Let's talk about white privilege. [View all]
What does it mean? What does it not mean?
As a white woman, I have observed and benefited from white privilege.
Sometimes it's hard to see. Other times it's obvious. Most blatantly, there have been times when servers have attempted to serve me before a black person who was ahead of me in line. That's so obvious, everybody can see it.
There are much more powerful and subtle ways that some whites attempt to privilege other whites by oppressing people of color. Numerous studies have proven that it's easier for white people to get loans or job interviews, even when their credentials are equal to those of black applicants.
Some of this bias is unconscious, I believe. We carry around a lot of opinions, beliefs, and biases. Even when we don't want to admit we're wrong, sometimes we do wrong or enable wrongdoing.
Why does this matter? Aside from the unfairness, inequality hurts everybody. It's much more than "doing the right thing because it's nice." Our survival as a species depends on getting it together, as a planet. Wasting time hating and oppressing one another will result in failure. Think of the wars and genocide caused by prejudice and hate. The outcome will be grim.
As white people, what can we do about this?
The first step is admitting that the problem exists. We can set down defensiveness. That's hard, if we personally feel oppressed. Let's talk about that.
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