Peggy McIntosh

My summary of the thesis for this article is when Peggy states, "As a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage.  While Peggy talks about how racism is seen as putting others at a disadvantage, I have never really thought about connecting these two ideas together.  It seems so obvious after reading the article but the idea was still hard to sink in for me.  I guess it is because personally I have never looked at myself as having such an advantage over others based soley on my race.  I have several friends of color and I have personally never felt that way.  This reading really opened my eyes to the realitites that others my face.  As a person of privilege, I feel like I do want to be accountable and help lesson this privilege.  The question for me is what kinds of situations can I put myself in to do that.

I agree with the statement: "Disapproving of the systems won't be enough to change them.  I was taught to think that racism could end if white individuals changed their attitudes."  Changing racism requires more than just individual attitudes to change.  There is a difference between your attitude about racism and your actions.  The article explains how white skin opens up many doors for us in the U.S.  Some of us may be aware of this privilege and not necessarily ever do anything about it.

I would personally disagree with the statement: "Whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative, and a average, and also ideal, so that when we work to benefit others, this is seen as work which will allow " them" to be more like "us." I know that when I personally work to benefit others, I don't see it as work which will allow "them" to be more like "us."  Maybe I am just unconscious of this feeling and blind to it.  I know that I need to open my eyes more and become more conscious of this privilege that I possess.

A statement that spurs me into "action" in some way- Privileges that overpower certain groups, number 20. I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children's magazines featuring people of my race.  My mom encountered this situation when she went to look for a black baby doll for my son at the store.  She told me that she was having a hard time finding one.  So when I went to the store I wanted to see what different colors of dolls they had at the store.  I noticed that the majority of them were white.  I may have found a doll that I liked for my son but it was not a black doll.  This makes me want to take action by writing the toy company a letter.  I would want to find out why they don't make more dolls of color.  I would be willing to buy one if they had the doll I was looking for.  It seems that these companies make assumptions about what they think consumers want.