In class the other day, Connie asked us what we could do in order to resist the privilege that we are given simply because we are white. After she asked the question, I tried to really think about how any white person could resist their privilege. It’s a really hard question to answer because there really isn’t a way that as individuals we can completely give up the privilege that we have been given. The privilege itself exists simply because we are white and it exists whether we acknowledge its existence or not. However, just because we cannot completely get rid of the privilege we can do something to resist it. Doing nothing in order to resist privilege once we have acknowledged that it exists would not be a good choice.
I think the best way to resist privilege is to learn more about white privilege and the consequences of its existence and also to educate others on its existence. There are many more people that are taking classes to learn about racism and racial issues but there are also still people that have not recognized that white privilege exists or even that racism exists still. It is important to continue learning new information and also to pass on the information that we have learned. The best option that we have to resist our privilege is to both learn more and educate more so that those that don’t acknowledge white privilege can know acknowledge it and accept that it exists.
It still sounds like a hard question to answer to me, how can we resist our privilege? I understand that it is difficult for whites to acknowledge and accept that white people have privilege over other races simply because of the color of our skin. It is hard for people to understand that someone of a certain skin color can be given certain advantages simply because of that skin color. The best thing that we can do to resist white privilege, as people that have acknowledged, accepted and learned about white privilege, is to educate more people in hopes that they will later do the same.