White Privilege and the American Myth

My facebook feed has been blowing up quite a bit this week with some of my friends posting their outrage in some way to an article published in the conservative Princeton Tory titled “Checking My Privilege: Character as the Basis of Privilege”. The conservative sphere have been all over this guy and just eating up everything this guy has to say. It is as if they have found a champion of sort. A young millennial with some conservative views, they’re like a needle in a haystack. Perhaps that is why his article is receiving so much attention. I’ve heard all these misunderstood views before, the only difference this time is that it is said by a young Ivy League educated student. Because his article has received so much attention, I feel the obligation to respond to some of the points to prevent misinformation among the masses. The writer argues in the article that the phrase checking your privilege is insulting because it doesn’t tell the entire picture. Kinda like stereotypes. It doesn’t tell about the struggles that the individual goes through and demerits their achievements. He goes on and uses the example of his grandparents who have gone through many struggled in their life such as his grandparents escaping a concentration camp during the holocaust and coming to the United States with next to nothing so he condemns people who say that he did not work hard for his achievements and  that he owes it all to some inherent privilege he has by the color of his skin. The writer closes with saying that he will not apologize for his so called white privilege and should not have to. So basically this writer is just another typical white male who is ignorant of their white privilege.

They completely miss the point about the phrase check your privilege. One of the worst offense you could do in my humble opinion is to complain about or criticize something without actually knowing what it is you are talking about and this writer certainly does not know what the phrase check your privilege actually means. Checking your privilege means acknowledging that the systems and structures put in place benefits the group in the majority. It does not mean that every white man got where they are merely because of inherent privileges nor does it mean to demerit their achievements. Being a male myself, I belong to the majority gender or at least the gender that this system and structure seems to prefer. I most likely will never know and experience rape nor be a victim of gender discrimination in the workforce, etc. That is a privilege that I acknowledge and it does not mean by doing so that my efforts and merits are discredited. It simply means that I acknowledge that certain things are stacked in my favor because of my gender. Now lets get to the fact that despite our young ivy league freshmen complaining about not having any kind of white privilege, his post reeks of white privilege. Lets examine this passage below:

It has been my distinct privilege that my grandparents came to America. First, that there was a place at all that would take them from the ruins of Europe. And second, that such a place was one where they could legally enter, learn the language, and acclimate to a society that ultimately allowed them to flourish. It was their privilege to come to a country that grants equal protection under the law to its citizens, that cares not about religion or race, but the content of your character.

 

Yep, white privilege all over. This passage uses all sorts of bullshit rhetoric regarding what I call the American Myth. The writer does not realize that his grandparents were “allowed” to flourish here in the United States and gain legal entry because of white privilege. Asians and Latinos did not have such a privilege to be granted citizenship and equal protection under the law.  While his grandparents were allowed to come here and flourish, Chinese were excluded, Japanese americans were put into internment camps, and blacks were segregrated in various parts of life. Experiences like these the writer’s grandparents and parents would never have to experience because of white privilege. So yes, young Ivy League student, check your privilege because you clearly have missed it. Otherwise you probably would not be writing such a piece that is so misinformed and lacking of knowledge. Okay enough of the bashing and criticism. The writer is only a freshmen in college. For that I give him credit for a well written piece. Maybe its his naivete and his views will change as he advances further into his education or maybe not. But I respect him as a dignified human being to be able to express such views. For those that did not read the article. A link can be found below. http://theprincetontory.com/main/checking-my-privilege-character-as-the-basis-of-privilege/

How Easily they Forget the Past. A History of Blackface

Last week, Nick cannon sparked some outrage in the internet community when he posted a picture of himself in his white alter-ego persona  “Connor Smallnut” donning whiteface. You can see the image here.

Of course, Cannon painting himself white to try and portray a white person would offend somebody with people accusing him of being a hypocrite. The controversy here is that those who are offended by Cannon’s use of whiteface are wondering why is it that people get offended when they don blackface but it is supposedly okay when a black person goes whiteface. It is an interesting conversation to have that I think not enough people are talking about. On the surface these two issues appear to be very similar, but that is not necessarily the case. The difference between these two issues is history. The history of blackface runs deep and is a part of our shameful past.

Blackface is a form of makeup used by performers to try and represent a black person on stage or screen. White people would routinely play characters who were meant to be black by applying this form of makeup. It is considered offensive because of the stereotypical caricature depiction of a black person. It represents the dehumanization of black people and their lack of opportunity in the world and ability to represent themselves in the world of theater and media. The result is a distorted view of black culture and its people. Blacks are not the only group that face this issue. Native Americans and Asian-Americans too have faced their fair share of yellowface and redface as well. It may not sound that horrible or anything worth fretting over, but it is. Media is a powerful thing and people’s culture and ethnicity should be portrayed honestly and accurately.

Well, there you have it. A brief history and description of blackface and why it offends people today. Historically, the term whiteface is not associated in a negative light nor do I think it is a term that actually officially exists. The issue of blackface has to do with more than just covering up to look black. It represents the denied opportunities that the minority group do not get to enjoy as much as those in the majority. Luckily, the situation is definitely improving as blackface is nearly nonexistent in film and black people are given roles and opportunities to play honest and accurate roles though the situation is still quite limited for the other previously mentioned groups.

Whiteface does not have the history that blackface does and that is why the two issues are quite different. It is not just about putting on makeup to look like a certain group. I think Cannon had it right when he said blackface is about oppression in his interview on Good Morning America which you can briefly read about here. http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/03/31/nick-cannon-responds-to-whiteface-criticism/

George Stephanopoulus brought up a question asked by a facebook user asking would it be the same if Eminem had an album named Black People Rapper Music. My answer, no it wouldn’t be the same and that is because of history. So the stunt with Nick Cannon is not necessarily a case where the minority gets a free pass at racism while the majority does not. We want to believe that we live in a society where color, ethnicity, creed, etc. does not matter and that we are blind. I want to live in that world one day myself. But sadly, that day is not today and it will be awhile. So until that day comes, we must understand our history and the differences we share. But that difference should not be something that divides us, rather it should be something to celebrate.

That is not to say that I think what Nick Cannon did was okay. Of course a stunt like that would have offended someone and I think that he should not have done it without expecting some kind of controversy or backlash. But I feel like the people that are offended are offended for the wrong reasons. They do not understand the history of blackface and why people should be offended at such practice. Perhaps Nick Cannon did it simply as a joke and since there is not negative history associated with it, it would be okay. But history or no, it was poor taste. I’m quite the believer in the saying an eye for an eye will leave the world blind.

That’s all I have to say about the issue. Another excuse to inform you guys about history.

In the Defense of Generation Y

There was the Baby Boomers, then there was Gen X, and now there are the Millennials. History has more or less closed the books on the formers, but the Millennials are still writing their stories and I hope it turns out be to a good one. I can’t help but notice all the derogatory terms being thrown our way way. If you guys haven’t already heard, we are known to others as generation me, trophy kids, narcissistic, lazy, and entitled. I don’t think that there has been a generation as misunderstood and reviled as ours. Being a Millennial or Gen Y or however you want to call us myself, I feel that I have to at least try to defend our misunderstood generation.

Before I go into all of that, lets start with some background history. The post World War II world became a time of prosperity. Returning veterans reaped the benefits of the G.I Bill which promoted home ownership and the pursuit of higher education. These veterans now were able to receive a college education when only some  years ago, they could only have dream of. With cheap loans for housing, it became for affordable. So now, you have more people who were college education and owning houses, which meant that they could earn better wages and live more comfortably. Times were good. People were settling down, having kids, and enjoying their nice picket fences. These kids were what we call the Baby Boomers and they grew up in a time that seem like everything was good. Then they had kids and they too believed in the same message. But sadly, the goods times couldn’t last forever and now here we are with the dilemma of Gen Y.

I can’t say that the negative labels are completely false. I mean there is a good explanation on why they call us trophy kids and entitled. For those of you who don’t know, trophy kids refer to the idea that participation is enough to make you a winner hence the trophy. The last generation in general lived the good life. It was only natural they would communicate the same message to their kids. So we were told that we were going to be winners. That’s not the reality however, not everyone can have a white collar salary even if they were qualified or not. That’s just not how capitalism works. There’s simply just not enough room for everyone to achieve white collar status.

I think this is the part that people just don’t understand. It’s not necessarily that we feel self-entitled. We just want what our parents had. We’re just unlucky for being born into a time with so many problems. Here’s some of the issues that we have inherited.

1) Global climate change that the previous generations have only made worse.

2) A world where the income inequality gap is getting larger.

3) Underemployment.

4) A political system that doesn’t serve our interests.
5) The rising costs of college.

6) The repercussions of the housing bubble.

7) Living through a recession caused by the last generation.

8) For the first time ever, we are doing worse than our parents.

There’s a lot to be disillusioned about so cut us some damn slack. The millennials are some of the most educated generation that has been around. I don’t care if you think getting a degree in something like communication or philosophy is crap. Those people still made it through college and frankly, it is a task that I think should still be worth celebrating in itself. Never mind the idea of job competitiveness in the marketplace or the practicality of certain degrees. That topic will be discussed perhaps another time. To just even have a college education is something that was revered and respected. Why should that change?  We got a huge mess to clean up, and we feel overwhelmed by all of that. The world seems so screwed up and the stories of good times told by our parents turned out to be crap.

So here’s to generation Y. A generation so misunderstood. I hope some light has been shed on the topic and no matter how much crap we get, in the end, we will inherit the world as it is our birthright just like every generation before us. When that time comes, when we inherit power. This I am optimistic about but who knows what the future really holds. Perhaps we’ll all be dead by then and finally the world will realize the mess handed to us.