I’d like to interject if I may, because I used to have that same thought about white privilege. I didn’t think the world was giving me anything extra, especially as a white woman. I mean, for someone like me to go after something in a corporate setting in the same way as a man, is to be labelled a bitch and doesn’t make me more likely to get what I want. Where’s the privilege?!
The phrase is somewhat misleading because it appears to make most of us white people think about money and status, and while it can sometimes help with those things, they aren’t really at the core of white privilege. It does mean that if a white person and a person of color apply for the same job, the hiring person — who is white most of the time — is going to lean toward the white applicant because he feels more comfortable with that person. Of course there are other factors in their decision, but that’s the natural inclination. So all else being equal, that’s who gets hired. Also who gets promoted. That’s how we end up with 90% of the Fortune 500 execs being white men. Now, you and I can say that’s not us, but it happens at every level; people just seem to prefer people who are more like them, and race is usually a factor. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though.
You’re not going to be the only white person in a room full of people feeling like you have to represent your race, because chances are most of the others are white. And even when they’re not? You’re not thinking, “I have to be on my best behavior so that these people don’t think poorly of white people.” Further, when you think about what’s “normal,” you mean normal to white people because we’re the majority. For example: when we talk about white people, we generally just say “people” — we don’t even think about adding the word “white” in front even though that’s typically who we mean; blacks and other people of color get called out though, so then it becomes “people” vs., say, “black people”; it becomes the “norm” vs. “other.” For that matter, you are much less likely to be chased down the street like Saira’s husband by a homeless person yelling because you’re white (even if the homeless person isn’t).
Beyond that, when we go into a store, chances are we aren’t followed “in case we’re there to steal.” We are less likely to be asked for an ID when we use a credit card. People don’t lock their car doors when you or I walk by. If you and a person of color wander near a crime scene, the police are more likely to stop him first. They’re more likely to treat you with respect, and apologize for the inconvenience. More importantly, they’re probably not scared of you so they’re much less likely to shoot you for a “false move.” (In fact, 2.5 times less likely for unarmed white people vs. unarmed blacks, when one adjusts for percentage of population.) And even if you’re guilty, statistics show that your sentence probably won’t be equivalent to a black person’s for the very same crime.
These are just a few examples; I’m sure a person of color could give you plenty more. Most of these things are stuff that you and I never even give a moment of thought, let alone think of as “privilege.” But when a person of color feels the eyes of the clerk upon them, or worries about their son just walking past a policeman, it means a lot. I’m betting that if you look for these situations, you will see them all the time; it’s amazing how common they are. We whites are indeed privileged, just not in the ways we usually think of as such because we don’t normally need to.
