Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash

White Privilege

Sammy Ortiz
Aug 8, 2017 · 3 min read

When my kids were little we would play hide and go seek in the house. The kids would always hide in the same spots or they would hide in places where they were visible but imagined they were invisible. My wife and I would play along and ask, “I wonder where Josh or Kayla is?”. They immediately would yell out with laughter, ‘we’re right here’. Lots of fun. Unfortunately people want to act as if white privilege is invisible. It’s not as funny as the hide and seek game I played with my kids either.

What Is It?

According to Peggy McIntosh, white privilege is where whites in Western societies enjoy advantages that non-whites do not experience, as “an invisible package of unearned assets”.

Did you read the last part of the sentence? ‘An invisible package of unearned assets’. It’s as if it’s automatic for white people to get these unearned assets just because they’re white.

Not All Privilege is the Same

I’ve had many conversations with white people where they get defensive immediately and say that they didn’t get any privilege. That they grew up poor just like everybody else and had to work hard to get where they are now. “I didn’t get any privilege because I’m white!”, said with a mixture of guilt, shame, and anger. It’s as if once they hear the term, their defenses go into lawyer mode refuting any type of racism. No one is accusing anyone of being racist because you get privileges based on being white is my response. It seems to always fall on deaf ears.

I follow up with another question? Do you think that you still had better advantages than nonwhites? You may not have had the same advantages as other white people, but were you better off than nonwhites? The response now once pushed on a little gets even more defensive. The retaliation is predominantly where I get accused of race baiting or being racist myself.

While I agree that not all privilege is the same, some privilege is better than no privilege!

Racism Defined

The best definition of racism that I’ve ever heard comes from David Wellman. He defines racism as “a system of advantage based on race.”

This post has nothing to do with racism. It has to be defined though so that people can see that if racism is ‘a system of advantages based on race’, it is advantageous to those who have predominance in Western society, white people.

Why is White Privilege Such a Contentious Topic?

Just like when my kids would hide and yet be visible, white privilege is visible. My kids could use their imaginations to be invisible, but we can’t imagine white privilege invisible.

I understand that it’s a topic that brings contention, but avoiding the topic or discounting it as something that doesn’t exist doesn’t make it go away.

Conversation Can Lead to Reconciliation

While the system of advantage was set in place by whites that gives white people advantages over non-whites, it doesn’t mean that white people are doing anything wrong just because they receive the advantages. The damage is done when denying that those advantages exist at all because of a sense of guilt or shame.

I believe that when we can have honest conversations about how advantages based on race exclude others from opportunities for education, housing, employment, etc… it can lead to reconciliation and healing.

That is my hope in opening up the lines of communication on this contentious topic of white privilege. Not to make anyone feel guilt, shame, or anger, but so that meaningful conversations may lead to reconciliation.

Peace!

Sammy Ortiz

Written by

Social Entrepreneur | Founder/CEO of Y.E.S. | Pastor of Restoration Church

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