I recently read an article suggesting that when white people are told they are exhibiting “white privilege” they should express their thanks. Although this response might be warranted, I find that suggestion psychologically naive. This post explains why the expression “white privilege” can get in the way of effective cross-racial communication. AGB
Originally posted on The Upside Down World:
Want to start a fight? Put an honest white person and an honest person of color in a room together and tell them to discuss white privilege. ?White privilege? is one of those phrases that means two totally different things to most white people and most people of color. Outside of colleges and and multi-cultural training seminars it is a complete conversation stopper that does nothing to illuminate anything and everything to sow seeds of enmity between races. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it?s a phrase that should be abandoned altogether.
?Now, wait a minute, Rebecca,? I can hear some of you saying, ?you?re a white person married to an African American. You?ve even written a book which is enormously sympathetic to the perspectives and experiences of African Americans and quite critical of whites inability/unwillingness to deal with those perspectives and experiences. How can you speak so negatively of ?white privilege?? Isn?t it just a reality??
And that?s just it. If I as an extraordinarily sympathetic white person who can offer hundreds of examples of the ways that racism has affected my husband ? who is just one man! ? hear the phrase ?white privilege? and get my hackles raised, then clearly there?s a problem. And frankly, I really don?t think that the problem is with me. The problem is with the language involved.
View original
