White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack - Essay Example

Student nameProfessor’s name Course:Date:White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible BackpackIn a nutshell “it is easy for a person, or rather a “white person”, to take undue advantage and be comfortable with the benefits that are achieved due to skin tone distinction as it is not taught to be considered as an idea of privilege”The advantages to believing that one’s moral state depends on his/her individual moral will is that a person might be able to reach a significant level of self-actualization and realize if at times he/she is being an oppressor.

Even as a kid we are taught about oppression but NOT how we may be acting as an oppressor or a “participant in a damaged culture”. Due to this fact an unconscious state arouses in which people of other ethnic groups are not just made uncomfortable but oppressed, alienated and are a direct target of racism.What is most disturbing about the idea of unearned advantage is that nobody wants to resist it because after all in the 21st century who lets go of anything FREE. Most people would not pay any attention to this privilege even if they do understand how significantly it damages the morale of other people.

The right to speak freely is something that everybody might benefit from in a just society. But items in McIntosh’s list such as going alone to the market, seeing people of her own race in commercials and billboards, such things have a highly negative impact on the “other” people might even causing acute depression.Disapproving of the system itself won’t just be enough to change this atrocity because the point is that everybody has to stand up against this issue and take radical steps to remove this practice but the major question is how do we give the right motivation to people to give up an extra privilege that they are thoroughly enjoying?

The answer to my question might be in the practice that humans have inborn capability/weakness to follow a leader so a person must emerge as a leader making an example of him/herself and try and bring change then an article might not bring about a change as such but after all “the pen is mightier than the sword”.(McIntosh, 2000)From a Native DaughterNot just the lament of Hawaiians but across the globe many countries, religions and groups suffer from the same shameful fate that this era has thrust upon us.

The words of elders are considered as the mumblings or babblings of an over-aged person, a person who puts emotions before facts or so “they” (the historians) say but what is really the truth?Any country or nation can be known but its set of culture and traditions. Just as to judge any person, you try and learn his/her nature similarly to fully comprehend the history of any piece of land the culture, traditions and values are the footnote, index and bibliography of their history. The lament of Hawaiians is comprehendible only for somebody who might have a history that goes way back and the honor of that is taken away from them.

As a Muslim I realize and understand the pain cause there is no history of the scientific advancements that the Muslims made while the world was in chaos and Europeans were burning witches on crucifixes.The Hawaiians history passed generation to generation specifically explain that how much they loved the land and especially even if you visit the land now the people there are highly obsessive with their love of land. One might even say that they have a slight OCD but the historians wrote what they wanted the impression to make and sadly many graduates of history must have learned that knowledge and would pass it on to their apprentices as factual study.

It is extremely sad to see that the people who invited the Westerners as guests suffered their demise from their hands but this is what happens in most cases. This is what happened to most countries who became colonies first, they had to lose a lot of their heritage the same as we residing in the sub-continent had to go through so the best way to honor our heritage is guiding our siblings and our generations with the truth and hoping to retain that honor by making our newer generations excel so much that as a senior positon holder we might be able to re-write history itself (Trask, 2005) Race, Class and GenderWe say that we have moved on from these small time issues of Race, Class and Gender but then again let’s take a look again we see that when the hurricane of Katrina stuck the African-Americans the most underprivileged of the people were the last to receive care and attention.

In this era seeing such selfish behavior and people still disputing over the color of skin it is not only shameful but a point where we must ask ourselves what really has humanity become?Are we really human ? Or rather what is the meaning of being human?If we have stretched as far as to the moon and planning to engage a trip to Mars then why is that we cannot overcome such petty differences? We put the blame to our ancestors, our education, our government, our policies but what have we OURSELVES really done to make an impact and bring about change?

The answer to this question we see hidden deep inside all of us is that we have done NOTHING we are at a forefront where we intend to hide our face or look the other way and pretend nothing is happening behind our backs. In my point of view we are all culprits and the blame is equally divided on all of us.We see even in the most progressive state in the world the United States of America, the poverty level is huge. People are on the roads. Back when the 2006 financial market crisis hit half the American population was sleeping on the roads.

And when the time to elect a President came we see Hillary Clinton was oppressed because the Americans did not want a woman as their leader. We must put an end to this irrational behavior ourselves and take radical actions against it (Andersen and Collins 2007) ReferencesAndersen, Margaret L, and Collins P. Hill. Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2007. Print. Trask, Haunani-Kay. From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai'i. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2005. Print.Top of FormMcIntosh, Peggy.

 White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. S.l, 2000. Print.Bottom of Form