Last Blog

Privilege, Power, and Difference: What Can We Do?By Allan Johnson

Premise

· Power
· Privilege
· Race
· Acceptance
· Change
· Discrimination
· Differences
· Solutions
· Problems


Johnson argues that change in our society can only be possible if we become more aware of the problem and issues concerning privilege and power in today’s world and the best way to make change is to change your own ways first.


Evidence:

1. “Rather than trying to change people, the most important thing we can do is contribute to shifting entire cultures so that forms and values that support privilege begin to lose their “obvious” legitimacy and normalcy, and new forms emerge to challenge their privileged place in social life.”
2. “In many ways, the biggest challenge for members of privileged groups is to work with one another on issues of privilege rather than trying to help members of subordinate groups.”
3. "Once we can see and talk about what's going on, we can analyze how it works as a system. We can identify point of leverage where change can begin" (126).


Points to share:

I think this last piece that we have read was a perfect and extremely powerful wrap up to a great semester. This piece wrapped up everything we have learned. We have the power and now it is time for us all to enforce change in the world by teaching our students about privilege and power. I think this piece was a great choice for our last blog.

YAYYYYYYYYY

we worked on our main arguments and are finishing up our slides

should be done soon

:)

Bernard Lefkowitz's Our Guys

Premise:

· Cruelty
· Mistreatment
· Rape
· Disability
· Privilege
· Lack of respect
· Anger
· Friendship
· Advantages
· Friendship
· Laws
· Defend
· Jocks
· Rules
· Status

Argument:

Lefkowitz argues that affluence and privilege can inflate the self-importance of otherwise unremarkable young men, not always with good results.

Evidence:

1. 1. "I began to frame Glen Ridge as a story of power and powerlessness: the power of young males and the community that venerated them, and the powerlessness of one marginalized young woman-" (2)

2. “But I also recognized that even with all these advantages, kids don’t always fulfill their parents’ expectations. Some people have the benefit of wealth and nurturing parents and a good education, and still wind up morally and financially bankrupt. There are no fool proof master plans for success. I knew that because of what had happened three months before in this town”( 4)

3. “But these glen ridge kids they were pure gold every mother’s dream, every father’s pride. They were not only glen ridges finest but in their perfection they belonged to all of us. They were Our Guys”(5)

4. “Millions of Americans discovered that Glen Ridge was not a foreign and alien culture, but all too closely resembled their own communities. Glen Ridge’s test of character became America’s test of character… Like Glen Ridge, America has been forced in recent years to define what are fair, just and principled relations, between men and women. That has not been easy for Glen Ridge to do. And it hasn’t been easy for America either.”

Thoughts to share:
This story truly shows the privilege of white wealthy males in our American society. Reading this made me cringe. What those boys did to Leslie was awful and what made it worse was that people in the town were blaming her for it. The boys knew better without a doubt in my mind. This type of incident I am sure happens throughout America. And I think that it’s sickening that people who have power and privilege just dismiss it and think it’s ok and that it’s a tragedy to the perpetrators and the victim was asking for it. this is a prime example of what we have been talking about all semester

Whites Swim in Racial Preference
By Tim Wise

Premise:

§ Race
§ Whiteness
§ People of color
§ Power
§ Inequalities
§ Racial preference
§ Rights
§ Privileges
§ Lack of privileges
§ Laws
§ Families
§ Fair vs. unfair
§ Opportunities
§ Change


Argument:

Wise argues that “it is hardly an exaggeration to say that white America is the biggest collective recipient of racial preference in the history of the cosmos. It has skewed our laws, shaped our public policy and helped create the glaring inequalities with which we still live.” and we don’t even realize it.


Evidence

1.“White families, on average, have a net worth that is 11 times the net worth of black families, according to a recent study; and this gap remains substantial even when only comparing families of like size, composition, education and income status.”

2. “Yet few whites have ever thought of our position as resulting from racial preferences. Indeed, we pride ourselves on our hard work and ambition, as if somehow we invented the concepts. As if we have worked harder than the folks who were forced to pick cotton and build levies for free; harder than the Latino immigrants who spend 10 hours a day in fields picking strawberries or tomatoes; harder than the (mostly) women of color who clean hotel rooms or change bedpans in hospitals, or the (mostly) men of color who collect our garbage.” I think this quote is really powerful I never think of these jobs as racial but when you really think about it you never see a white individual doing the “dirty jobs” unless they are truly forced too. And the sad part is that many of these indivuals aren’t even getting the pay rate that they deserve.

3.” We strike the pose of self-sufficiency while ignoring the advantages we have been afforded in every realm of activity: housing, education, employment, criminal justice, politics, banking and business. We ignore the fact that at most every turn, our hard work has been met with access to an opportunity structure to which millions of others have been denied similar access. Privilege, to us, is like water to the fish: invisible precisely because we cannot imagine life without it.”


Points to share:

I think this peace is an incredibly eye opening read, it was very straight forward and presented many facts very frankly think as a white individual I do take many of these things for granted and personally I really have never thought about them. This class has opened up my eyes to the struggles that all races have to deal with on a daily bases. And I am really glad that I am not so oblivious to them anymore.