White privilege defined

[tecumseh]

That's what privilege is, for all those who constantly ask me what I mean when I speak of white privilege. It's the ability to presume that your reality is the reality; that your experiences, if white, are universal, and not particular to your racial identity.

It's the ability to assume that you belong and that others will presume that too; the ability to define reality for others, and expect that definition to stick (because you have the power to ensure that it becomes the dominant narrative).

And it's the ability to ignore all evidence to the contrary, claim that you yourself are the victim, and get everyone from the President to the Supreme Court to the average white guy on the street to believe it.
http://www.zmag.org/Sustainers/Content/2004-04/20wise.cfm

[Mujer Libre]

It's the ability to presume that your reality is the reality; that your experiences, if white, are universal, and not particular to your racial identity.

It's the ability to assume that you belong and that others will presume that too; the ability to define reality for others, and expect that definition to stick (because you have the power to ensure that it becomes the dominant narrative).

I agree, and thats what makes white privilege so hard to tackle; that it's built invisibly into the structure of everyday life. It's institutionalised and is just perceived to be reality.

So to ground the idea in reality, here's (http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~mcisaac/emc598ge/Unpacking.html) alink to Peggy McIntish's excellent article on "the knapsack of white privilege." It gives heaps of everyday examples of white privilege in action.

[Black Dagger]

Originally posted by Mujer [email protected] 10, 2006 11:57 pm
So to ground the idea in reality, here's (http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~mcisaac/emc598ge/Unpacking.html) alink to Peggy McIntish's excellent article on "the knapsack of white privilege." It gives heaps of everyday examples of white privilege in action.
And here's a thread discussing that article:

http://www.revolutionaryleft.com/index.php?showtopic=54963

:D