Privilege

This topic has been creating controversy all across America due to the inequalities that have been plaguing our country for years. What is privilege? It’s a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group. I was recently watching a documentary on Netflix called: “Hello privilege, it’s me, Chelsea.” Where comedian/talkshow host Chelsea Handler shed light on “white privilege” in America. Some people may be a little confused with the term “white privilege”, but allow me to define it for you. White privilege, according to Wikipedia, refers to societal privilege that benefits white people over non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or economic circumstances. With roots in European colonialism the Atlantic Slave trade, and the growth of the Second British Empire after 1783, white privilege has developed in circumstances that have broadly sought to protect white racial privileges, various national citizenships and other rights or special benefits.

Even with proof, people still choose to turn a blind eye to the fact that some people or groups are more privileged than others. Chelsea Handler talked about how she use to be oblivious to her “white privilege” until recently. She shared situations to where she got away with not going to jail for having drugs on her, but at the time her then boyfriend would always get arrested. Her ex boyfriend was black and she thought that she didn’t get arrested because she was nice. She also talked about how she got away with a lot of stuff in her career that a black woman would never have gotten away with. During her documentary she even went around interviewing white and black people to see what their views were on “white privilege” and how we could heal as a country and treat people of color equal. For the most part, the black people said that it needs to be acknowledged that it’s happening in the first place. Some also stated that the issue is “white people problems” and that they need to have an open dialogue with one another and figure out what their issue is. Others said that less talking needs to be done and more action.

When she interviewed white people some responded with disregard to the issue, others thought that everything was fine and that we have come along way as a country, while some thought that we should “get over it” and move on. One lady stated that “we all have equal opportunities and my privilege didn’t get me anywhere. I got there by working hard.” It was interesting to see the different responses from the ones that were affected negatively by “white privilege” and the ones who benefited from it. My take away from the documentary was that it’s hard for a lot of white people to realize that “white privilege” does exist because it’s not hurting their lives. Most were oblivious to it because they don’t associate themselves around a lot of people who are oppressed. If you are interested in knowing more about why people are blind to their privilege, here is another great article I’ve recently ran across https://www.mindful.org/the-research-on-white-privilege-blindness/. A psychologist, named Taylor Phillips, talks about “privilege blindness” and how it is a form of something psychologists call motivated reasoning, in which we perceive the world in ways that mesh with our personal beliefs about what is right and what we want to be true. I believe this is all a learning experience and if we start shedding light on these uncomfortable topics, we can all learn and grow. In the words of Renita Siqueira, “Privilege can either blind or be an eye-opener. The choice is ours”.