Hello all!

Hope you are enjoying the results of last night's Superbowl (if you care.....). If you were wondering, I am very happy =).

Some feedback on your white privilege discussion question. I was VERY surprised. There were no more than a handful of you who thought white privilege still exists today. The following is lengthy but (I hope) easy to read.

1) I acknowledge that McIntosh's piece was published several decades ago, and that is one of the points to consider. The question is not whether they have, but rather how much have things changed?

2) I appreciate everyone's devotion to the notion that race (and in several instances gender was mentioned) should not be a deciding factor in how one is treated in society (and for that MLK would be proud).

3) HOWEVER, it is important to take a very introspective look at the content of the piece. I, like Peggy McIntosh, am white and thus I am unlikely be accused of being reverse racist for contemplating these issues (which in and of itself IS white privilege). Allow me to give you a very simple example - I have never had to consider where I was going to get my hair cut. I just take it for granted - walk in, tell the person what I want, BOOM (selfies in the car to send to my hubby). But if you are not white (say Dominican for instance), that is not the case for you. The first class I ever taught was at FAU in Boca (as a teaching assistant). While going through this concept of white privilege, we covered the subject of hair. This young man raises his hand and tells me that the reason he was wearing a hat in class that day was because he couldn't find a barber in Boca to give him a decent skin fade, and he hadn't had time to go to Boynton yet.  Granted this was like 7 years ago, and things may well have changed in Boca. My ex's mom is a hair dresser. So one day I was at the shop, and this black woman walks in. There are 7 other stylists (including a barber) at the time in the shop. The woman automatically had to go to my ex's mom because none of the other stylists could do her hair (not because she was picky, because they literally didn't know HOW). This is a subtle example, but it is a small and easy way to see the subtle advantages.

4) I find that it is overwhelmingly white people who have a hard time with the concept - and how can they be blamed? It FEELS as though Peggy McIntosh is essentially saying that we didn't actually work hard and earn our advantages or positions in society. It FEELS like she is saying we just got preferential (and maybe lucky) treatment because of it, and thus it minimizes all the hard work we have put into becoming the people we are today.

5) It is also very difficult to ask white people to unpack the invisible knapsack. It is indeed, as I think Nicole put it, systematic and ingrained. It is not something most white people are conscious of in the first place. So asking someone to refuse advantages he/she didn't ask for in the first place, and is likely not aware of getting, is not short order!

6) Lastly, Black Lives Matter was mentioned, and it is absolutely true that we should have no need for sure a movement in today's society AND it is also true that the media does an extraordinary job trying to polarize people on the issue to foster ratings. But consider this - if I pleaded with you to save the rainforests because of the heavy deforestation and the damage this causes, am I advocating that no other forests are important? Of course not, and neither is the movement. So yes ALL lives matter, but their point is to focus on a systematic issue (which may very well turn out to have more to do with socioeconomics than race, but you can't tell someone's socioeconomic status by looking at them). We will discuss this more when we get to the criminal justice system.


As always, please let me know if you have any struggles!