dalton’s Failing to See suggests I think this way partially because race obliviousness is natural to the one being in the driver’s

On the surface it is not the whites who are punished; it is people of color. However, I think the issues go much deeper than what is shown on the outside. “History tells us that in the end, an unjust and inequitable distribution of resources and opportunities lead to terrible violence” (Rothenberg 4). And in present day times, I think that it is becoming much more apparent through the latest racial court disputes. The Ferguson case is a perfect example of retaliation against racism. Clearly violence was out broken when a community had too much of what they thought to be unjust behavior. Two New York City police officers were shot execution style in retaliation. White privilege clearly affects the colored community, but I think that it affects whites as well. We are unknowingly for some, knowingly for others, oppressing a race and accomplishing goals at the expense of someone else. Personally, I am not okay with only getting accomplishments and achievements because the color of my skin. If someone of color deserves a position over me, they should get it, which is not how society operates today. Personally white privilege it is costing me my accountability. I agree with Rothenberg as she states “I want to be successful and happy in my life, but my ability to enjoy my own success is limited when I realize that the racism from which I profit has destroyed the lives of many people of talent, even of genius” (Rothenberg 4).