White privilege

[sebastienne]

• I can, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.


• I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.


• I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.


• When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization", I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.


• I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.


• If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.


• I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods that fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can deal with my hair.


• Whether I use checks, credit cards, or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.


• I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.


• I can swear, or dress in second-hand clothes or not answer letters without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.


• I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.


• I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.


• I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color, who constitute the worlds' majority, without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.


• I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.


• I can be sure that if I ask to talk to "the person in charge" I will be facing a person of my race.


• If a traffic cop pulls me over, or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.


• I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children's magazines featuring people of my race.


• I can go home from most meetings or organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in rather than isolated, out of place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance, or feared.


• I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having coworkers on the job suspect that I got it because of race.


• I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help my race will not work against me.


• I can chose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color that more or less matches my skin.

Peggy McIntosh