- Why do you think it was personally important for her to
create an inventory of unearned privileges she experiences as a white
person?
I believe it was important for Peggy to create an
inventory of unearned privileges because it lets her lay it all down on paper.
It is clearer to see how she experiences all these privileges, or most of these
in a single day. At first, she describes White privilege as a knapsack with
special provisions. A knapsack is a type of backpack, and in this backpack, there
are such things as a map, water, canned food, tools, clothes and certain things
one would need. She compares this to things people of white skin can get. She
then later lists opportunities she gets. Stuff a white woman can have but not
the black woman. In this list she points out things she can wear, purchase,
have, and over all things she can privilege.
She thought it was important to lay them out because a
lot of privileges come from different places like class status or religion, ethnicity,
geographic location, etc. All of these seem to be intertwined and so Peggy
wanted to get what related to every white women around the world no matter
where she was. She then found a problem where one cannot evade these
privileges. They were set out for the holder since birth and if that was so,
how free was the country really?
4. Should people be responsible for the disadvantages of others outside their personal identity groups?
ReplyDeleteThe answer to that is no. I mean, there is just too many identity groups people identify with and everyone trying to be equal is just impossible. There is gay, black, asian, latino, women, rich, poor, man, muslim, and jewish Americans and having to be responsible for everyone's shortcomings is stupid honestly. There is going to be disadvantages in every personal group you identify with and you have to learn to play life with the cards you are dealt with, without complaining other people have it better than you. As a Hispanic, am I going to make Asian people feel responsible that I failed at something in life? No. If I failed something, it's because of my own fault, not because of someone else from another group. Nobody should feel sorry for you regardless if your a man, woman, white, rich, poor, straight or gay.
On a serious note, not everyone can be born to the perfect circumstances in life. Do you think Chinese people living in China feel sorry for the minority groups living in China? They don't.
1.Do you agree with her premise that Americans are obsessed with the concept of meritocracy?
ReplyDeleteI do agree with her premise that Americans are obsessed the concept of meritocracy. Meritocracy is a political philosophy holding that power should be vested in individuals almost exclusively based on ability and talent. I think this is the idea that Americans were taught generation after generation when the idea of capitalism were developed and completed in the United States. I think the idea of meritocracy has a lot of similarities with Capitalism and social Darwinism. Both of them value ability that an individual has, and people who believe in these theories would agree that people with abilities and talents should be able to be the ones to be in the top class in the society. Some people might also agree that there should be some level of inequality in terms of class, assets and power. And as we all know, America is a country that is built based on the idea of Capitalism and competition, Americans are the group of people that believe deeply in Capitalism and competition. So I would agree that Americans do believe with, if not all, most parts of the concept of meritocracy as well.
4. Should people be responsible for the disadvantages of others outside of their personal identity groups?
ReplyDeleteIn Peggy McIntosh's short essay "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” McIntosh takes the reader through her experience of how she came to realize how she had “white privileges” in her society that she did not previously notice. She even lists the different type of privileges she could think of that were granted to her for the sole reason of her being born white. The argument made of whether people of different cultural backgrounds are responsible for each others disadvantages is not valid. People of different cultures are undeniably different and though in a perfect world where we are all treated equal and everyone is fair to each other would be nice, its hard to say that is the situation that we live in today. Though it seems like we only have the other person to blame when we see different cultures getting advantage when buying a house, walking through a store, or getting a job; we only have society as a whole to blame. Personally, coming from a town where it is predominately Hispanic, I could see first hand how people of my culture were given certain advantages just for being like most others. Coming to a place more culturally diverse like Texas State has shown me a refreshing side of society where I feel it is more leveled out.
2.
ReplyDeleteIn Peggy McIntosh’s article I thought it was important how she created an inventory if unearned privileges she experienced because she is white. This I feel is important because you see all the things she earned just because she was born “white” and not because she had to work for it. MacIntosh wanted to list all of these conditions to prove a point to others that earning things because of your skin color isn’t right. This list was also like an eye opener to her because she didn’t realize how much she took for granted. She is basically apologizing to other races because she took the unearned privileges.
4. Should people be responsible for the disadvantages of others outside of their personal identity groups?
ReplyDeleteIn Peggy McIntosh's short essay "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” McIntosh tells her story from her firsthand experience of how she came to realize how she had “white privileges” in her society that she did not previously notice. She starts by numbering all the privileges she possesses due to her skin color. These privileges is what she feels like she has over other people of color. In this sick world where we live we have to argue whether other people should feel responsible for disadvantages of others due to their skin color where no one has control over. In reality there should be no disadvantages at all and everyone should be equal. People cannot be held accountable for others misfortunes. Racism is a plague that are forefathers started and should have been put to an end. From experience I was always looked differently due to my ability to speak a foreign language, and area of residence. People are quick to judge others so harshly based on skin. No one should feel they were the reason for others disadvantages but instead try and fight for equality.
4.
ReplyDeleteRacism will always be a thing in society and while sad people need to overcome that. People should not be responsible for the disadvantages of others, because who are we to decide what is fair and whats not. For example, a black student is 3x more likley than a white male to be accepted into an institution. So if we're gonna deal with the disadvantages of others one race will always be left out whether it's white, black, etc. We instead need to recognize each other as one people and race and only then can we move on and no race will be "above" the others. Peggy Mcintosh is apologizing to other races on the premise of her race. It's pathetic and sad that she feels the need to apologize on the behalf of an entire race because she's white. Who is she to apologize or talk about disadvantages of other races. For arguments sake, Dr. Ben Carson has spoken out against NAACP for their acts. He proclaims that they divide races instead of bridging them. He also goes into detail how it is much easier for an African Male to be accepted into to college over a white male. Is that fair? No one can be responsible for the disadvantages of others.