Privilege, Power, and Difference

Victoria Beausoleil
Privilege, Power, and Difference
Second Edition
By Allan G. Johnson, Ph.D.
Premise:
Active
Change
Equalities
Inequalities
Language
Future
Racism
Sexism
Power
Discrimination
Paths
Silence
Reveal
Oppression
Together
Difference
Overcome
Involved
Options
Views
Choices

Argument:
Johnson argues that we have to change pattern of privilege and inequality first by thinking about the trouble and the challenge in new and more productive ways. He believes that we must break the silence and invisibility that allow privilege and oppression to continue and accomplish individual active change to create a future filled with positive change for all.
Evidence:
1- “ The greatest barrier to change is that dominant groups, as we’ve discussed, don’t see the trouble as their trouble, which means they don’t feel obligated to do something about it”. Acknowledging ones privilege results in having to do something about it and have an active side which makes seemingly denying something exists an easy way out.
2- You cannot change people to fix the problem, but only altering whole systems will have a large affect toward accomplishing change. We have to learn to let go of the path that contains least resistance in order to open up new paths as opportunities for others to take in the future. With other paths revealed, new and improved ways of going about change are open and welcomed.
3- We need to ignore the myths that things are always the same and can never change and that one person cannot make a difference. “ It’s not unreasonable to want to make a difference, but if we have to see the final result of what we do, then we can’t be part of change that’s too gradual and long term to allow that”. We have to learn to accept change coming after a lifetime of hard work and appreciate its results no matter how many years after they are reveled.
Comments:
This piece of work did a wonderful job in revealing possible starters and enders to this nightmare of unfair privilege. It reveals solutions for the future by pointing out reasons for lack of change in the past. I felt that it was too lengthily for the topic it was addressing and the issues could have been much more strait to the point. The heading of various sub-topics were helpful in picking out important ideas and revealing what to expect in the words following each.

School Girls

School Girls
Young Women, Self-Esteem, and the Confidence Gap
By
Peggy Orenstein
Premise-
Learning
Self-esteem
Tradition
Assumption
Girls
Boys
Curriculum
Required
Accepted
Experience
Equality
Learning
Racism
Education
Tolerance
Stereotype
Masculinity
Peer pressure
Degraded
Assume

Argument-
Orenstein argues that educators around the country should work to develop gender-fair curricula in all subjects and reexamine traditional assumptions about how children best learn. We should learn to break down gender and race hierarchies in order to create cooperative learning groups. This should be done in order to create equal confidence and self-esteem along among all students both male and female from the root to prevent future power accusations and traditions. Which is extremely hard to accomplish because of prior drilled male advantage.


Evidence-

1-
The “add women and stir” approach has been added to many curriculum in order to change both boys and girls perspective on the female self. This tool is used to detract from the stereotypical male-based curriculum that creates future value and judgment of females. To make female historians and scientist for example, just as memorable as the makes we have been trained to focus on. This also gives young girls a boost of self-esteem toward their goals for the future.

2- Methods have also been intertwined with basic curriculum in order to build confidence and consequently drive in students by taking the shame out of imperfection. Students are taught to support and be open and true to each other so that the best learning and growing in each students life can be accomplished.

3- “ Boys perceive equality as a loss”. This statement goes back to the idea that you cannot fix a problem unless you can admit it from the start. Just as white privilege is many times unrecognized by those who acquire it, the same goes for males over females. As all scwamp theories relate to, we with privilege tend to be against advancing what we deny is truly there. Not wanting curriculum equality in a classroom connects with not wanting race equality in college applications.

I felt that this read was geared towards creating a classroom curriculum that comes as equal and fair in opportunity and equality for all to learn from. It emphasized the additional focus toward female icons in education apart from the norm males. Encouragement and expression were also Encourage in all curricula in order to create self-esteem and confidence.
The read was basic and strait forward, great in emphasizing the basic facts made easier to stick in the readers mind. The topic heading where a help in hinting of the importance of the read ahead. It greatly relates to the topic of privilege in regards to it being ignored and unrecognized under many circumstances. It also connects to the piece on taking the affirmative action strait from the core of the problem in order to provide equally for future generations.

Racial Preference

Whites Swim in Racial Preference
Tim Wise
AlterNet

Premise:
· Racial preference
· Exclusion
· Affirmative action
· Segregation
· Inequalities
· Gaps
· America
· History
· Discrimination
· Privilege
· Past
· Future
· Fairness
· Ambition
· Justice
· Equal
· Consideration
· Diversity
· Choice
· Fought

Argument-
Wise argues that privileged Americans are like fish in water because privilege to us is like water to a fish invisible because we cannot imagine life without it. Whites see racial preference as simply relating to unfair affirmative action issues when in all actuality it originates from a long and white history. We need to grasp this magnitude of obliviousness and say the words in order to solve problems around preferences.
Points-

1 In order to create awareness and positive change among racial preference issues we must have “a demarcation of privilege that is the necessary flipside of discrimination”. Two opposite ideas feed off each other while the richer get richer and the poorer get poorer.
Privileged people of white preference need to recognize their advantages of education, business and employment in order to realize the discrimination others face in comparison to themselves.

2 “No one should be punished for things beyond their control”. All issues should be taken into consideration in regards to all races and circumstances. Whether it is points for race, or points those who live in rural atmospheres or come from low-income households. All points should be taken into consideration when choosing one about to stamp” unfair” simply because the rest are a part of white preference which is not seen as unfair in any sense. Discrimination needs to be taken back and the whole picture needs to be looked at.
3 White preference remains hidden because it is subtler, more ingrained and isn’t called white preference when that is truly its effect. Americans need to learn how to day the words in order for change to take place. We need to admit our weaknesses and wrongs to make things right.
Reflect-
I feel that this piece on racial preference really helped to future my concepts of affirmative action and discrimination in general. All narrow-minded idea I possessed of negative feeling against those containing extra help for the same result have faded. I never recognized the variety of affirmative action topics around and I believe it Is because discrimination of color has always been a large issue in American, people still choose to focus on it negatively and promote privilege secretively. I felt the read was strait forward with just enough factual evidence to pursue you to support Wise’s argument. I will be interested to listen to the discussion on class on this topic.