White Privilege Knapsack

Quotes


Quote #1: "White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, code books, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks" (McIntosh 1).

In this text, Peggy McIntosh talks a lot about white privilege and the "white privilege knapsack." But what is the white privilege knapsack? To me it's an invisible bag that all white people are wearing at all times. Since they are white, they are lucky enough to have all the right tools to help them in any tough situation. On the other hand, black people also have a bag they carry around. However, they have about one-third of the tools that white people have. This has nothing to do with their skills or how much money that have. It has only to do with the color of their skin.
This bag that black people carry around is suppose to help them in any siuation wheather it be getting into college or getting a good job. The white people will be able to get the better jobs and get to college much easier than blacks because of all the tools they have in their bag to help them.


Quote #2: "Life is not what one makes of it; many doors open for certain people through no virtues of their own" (McIntosh 4).

I have always heard the quote "Life is what you make of it." Reading this part of the article made me re-think the meaning of the quote. The author is right about how life is not always your own take upon it. Privilege is what makes your life. You can be black, trying so hard to be successful and privilege just gets in the way. It's liked a locked door and you don't have the key to get in. You try so hard to get it open, but without the key, you'll never get through. For a white person, the privilege door isn't even locked. They still have to get it open but its much easier to open because of their privilege.


Quote #3: "I think whites are carfully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege" (McIntosh 1).

In this quote, the author is trying to say that people of a dominent or privileged group, are taught not to realize that privilege exists. They feel it does not affect them, so it's not really happening. Privilege and Racism usually are only noticed by the people it affects the most. I feel that if the privileged people don't take into consideration what is going on, then nothing will ever be solved.


Comments:

I never thought of bandages being part of white privilege. Now that I have read about it, I can see where the author is coming from. Bandages always come in "flesh colored." But who's to say that everyone's flesh color is the same? Many people are much darker than the color that bandages come in. It's just another way that white privilege is very powerful in this country.