I
t was 1988 when Peggy McIntosh of Wellesley College wrote her essay on “White Privilege.” where she listed 50 “daily effects of white privilege in her life.”
Her list includes such statements as:
#9 — If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.
#12 — I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented.
#17 — I can talk with my mouth full and not have people put this down to my color.
#33 — I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing or body odor will be taken as a reflection on my race.
#46 — I can chose (sic) blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more or less match my skin.
From this paper, many in academia have determined that we live in a society of systemic racism that keeps people of color from succeeding.
I guess no one ever told them about Oprah Winfrey (worth $2.6 billion), Hershel Walker, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, President Barack Obama, Morgan Freeman, Aretha Franklin, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Katherine Johnson, or countless others in the black community who have succeeded in their fields of endeavor.
Anyone who has the mentality that the whole system is against them will never succeed. Preaching White Privilege does nothing to help blacks. What it does is make them angry by telling them they are victims.
Whites who acknowledge this make themselves feel good by “declaring themselves enlightened.”
Former black police officer Brandon Tatum, in a PragerU video, said, “If white people apologize for being white, is that supposed to help me?”
What McIntosh is really talking about is the privilege of the majority. If her parents had moved to China when she was young, she would not have been able to make her list. The same is true for Egypt, South Africa, India, Mexico, and many other countries where the white race is not in the majority.
There are many other privileges that you may or may not be aware of.
Privilege of wealth.
Privilege of beauty.
Privilege of having two loving parents.
Privilege of having a high IQ.
Privilege of having good genes (for health).
Privilege of youth.
Privilege of growing up in a rural community.
Privilege of having a positive attitude.
You may have other privileges you would like to add to this list. The point is, everywhere you look, there is someone with more privilege than you, no matter what your race.
What determines anyone’s success is how they react to their circumstances.
Blacks also have privilege. If two people of different races each apply for a job and have the same qualifications, the employer will often hire the black person.
Colleges and universities bend over backward to admit blacks into their programs to the point of lowering standards.
The most important privilege we all share, black, white, Hispanic, or Asian, is the fact that we all live in the greatest country in the world — the United States of America.
The U.S.A. is full of more diversity, equality and opportunities than anyplace else on the planet. That is why more people want to immigrate to our shores than to any other country in the world.
Author Chad E. Cooper, in his article entitled “American Privilege” explains that “America is the only country that I know of that provides the opportunity for so many of different ethnicity’s to move from survival to success and significance if you earn it.”
Perhaps Adam Zaidi, a black man, said it best in his response to a YouTube video concerning white privilege. “I used to believe that white privilege exists until I started making better choices. When I was out in the streets doing bad things, the police harassed me constantly, and I was in and out of jail. When I got married and started making better choices, I never got harassed again, never went to jail again, and now I own a business, a house, four cars, and I have money in the bank to spend with my beautiful wife. Stop making excuses because it’s all about the choices you make. White Privilege is a myth.”
With the 250th birthday of the United States of America just 10 days away, let us all give thanks that we live in the most privileged country in the world.
