Talking Points #1:"White Privilige: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack"

Peggy McIntosh

McIntosh argues that white people have privileges even though they may not realize it exists and this privilege gives them dominance over those without privilege.

Quotes:

1) "I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was "meant" to remain oblivious."

I think McIntosh is basically saying that being white today's society entitles privileges that were not earned but white people benefit from on a daily basis such as being able to walk on the streets without being harassed by the police, going shopping in a store without being followed, driving your car in a nice neighborhood without being pulled over etc. Society teaches us that these privileges do not exist or "hides" this from us so that we continue to benefit while others are oppressed.

2) "In proportion as my racial group was being made confident comfortable, and oblivious, other groups were likely being made unconfident, uncomfortable, and alienated."

In this quote McIntosh says that the other racial groups are meant to feel inferior and segregated as a result of the privileged of her racial group, while white people are meant to feel comfortable with their privilege. Society creates this hidden privilege while those who are privileged continue to benefit while other racial groups are not able to participate in society as much. It is like the age old class system from the middle ages which gives power to those with privilege and intern alienates those without privilege. If you are born white then you have privileges that no one else will have because they are not white.

3) "it is an open question whether we will choose to use unearned advantages to weaken hidden systems of advantage, and whether we will use any of our arbitrarily awarded power to try to reconstruct power systems on a broader base."

I am confused as to what McIntosh is suggesting here. Is it that she feels we should use our privilege to advocate for those without privilege and shift the way society gives power? Is it that we should weaken the system of power with these unearned privileges? Is it that McIntosh is saying that essentially with this unearned awarded power we need to begin to shift the discourse of society and break down this system of power? I'm not quite sure what she is getting at here.

Questions/Comments/Point to Share:

I think that McIntosh brings up some great points about privilege that I never thought of before. I realize that I have "unearned" privileges that I "cash in" on daily which others are not awarded simply because of the color of their skin. When she made the extensive list of privileges which she uses on a daily basis I was surprised at the amount of privileges that I also take for granted each day. This proves how I have been taught to be oblivious. As a white person I just thought these things happened to everybody regardless of skin color or ethnicity. That is why I continue to reap the benefits of my race while others still struggle for "equality."

There are some very clear connections between McIntosh and Lisa Delpit in this text. Just as Delpit explained as the fifth aspect of the culture of power "Those who have power are least likely to recognize...while those without power are most likely to recognize." McIntosh is essentially arguing the same thing. With this "invisible knapsack" of privileges we are meant to remain oblivious while other racial groups are "uncomfortable, unconfident, and alienated." McIntosh also overlaps with Johnson in her argument about society teaching us to remain oblivious. It is the way society perceives us which we get our privilege.

Question: If we are aware of our privilege rather than oblivious as McIntosh says, can we make a conscious effort to help others benefit or is it impossible because of the structure of our society?