White people can't handle white privilege

Privilege. The word as defined by Dictionary.com means “a right, immunity, or benefit only by a person beyond the advantages of most.” This word is an often hot button topic when paired with the word “white.” White privilege, then, is “a set of advantages and/or immunities that white people benefit from on a daily basis beyond those common to all others.” This next part is the most important: “White privilege can exist without white people's conscious knowledge of its presence and it helps to maintain the racial hierarchy in this country.”

It’s only been since I started college that I’ve really been aware that white privilege exists and that I benefit from it on a daily basis. It can be hard to confront your own privilege, especially if you grew feeling like you didn’t really gain many benefits over other people (this is especially true if you grew up poor or in a low-income white household). I feel like the automatic response for many white people who are confronted with their own privilege is to go on the defensive. “I don’t like that I have privilege” or “It’s not my fault our country is this way” is what white people often say. And that’s okay. It can be a process to think about the fact that you possess inherent privileges and benefits over people of color. The important part lies in what you do (or don’t do) about it.

White people can act as allies to people of color, as this Alternet article shows. Some ways that white people can help fight racism in their everyday lives is to first off, recognize their own privilege. You can’t work to end racism as a white person if you don’t realize your own inherent privilege. The next thing white people can to do is work within the white community to create more allies. White people can also sit down and let people of color speak for themselves, or even help to elevate the voices of people of color. Lastly, one of the simplest things that white people can do is to simply listen to their marginalized counterparts and allow themselves to see life through the eyes of someone else.

#Whiteprivilege