I am reasonably certain that I’ve encountered McIntosh’s Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack article at least once before in my academic career, but I read it differently each time as I grow and mature. Since I am white, I can relate to McIntosh’s “conditions.” I don’t need to worry about being discriminated against while renting an apartment, shopping in a store, or simply walking in my neighborhood. Similarly, I can relate to the fact that we are never really taught to notice our privileges. “White” is considered the “American” race, despite the fact that America has always touted itself as a melting pot of cultures and colors. Part of me is kind of just waiting for racism to go away, though I doubt that the problem will ever take care of itself. When I think about it, I don’t find myself racist. I don’t think my friends are racist. I don’t understand how people can still discriminate against people they don’t know just because of the way they look. But if we just wait a few more generations, will it really go away? Probably not. McIntosh’s focus on mostly white and male privileges makes me think immediately of the United States government. When I think about our government, I think about a big group of well-born, Ivy-League educated white men making choices for our entire country. Sprinkle in a few people of color here, a few women, a (very) few people who climbed from the bottom to get there, and there you have it. This does not seem like the ideal group to make decisions for our diverse country. I think privilege plays a part here, but I don’t know how we can change it. My small contribution will be to teach my students to love and embrace the differences between themselves and others. There are going to be people we like and people we dislike, but we can’t judge them based on culture, rather, we should make decisions about people based on character and surround ourselves with people who inspire us to be better.
Omi and Winant mention the difference between race and racism. We can’t ignore race, because it makes up a huge piece of the person who holds it. We’re aware of our race, so we can’t pretend to be colorblind. It’s more important to see, acknowledge, and accept the differences in the way we look and in our cultures. The racism comes about when one group is excluded or denied based solely on their background, and this is unacceptable. I like that Omi and Winant state that “there is nothing inherently white about racism” (p. 136). Additionally, there is nothing inherently American about racism; it exists all over the world. For racism to be caged, we need to be able to see the differences among us and accept them. The problem seems overwhelming, but I will do my part. My future students, whether they be black, white, or purple, will be welcomed into a comfortable learning environment where discrimination will not be tolerated and where academic exploration will weave us all together.
It would be wonderful if we could erase racism and discrimination in our world. The difficulty comes when people care very deeply about their own personal interests and want to protect what they have from others. It's human nature to distinguish differences. Research has proven that we do it at a very young age; it's what is taught about the differences that highlights cultural norms and privileges.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you on Omi and Winant's article. There is even discrimination within races, so it really is an issue all over the world and across many levels. However, I differ with McIntosh, particularly when she lists the white privileges - just two counterexamples; many 'whites' cannot buy or rent wherever they want, and many do walk in fear in their own neighborhoods. I don't know if we will ever eradicate racism completely, but I think people as a whole are more accepting of differences now than many years ago, and we must work on continuing this trend with education and by example.
ReplyDeleteKate, I like your comment about our government and how the creation of our country is dominated by white males. Being a history teacher (and a lover of history) it always discouraged me that women and minority groups were not looked at as relevant in the creation of our country. It wasn't until college and now graduate school that I'm learning how women and minorities were more apart of the story than we realize. I hope this is something that I can bring to the classroom as a history teacher. Like you said, it is about seeing differences and being able to accept them. I could not agree more.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that racism doesn't only exist here in America. I made the same point in my blog post. For example, in 2011 anti-white hate speech began to surface in South Africa, but it was rarely talked about in the United States. We seem to be focused solely on the racism that exists in our country, but in order for us to fully understand the extent to which racism exists, we need to look outside of our borders.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked your point of how you view the government as being "...a big group of well-born, Ivy-League educated white men making choices for our entire country." In a video that surfaced on the internet during the summer of 2011, Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren said, in reference to those who were opposed to tax increases, that "There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody." Here's an article along with the clip of the original video:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20110042-503544.html
I think that same thing can be said about those in power. Whether they received help from family members (George W. Bush, John F. Kennedy), lobbyists, or whoever, I don't believe that there has been someone of prominence in the Federal government that got there on their own. That does not bode well for the the diverse country that we live in.