White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack Analysis
1000 Words4 Pages
I, Alex Peuser could be easily described as gay, Asian, and adopted. While all of these are true I feel that these are not characteristics in which one should be defined. A person’s worth should be set by the one’s output of beneficial material into society. I have grown up comfortably in a town right outside of Overland Park, Kansas in a typical nuclear family. My upbringing as well as socioeconomic status have definitely effected my personality and disposition as one is a product of society. There have been many events and experiences that have defined me. I feel that my father being called overseas to serve in Iraq would be one of these experiences. A large portion of my generation can identify the changes to society within our post 9-11…show more content… As I am adopted and have grown up in Caucasian household and reaped many benefits. McIntosh explores privilege from a personal lens which makes her prose relatable as well as accessible to a vast diversity of readers. I identify as white even though my race would say that I am Asian. This has come to be a minor difficulty as I am expected to live up to preconceptions and stereotypes by people who do not know me of someone who is Asian. Similarly to McIntosh I understand the privileges that have been afforded to me and I am always careful to accept or act upon them. Though I do see myself as Caucasian, Rita Chaudhry Sethi’s opening statement on racism in, “Smells Like Racism” has applied to my life as an “Asian American”. I have never experienced prejudice against myself knowingly; however, I am fairly positive that people have regulated their behavior differently around me due to my skin colour. Both of these author’s comments on society have expanded my knowledge and understanding of prejudice in which I play an integral role. The discussions we had with both of these pieces were knowledgable and passionate; yet, there was no discussion over any solutions to the many prejudices in our society and therefore did not progress which was rather frustrating but…show more content… Both the Rothberg exercise and the “Does this Apply to Me” exercise did that. The Rothberg exercise highlights the subconscious profiling that occurs when trying to assess groups and group dynamics. Unfortunately assumptions are made which leads to a certain level of discomfort when the assumptions that are made are incorrect. The assumptions made were not only about individuals belonging to certain groups but also created an exclusivity to groups. The profiling was shocking as many believed that certain events would have the entirety of our class stand. In the discussion following it was important understand that not everyone has lived the same life and therefore our realities are different. By acknowledging that I am not the same as you and that he is different than she we are able to celebrate our individuality. Understanding that realities are subjective and perception is key should allow each of us to understand our differences on a deeper level which will diminish our prejudices towards one another. It is my hope that through education and understanding that eventually the amount of hatred in our society can dissipate as it has exponentially