1. Zachary Pauley
FYS 100-210
Harold Blanco
22 February 2016
White Privilege
White Privilege is something that is debated quite a bit in today’s society, and is often
used in disagreements over racism. White privilege can be considered how whites are more
likely to get a job, be attending a school, buying a house, or have an advantage in any everyday
scenario. Whether white privilege is something that is still considered a part of our society today
or not, we can’t ignore our past and how much it dominated how people saw and treated each
other.
Our society has come a long way for African Americans considering how they used to be
enslaved and lived harsh lives dominated by their slave masters who were white men. Once this
became a thing of the past they were still not accepted by the majority. Blacks were made to use
different services then whites even to the point of different bathrooms and water fountains. Fast
forward a few years and blacks are more accepted than ever and have become a normal part in
society and our culture from music, television, and even our first African American President.
Our culture has come a long way, but many claim that white privilege is still in existence today
even if people don’t notice it. White privilege was definitely all over the place in the not too
distant past because it was very common for a white person to get advantages over blacks solely
based on race.
2. However, in today’s modern society I feel like white privilege is not seen as much as it
used to be. This being said, I still think that white privilege is a problem and isn’t right in any
way. I also think that it can still be seen in today’s society and is used more than it should be, but
I don’t think it is used as much. For example, I’m sure that even in today’s times someone has
given a job to a white person over a black person because of that person’s personal feelings
toward them. Even if the black person is more qualified for the job. I believe that when we see
white privilege today, it is because of someone’s personal feelings and it depends strictly on the
individual and how they treat their fellow human beings. Not everyone is racist and when people
say that everyone has racist feelings for someone of a certain group this is often because a person
has a reason to have a strong feeling of dislike with someone. For those who actually are not
racist, this reason for dislike for someone is not because of their skin color, but because of the
individual’s actions and what they did to bring the dislike onto them. White privilege along with
racism has been on the decline for generations with every generation being more accepting of
living with people from other backgrounds and cultures. White privilege is something that is
widely unacceptable today, and can even be a reason for legal action. For example, an employer
can easily be sued if someone thinks that the job in question was given to someone else because
of racial problems.
To conclude, I feel that white privilege is not impossible today and is definitely
unacceptable and should be a thing of the past. Yet, white privilege and racism is nowhere near
as bad as it used to be and our society has come a long way from when blacks were enslaved and
treated separate from whites. When white privilege is seen today, it is because of a person’s
personal feelings for a certain group and it is individuals being racist and not a majority or group
having racist feelings towards another group.
3. References
Wenger, Michael R. "White Privilege. (Cover Story)." Poverty & Race 22.4 (2013): 1.
Points of View Reference Center. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.
"Racism." The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology. AllanG. Johnson. Oxford: Blackwell
Publishers, 2000. Credo Reference. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
