Un4g1vng0dZ
Senior Member
- Mar 28, 2017
- 207
- 98
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What's up peeps? So I am a 22 year old white guy.. I have been wondering for sometime what exactly white privilege is and what it means to have this thing called white privilege. I must admit that when I first heard this term it seemed almost a sarcstic slur and I was somewhat offended..like really? You are telling me I'm special and it makes me a bad person? I felt as if I was being targeted and blamed for having been born as a white man. Well to answer my own question yes and no...and not in the sense as i first took it.
Ok so first question i faced while trying to understand this is What does white privilege even mean? I have come to define it as- a society built upon white heritage and the sucess of a white person based off being white and the ignorance of this.
What do I mean? America was founded upon white religon..only focusing on the prosperity of this establishment. Even though America is a "free" country where you should experience these "freedoms" despite race, religion, and nationality the fact remains that it was founded and built around white religion and thus deems anything not of the nature as wrong in societies view. (Not going to indulge myself with the religion topic) Whether you realize this or not it happens on a day to day basis in America. For example maybe the black man had a better resume but you hired the white guy because he seemed "more professional" (subconscious: not black) ..it could be anything like this. The number of examples are endless to say the least. Now am I saying that all white people are born to be successful? Or that black people are born doomed to be failures? Umm no not at all in the end you will be as successful as you make yourself you have to put the time and energy into your goals to achieve them.
Knowingly or not, society in America has been built to favor white people. We (the white community) are ignorant to the fact of this white privilege..which in turn enables this to continue throughout the generations. Does this mean you are racist because you are ignorant to this? No, this just means nothing is being done to correct this in society. Becoming aware of this and implementing ways of fixing this is one of the many steps (in my opinion) in eliminating racism in America. Am I a bad person for being born white? No not at all, being a good or bad person is entirely up to ones self...while I may not be proud of the decisions and actions of some of my ancestors...I can't change the past. I can't change the fact that I am white. I can change the way I view things.
In conclusion I feel like this is a valid, existent issue in America. The first step in fixing this is realizing it exists..being self- aware. Next is raising awareness to it and finally change... Change..a law, an opinion, anything that essentially favors any one person or race. (Aiming the "change" thing outside of just white privilege alone)
If you made it this far sorry for the long post and thank you for taking the time to read it. I accept any and all opinions of my personal opinion. Please let me know your thoughts, agrees and disagrees.
Ok so first question i faced while trying to understand this is What does white privilege even mean? I have come to define it as- a society built upon white heritage and the sucess of a white person based off being white and the ignorance of this.
What do I mean? America was founded upon white religon..only focusing on the prosperity of this establishment. Even though America is a "free" country where you should experience these "freedoms" despite race, religion, and nationality the fact remains that it was founded and built around white religion and thus deems anything not of the nature as wrong in societies view. (Not going to indulge myself with the religion topic) Whether you realize this or not it happens on a day to day basis in America. For example maybe the black man had a better resume but you hired the white guy because he seemed "more professional" (subconscious: not black) ..it could be anything like this. The number of examples are endless to say the least. Now am I saying that all white people are born to be successful? Or that black people are born doomed to be failures? Umm no not at all in the end you will be as successful as you make yourself you have to put the time and energy into your goals to achieve them.
Knowingly or not, society in America has been built to favor white people. We (the white community) are ignorant to the fact of this white privilege..which in turn enables this to continue throughout the generations. Does this mean you are racist because you are ignorant to this? No, this just means nothing is being done to correct this in society. Becoming aware of this and implementing ways of fixing this is one of the many steps (in my opinion) in eliminating racism in America. Am I a bad person for being born white? No not at all, being a good or bad person is entirely up to ones self...while I may not be proud of the decisions and actions of some of my ancestors...I can't change the past. I can't change the fact that I am white. I can change the way I view things.
In conclusion I feel like this is a valid, existent issue in America. The first step in fixing this is realizing it exists..being self- aware. Next is raising awareness to it and finally change... Change..a law, an opinion, anything that essentially favors any one person or race. (Aiming the "change" thing outside of just white privilege alone)
If you made it this far sorry for the long post and thank you for taking the time to read it. I accept any and all opinions of my personal opinion. Please let me know your thoughts, agrees and disagrees.
