Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege

Peggy McIntosh's White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
Choose three quotes and explain what they mean.

Quote #1:

“Whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege.” Pg 1

This shows that in schools, careers, and communities, whites do not acknowledge the culture of power.  Whites are not told explicitly that they are following a particular code that others are judged for not knowing. When those who are not white do something that does not follow the specific code, then they are looked at as being rude or disrespectful.  Same goes for men.  When a person wants to speak to someone in charge of a business, they tend to speak to a male.  Men do not know that they are following this code, but women can see it clearly.  Men acknowledge that women don’t get the same rights, but they do not think that they have a more privileged life.  Whites and males act the same in the aspect of seeing wrong, but not understanding that they are part of the group that has more ‘power’.

Quote #2:

“Whiteness protected me from many kinds of hostility, distress, and violence.” Pg 4

Being born to the culture of power allows a person to feel more comfortable in everyday life.  When a person goes to school or a job, if they are white they do not get looked upon as being an outsider.  They would not be harassed by classmates or teachers for having a different background.  A black person can go into a store and be followed by white employees because they are thought of as going to steal.  Being white protects a person from the feeling of being watched or followed.  It shows that a white person has less to worry about when out in the world.

Quote #3:

“Whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative, and average, and also ideal, so that when we work to benefit other, this is seen as work that will allow ‘them’ to be more like ‘us’.” Pg 2

Peggy McIntosh makes a great argument with the quote about how whites believe that they are the ideal community.  She looks at herself to show how whites are taught to think early on in life.  One of the points was that a white person can open a newspaper or turn on the tv and see the white race being represented and it is considered normal.  Also, a white person can make bad choices and they don’t represent the whole group.  However, a person of color can make bad choices and then they are looked upon as the whole race is bad.  Whites unknowingly try to act as if they are average in the hopes that others will be like them but in reality everyone is different and can’t be represented by others.

I really liked the 26 points that Peggy McIntosh made because some of them I would have never thought of but they are totally true.  For example, I would not have thought that I could ignore the customs of someone of a different race and not feel any penalty for it(point #16).  I believe that her points hit all the main concerns in society like safety and credibility.  It also surprised me to read some of them because I found myself wondering why it was such a big deal, and then when I stepped back and relooked at it I found myself agreeing because only the white race thinks that way.