3 // Me? An Oppressor?
My gut reaction when talking about white privilege and racial oppression is to shout
"No thats not me!"
I don't own and mistreat slaves. I don't knowingly use race to subjugate people. I feel myself hating the idea that I may be an oppressor so much that I am blind to the areas where that runs true. And honestly, its a little uncomfortable- no it is very uncomfortable but I know it is so needed and that by opening my eyes to these discrepancies and disparities lends me the opportunity to change them.
The first time I had a friend point out that common Band Aids don't come in other skin colors was the first time my blind eyes were given a little insight into white privilege. What a small and strange detail that can so easily be taken for granted when it comes in your own pale shade.
The next big realization was during a summer spent abroad in Kenya. I was a little surprised to see advertisements where females and males all sported their beautiful dark completions. The pale completions I am so accustomed to seeing in the US weren't represented. I was surprised. I was surprised? In a country where that is the main skin tone to see all of their advertisement reaching their main demographic? What was wrong with me? How could I be so arrogant to expect my own skin color ?
Then, I found myself taking a deep dive into disney movies and the princesses who were represented! Then dolls in stores, and even superheroes! What the heck? How has this happened? Why does Netflix need to have a category called "Dramas with a strong black female lead" ( This is probably not exactly what it said after watching Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder but it was along these lines)*cues camera clicking noises from every Scandal transition scene*
All of these things, although small by themselves, speak loudly that if you are not white- you are not as celebrated, or respected, or even valued enough to have a matching band Aid color.
And all of these seemingly small parts hide our even larger areas of oppression. What are the deeper implications that go beyond the bandaids and superheroes? Does this mean I haven't earned what I have? Am I treated better by neighbors, employers, banks and bosses?
"The pressure to avoid it is great, for in facing it I must give up democracy. If these things are true, this is not such a free country; ones life if not what one makes it..."(McIntosh, 1989)
So what can we do? First and foremost, I think education is key. We need teachers in schools to educate our youth. Make them aware, allow them to be frustrate by this inequity before they too become blind to it. We need to educate our friends and families and fight for the social walls and stigmas to be brought down. Time also will heal but I think it is easy for us to use that as an excuse to not get involved. The realization that something more needs to change other than my own treatment of people of other races- but a societal change- is new to me and I am still wrestling through what that can look like. Would love to hear your opinions
McIntosh, P. (1989). White Priviliage: Unpcking the invisible Knapsack. Peace and Freedom
My gut reaction when talking about white privilege and racial oppression is to shout
ReplyDelete"No that's not me!" Me too. Sometimes the overwhelming embarrassment and discrimination from the white race makes me feel like I don't know where I belong. I am definitely not proud of how my culture has historically treated other races. I am constantly enlightening myself on how our culture is not in favor of those other than the white culture and what we can do to include everyone in our society, as you have done. In my opinion, it is good to feel sick when talking about white privilege and being white. It means that you won't tolerate unfair treatment.
I have felt the same way that you did about movie genres for clubs on campus. Yes, I believe that having African American and Indian culture appreciate groups on campus is an amazing thing, but were those groups made because those cultures felt discriminated against or like they weren't accepted in other groups on campus? I honestly don't know the answer, but I've always hoped that my wondering thoughts were wrong. UT's organizations, like all college campuses across Texas, have been know to be racially discriminating. Do you remember the racist bake sale last spring? Prime example of discrimination on campus.
I loved the part where you mentioned Disney movies, princesses, and superheroes. Isn’t it crazy that although we pride ourselves on diversity, the media that we allow our children to watch either has few traces of diversity or promotes misleading ideas about our history? For example, the Disney film, Pocahontas, portrays Pocahontas as someone who loved and helped John Smith escape death from the chief. In reality, Pocahontas was kidnapped and wedded against her will. I think the discrepancies between history and children and family’s film should be addressed, alongside education. I think reform is necessary throughout all outlets.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that education is key. We need to better educate our youth, friends, and families in regards to oppression, social walls, and stigmas. Doing so will definitely impact our society as it is now. Although such a society change is foreign to us all, I do believe that it would definitely be better than what we have and face in our country now. Everyone is allowed to their own beliefs and opinions. We do not control that, but at least, give them all the facts and let them decide. Just as this course allows me and you the facts, we should give others who are not as privileged the same right.
Amy,
ReplyDeleteI love your brutally honesty regarding your own self and your faults. It is so hard to take that step back and examine where your blind spots are, because as humans we all have them. Your stance on the nude color of the bandaid is also very important. This is something I never put much thought into, which proves just how privileged I am, that it didn't even cross my mind. I agree with you about education being the answer because I personally believe that as human beings we are capable of change and love. I think that a lot of people would be able to make an intimate change of heart towards racial inequality if they were properly educated about it. It is easy for people to be in the dark and stay there. That's why it's up to as us advocates to serve as examples and to educate our peers.
! This is by far one of my favorite blog posts I’ve read so far! It’s really funny and I appreciate your honesty. It is pretty crazy how unapparent privilege can be and what roles it plays in our society when it just seems to be the norm. I’m African American and even I wasn’t questioning all of these small things until I grew older; it was more so about things such as hair products in stores being labeled “Ethic hair care” and having such a small selection to choose from. It’s crazy that I’d have to sometimes go to a specialty store just to get a certain product from my hair when all of the people that were around me could just go down the street to Wal-Mart or HEB. The Disney movies are also crazy! I grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood and looking back now it’s sad that I used to just rationalize that there weren’t many other black girls as leading casts because there weren’t a lot of us. I never really thought about that until writing this! It’s so awesome now to see how certain brands such as Disney are making a better effort to incorporate all groups of people whether minority groups, disabled groups or people that identify as LGBTQA+. All in all as you said, education is the first step and we need to make it a familiar topic in our conversations and come together to find many needed solutions. I think that slowly but surely, we’re on the road!
ReplyDeleteI like how you give your own personal view on how you have been oblivious that your own skin color is the norm and that other colors deviate from that in the United States. This ties into the reading, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, because the daily effect of white privilege drastically differs from colored people privileges. White people do in fact experience the world in a different way since the race is widely represented in a positive manner. Of course, when discussing white privilege and racial oppression, people of non color are more likely to refuse that they are a part of such cruelty. However, white privilege is not something that someone merely does for the thrill of it, but it is a transparent favorable treatment for whites that has prevailed society. One can’t look at racism on an individual level, but rather the system as a whole to actually recognize the injustices of white privilege. It is often a hard concept to address as whites usually feel attacked as if they are being blamed for something they did not do. Only if we all step back and closely inspect the implications that elevate white status, then will society be able to acknowledge the oppression of minorities that has been concealed by white privilege. Indeed, we must educate the future generations about the systems of oppression so that one day there is hope that we can eliminate such elevated statuses that create inequality for the non white privileged.
ReplyDeleteGreat work, Amy! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and reflections about raising critical awareness about injustice, privilege, and inequality in our country and breaking the silence. I hope that the course readings and materials continue to raise awareness and opportunities for education, advocacy and activism. Thank you everyone for your thoughtful responses!
ReplyDeleteAmy,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this blog post, and share many of your feelings about oppression. I love what you said about bandaids and honestly never thought about it myself. What a very interesting way to look at white privilege. I would definitely agree that education is key in moving forward with race issues in America. I myself have learned so much in just a small number of weeks in this class and I think if others were given access to the same education tools there would definitely be change to this world. I also think that something else thanks key is empathy instead of defensiveness. I really enjoyed your blog! Thanks for sharing