A friend pointed me to an article recently in a discussion about white privilege. I found it rather dissatisfying. The article was entitled, “Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person.” The fundamental problem with the article is, primarily, that the implied ethical principles cannot be universalized. Moreover, I am at a loss as to how I would act upon them, or how they are useful in any way in improving human behavior.
The first “privileges” the author lists as being afforded by white people are as follows:
-"I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented."
-"When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is."
-"If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race."
-"I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time."
These are borrowed from a previous essay by Peggy McIntosh entitled, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.”** To the author’s credit, they do point out some overlap in McIntosh’s list of “privileges” in the categories of race and income. That is, perhaps some of the “privileges” listed are not afforded to a person because they are white, but rather because they are of a higher class, or higher socioeconomic group (a distinction I will define in a later essay).
You may be wondering why I’m placing quotes around the word “privilege” in this context. So let us explore the definition of privilege. The OED defines privilege as:
A special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people
So for these things to be defined as “privileges” they need to be available only to a particular person or group of people. By “white privilege,” we understand that these opportunities are supposedly available only to white people. This simply is not true. Furthermore, it would be difficult to argue that anything on the list is a ‘right, advantage, or immunity.” Is it an advantage to see people of your own race represented in media? If it is, does this not depend upon geographic location? If I am a white in Sub-Saharan Africa, am I at a disadvantage because I do not see people of my race represented in the media? Are my rights being violated? Aren’t these same voices claiming the prevalence of white privilege also promoting the benefits of ethnic diversity? You can’t have it both ways; if diversity is a virtue, it should be a good thing that a race other than your own is represented.
As a white man who has been arrested on erroneous charges by a black man in the south, I can assure you personally that the third bullet is simply untrue. I can’t be sure that my race was not a factor. It’s no privilege to cut your hair short and look like a Neo-Nazi. Moreover, it’s not a privilege to “not be sure [you] haven’t been singled out because of [your] race.” There is no inherent right, advantage or immunity involved, so it has nothing to do with privilege. If I ask a girl to dance in a club, and she turns me down, could I ever be sure that it wasn’t because of my race? Or my accent? Or my teeth? Of any other of dozens of factors that will never be known to me?
As for the fourth bullet, how is it advantageous to be with people of your own race? What right, advantage, or immunity is provided by this circumstance? Is McIntosh really so racist that she gleans some undeniable value from being around people of her own race? Why the racial centrism? Or, more bluntly, why the racism? I don’t care about the race of people around me. I care that they are polite, smart, or at least honest, and interested in important ideas. I care that they have good taste, and are willing to engage in conversation. I care that we are able to have civil disagreements, and discuss their significance with a level head. Race never enters my mind.
The implied ethical standard is this: we should all recognize our privileges, and measure them against the privileges of others for the purposes of seeking a balance in privileges. This, however, cannot be universalized. I am privileged as a man of medium build. I will probably live longer than people that are taller than me, and I have a statistical advantage over shorter people with wooing the opposite sex. Then again, tall people have an even greater advantage in the latter regard, so they should be prompted to recognize their ‘tall privilege.’ Moreover, short people usually live even longer than people of my height, and are generally more nimble, and can fit into smaller spaces more comfortably; surely these are advantages, so they need to be aware of their ‘short privilege.’ How could I possible act to balance these privileges? What good does it do to raise awareness of these privileges?
What about black privilege? I am at a severe disadvantage in seeking certain roles in movies or plays. When I travel to Africa, I’m more likely to be the victim of a crime. If I write an essay like this one, I’m more likely to be called a racist. Are these not privileges that black people enjoy? What is their responsibility to recognize their privilege?
I could talk about smart privilege, red-head privilege, twin privilege, catholic privilege, tribal privilege, or rabbit privilege, and it wouldn’t get me any closer to ending bigotry in the world. Near the end, the author states:
“And listen, recognizing Privilege doesn't mean suffering guilt or shame for your lot in life. Nobody's saying that Straight White Middle Class Able-Bodied Males are all a bunch of assholes who don't work hard for what they have. Recognizing Privilege simply means being aware that some people have to work much harder just to experience the things you take for granted (if they ever can experience them at all.)
"I know now that I AM Privileged in many ways. I am Privileged as a natural born white citizen. I am privileged as a cis-gendered woman. I am privileged as an able-bodied person. I am privileged that my first language is also our national language, and that I was born with an intellect and ambition that pulled me out of the poverty I was otherwise destined for. I was privileged to be able to marry my way "up" by partnering with a Privileged middle-class educated male who fully expected me to earn a college degree.”
So this is basically a Thanksgiving prayer. No matter what your station in life, be grateful for your privilege, or “Privilege.” If you are born a rich Italian supermodel, recognize your privilege in being assured economic stability and reproductive success. If you are born a homeless Somali orphan, recognize your privilege in being eligible for refugee status and government benefits in the U.S.
What’s frustrating to me about all this is, what am I to do with it? I’m grateful I’m alive, and I recognize all the advantages, and disadvantages, I have in my life over many of my fellow humans. I’m at a loss as to what the author is suggesting I do about it. Closer to the end, the call to action seems to be to “raise awareness.” Why would we want to do that? Should we be telling young black children that they are at a statistical disadvantage because of their race or socioeconomic status? Should we be telling young white children that the only reason they have certain opportunities is because of the color of their skin? How would society benefit from such racial centrism? Why not talk about behavior and consequence? If we want the races viewed equally in society, why not eliminate race disparity from our dialogue altogether? After all, it doesn’t have anything to do with… well, anything, beside the color of our skin, hair, and eyes, the shape of our nose, and the placement of our cheekbones.
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