White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

According to Richard Dyer, racial imagery dictates the organization of the modern world. Racial decisions make up the practices of the world; judgments on people’s capacities and worth, their physical appearance, where they come from, how they speak, and even what they eat affect how people or governments treat them (Rothenberg, 2016). I would agree with Richard Dyer’s opinion. Today, despite the push to promote diversity in modern society, people are still treated differently because of their race. Racial imagery plays a significant role in policy development. For instance, the United States immigration policy is relatively harsh on people originating from the Middle East compared to those coming from Europe- this can be explained from the racial imagery point of view. The general population and government’s stereotypic perception of people from the two regions affects how they are treated. According to Richard Dyer, the most powerful people in the world have the responsibility to speak for the commonality of humanity (Rothenberg, 2016). Currently, governments of predominantly white populations are the most powerful in the world. Thus, since white people are non-raced people, they have failed to effectively represent the interest of raced people. The inequalities, privileges, and oppressions that are common within the current organization of the modern world are not being addressed effectively by the powerful nations in the world, and thus their persistence in the world’s organization. For example, police brutality against African Americans is a common example of a racial imagery problem that has not been addressed effectively by the United States, a world superpower. 

Question 2 

According to Harlon Dalton, most White people tend not to think about themselves in racial terms. Although they know they are white, it only translates to them being not black, non-Asian, or non-Native American (Rothenberg, 2016). Unlike people who identify with other races, their Whiteness has insignificant meaning to them. Unlike other people who take great interest in their ethnic roots, the White community in American does not. The ethnicity and race of people descending from other regions of the world, other than Europe, affect the quality of their lives in the American community (Rothenberg, 2016). However, on the other side, since the quality of life for White Americans is not affected by European descent, they rarely think of themselves in racial terms. I agree with Harlon’s opinion about the irrelevance of race among most White people. Most non-White ethnics understand that, within the American social set-up, they have a race and ethnicity. However, in the case of White Americans, they do not identify strongly with an ethnic group, with most of them taking race for granted. White people’s experience of ethnicity is through the analysis of what is happening to the raced people (Rothenberg, 2016). Unlike ethnicity, which is a bearer of culture, race only exists in relation to one another- Whiteness does not exist if the people of color do not exist. Besides, race as a social determinant of social position- how power, prestige, and respect is distributed, favors White people in relation to colored people. With these people not experiencing the problems of race frequently, they tend to find races to be irrelevant. 

Question 3 

According to Derald Wing Sue, while White Americans are taught to adore democracy and consciously experience themselves as moral and decent people, they are instilled with racial biases through a subtle and unconscious socialization process that is invisible to their conscious psyche (Rothenberg, 2016). Therefore, racism continues to persist since the White people are blinded from seeing the racial issues and oppression of the people of color through the benefits they experience for being white. Sue argues that as long as the White people are continuously taught to live as morally, neutral, average, or ideal individuals, they will continue to accept their unearned advantages and deny the responsibility of how white privilege disadvantages other racial groups (Rothenberg, 2016). Therefore, racism continues to be a problem since, although White people are taught to uphold principles of democracy, such as inclusion and equality, white supremacy and racism have been culturally conditioned into the lives and institutionalized in organizations that control activities in society (Rothenberg, 2016). Institutional racism is protected by Whiteness. For example, institutionalized racism evident in bank lending can be protected by the language of equal treatment, standard operating procedure, and equal application of policy irrespective of race. Therefore, while the White population is tuned not to feel guilty about racism by being taught to uphold the principles of democracy, systemic racial barriers will continue to dictate the racial relations within the United States community. 

Question 4 

Institutional racism is evident in how law enforcement officers treat African American people. Institutional racism compels police officers to view African Americans as less human than American Europeans, which justifies the use of excessive force in situations where the use of less lethal force could have brought out the desired outcome. An example of institutional racism is the recent death of George Floyd while being arrested by law enforcement officers. Although he was not resisting arrest, and he had warned the arresting officers that he was unable to breathe, he still ended up dying during the arrest due to the justification of such action by institutionalized racism. The police department was the institution involved in the institutional racism case, with a member of the African American community being the primary victim. When compared to a different case, Jeffrey Epstein, a doctor in Lakeland, Florida, told the arresting police officers not to treat him like a black person while resisting arrest. The contrast in the two cases shows the apparent institutional racism within the law enforcement department 

Question 5 

Cultural racism is the belief that one race’s cultural practices and beliefs are superior compared to that of another race. Resultantly, the group that feels its culture is superior tend to instill their worldview and cultural tendency on the race with the perceived inferior culture. A case example of cultural racism is when White American insult Chinese American’s dishes- a person with Chinese origin may be insulted because of their cultural food choices, such as frogs and bats. 

Reference 

Rothenberg, P., S. (2016). White prejudice: essential readings on the other side of racism (5 th Edition). Worth Publishers.