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Privilege is more than money
Published by vegankid | Filed under 101, Privilege
The Angry Black Woman has put together an incredible post about White Privilege (tho it could easily be extrapolated to all forms of institutionalized privilege) entitled Things You Need To Understand.
The Angry Black Woman’s post largely consists of excerpts from some other, perhaps more well-known, writers. But allow me to take an excerpt from her introduction:
When most people hear Privilege or are referred to as Privileged their mind immediately thinks of economic privilege: people who are rich, or are born rich, who have a leg up in society or get by because their parents have a famous name or something. Paris Hilton is an example of that kind of privileged person. Most white people are not like Paris Hilton, nor would I suggest that they are. That would be cruel.
What they don’t realize is that economic privilege is only one kind of privilege. When I speak of White Privilege, I am not speaking of economics (though they may come into play based on the individual), I am speaking of unearned advantages one has because one is born White. That’s not the only kind of Privilege there is, of course. Another I’m very familiar with is Heterosexual Privilege.
The post is well worth a read…or two or three or ten.
September 16th, 2006 at 3:11 am The question she ends with -- "What are you going to do about it?" -- I think is the key, but it's one I've rarely seen answered in any concrete way. I've read countless blog posts about privilege, but they all seem to just end with an exhortation to be aware of privilege. I find it hard to believe either that awareness is itself enough, or that one you're aware then appropriate actions will follow automatically.
September 16th, 2006 at 9:53 am yes. i get it. what to do about it? and by saying i get it i mean i get that i'll never really get it. i didn't go to grad school. i will seek out workshops though so i can work on my own shit. just that "The work is not the workshop" like Barbara smith says in suggested reading. so, what is the work? where tostart?
September 16th, 2006 at 10:26 am yes.yes.yes. I agree that the last question is the key. Snd i agree that its one that is rarely answered, at least not outright. I've had numerous conversations with people about "when are we going to get past the 101?" or "what does beyond 101 even look like?" These are questions that we must answer if anything is ever to change.
So i'm going to commit to writing a post on that topic and ask that others do the same. One problem is that there is not one way to take action, there are a million ways. So lets start that conversation. Let me know if you write a post on this topic.
jones - just to clarify, i believe it was Catherine Jones who wrote "the work is not the workshop".
September 16th, 2006 at 2:51 pm I'm always getting into arguments over friends of mine who deny white privies. They also believe it's merely economic.
September 16th, 2006 at 4:29 pm First, I accept privilege and in doing so
I find myself having more awareness of
how those unearned rights affect those
who are not white. A very good example
would be american history books.
However, that is changing, and I wonder
how long those books will be around.
The internet will replace those books
and actually, many high school students
refer to articles on-line rather than
consult those books already.
Economic power, in my opinion, is very
important, as it is causing shifts already
in political power. Economic power does
matter and I think to dismiss this
might be a way to distance politics
from privilege. The privilege equation
must include economics and power shifts
to be effective.
I read "Living for Change" by Grace Lee
Boggs a while ago. I am sure many here
have also read her book or visited her
website. Maybe we need to have more
fluidity of opinion in order to really
accomplish something.
Great post, thanks
September 16th, 2006 at 10:04 pm kathy-- i agree with you. and just to be clear, i don't think anyone implied that economics isn't a part of the equation. the point was simply that privilege is about more than economics.
September 17th, 2006 at 11:46 pm Biting one's tongue any time in a conversation about race and racial privilage you feel tempted to say, "yeah...but" is a small way to start.
September 18th, 2006 at 11:15 pm radfem
"yeah..but" is an excellent example of privilege.
it is very very hard to let go of something
with so much power and so little work.
September 19th, 2006 at 12:28 am radfem, kathy - right on. i think an extension of that is to not get defensive everytime such a conversation arises. White people often feel that they are being attacked any time that race is brought up (which is an extension of White Guilt, imho), but the fact is that its likely not a persynal attack. unless it is, in which case, you can still really learn something if you just listen and learn to understand that what is being attacked is not necessarily you, as a persyn, but your socialization and what you represent - both of which can be changed if you're willing to listen.
September 21st, 2006 at 3:38 pm for myself, just the opportunity to listen silently to a conversation about race and privilege is something i miss, no longer living in a social environment where such things once were commonplace [yep, i grew up in berkeley, california - have i got stories! :)]. so where, do you think, does one get together with a diversity of people where such conversations might happen? creating that space might be another worthwhile activity. some friends of mine tried to address it by joining a church that is largely african american; but how to avoid the condescending "whitey on safari" syndrome? they didn't stay for long, and there's a certain questionable dilletantism there that makes me uncomfortable.
conversations have happened between myself and people of different backgrounds due to the ice-breaker of wearing my child in public, so maybe public acts that force people to think about gender roles, etc. are useful in that respect.
maybe just getting out of the house and participating in life on the street - or even the front porch - is worthwhile.
September 21st, 2006 at 11:00 pm r@d@r - i'm glad you recognize and brought up the "whitey on safari" approach to "diversity". as for conversations about race, i'm not a fan of the colonizing approach to learning. meaning i don't think that White people need to be inserting ourselves into communities of color so that we can bring up the conversation. I'm a fan of the Paulo Freire approach to community dialogue and change. i think we need to start by having conversations first with those around us. then we begin to take action in our community. and that action, through coalition building and solidarity work, will inevitably lead to more and more diverse groups/dialogues. i don't think that work has to become your life. just getting involved in some local organization on a regular basis (whether its a couple days a week or a couple days a month), will help to create those connections. or it can start as simply as potlucks or cookouts in the park or backyard. just my two cents.
so yeah, getting out of the house:)