Preview

Generative Questions

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
708 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Generative Questions
Nathan Eckstrom
Generative Questions for Language, Power and Democracy
August 14, 2011 1. How much of myself can I change and how much of myself can I only become aware of?
I was inspired to ask this question after watching ‘Mirrors of Privilege’. It is also related to reading Paolo Friere’s ‘The First Day of School’ and Ian Lopez’s ‘White by Law’. I want to answer this question because I am nervous about how much of my own identity I might be unaware of. I am thinking of the man in ‘Mirrors of Privilege’ who asked himself “Where did that come from?” That comment shook me. Friere inspired me to admit a lot of this nervousness to myself and to some of the other cohort members. The structures of power have been in place for such a long time, that it scares me to think how they must have affected me. If I see a white supremacist beating a black man, I need to be able to place myself somewhere in the system of privilege that makes him feel justified in doing that. I am used …show more content…
I want to explore how far my imagination can take me. I believe that the ‘educated hope’ that Cornel West and Paolo Friere write about is possible. I need to do the work to imagine a path to that kind of hope and that kind of future. From the ‘Pockets of Hope’ article, I can see that I can’t walk the path alone. I need to imagine the future for myself however, so that I can utilize the power-with. If I don’t have the path before me clear, I don’t think I will be very good at finding strength with others. I also need to answer this question in order to be capable of the kind of self-care that I think I will need. I don’t want to take care of myself by escaping the world. I want to be able to care for myself by going back to the world that I can imagine. After reading about the inequities in California in Pedro Noguero’s ‘City Schools’, I felt that I needed to imagine some way out of the dilemma that he
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Comparing Theories And Constructs Of Race By Holtzman And Leon Sharpe
    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Comparing Theories And Constructs Of Race By Holtzman And Leon Sharpe

    One must understand that this negative feeling whites feel towards blacks was a concept that was started because of a power shift, not because of physical differences between them. Similar ideas are expressed in the article Theories and Constructs of Race by Linda Holtzman and Leon Sharpe. One of the main ideas expressed in the article is that “racism is based on the concept of whiteness- an identity concept invented and enforced by power.” The article goes on to state that “the historical mutability of race is significant because of how it has been used as a marker of group identity and a means of access to privilege in this country and elsewhere.” It is important to recognize here when the authors say access to privilege, they mean the access to power.…

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack Analysis
    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack Analysis

    This article describes an elusive "unspoken" advantage toward white people in our society called " white privilege" which basically gives white people invisible privileges that work against people of color and keep them oppressed. It also says being oblivious to white privilege is ingrained in our culture and is kept that way by the "few groups who have most of the power already"(White Privilege,McIntosh).…

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    White Privilege In 'White Like Me' By Thomas Wise
    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages

    White Privilege In 'White Like Me' By Thomas Wise

    In “White Like Me,” Thomas Wise discusses the many ways White privilege influences other race’s, from a White male’s perspective. Three of the most interesting point relate to the of “white supremacy” and how the common white citizens unknowingly uses their powers. He expresses the belief that Whites should “guard their white privilege” because the United States, as a capitalist society, honors the majority. Another point he makes is that Whites are able to escape the blame for their unjust actions, whereas people of color would be slaughtered in the media for such things. An impactful example he uses is terrorism. In Oklahoma there were two white terrorists who bombed a government building, killing many. This horrific action was headlined…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Peggy Mcintosh Argument Against Racism
    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Peggy Mcintosh Argument Against Racism

    McIntosh talks of how white privilege often is not discussed and how traditional schooling fails to explain the integral role white privilege plays within society. Still, her piece seems to suggest, McIntosh has become enlightened about white privilege and that this awareness has given her a new outlook on aspects of her life she otherwise “took for granted”. Sara Ahmed would cite McIntosh’s newfound knowledge as deeply rooted in the widely held belief that racism is centered in ignorance and thus, anti-racism is rooted in knowledge. This is a classist approach to understanding racism. McIntosh aligns herself with the progressive type of “new whiteness” that is “not equally available to all whites, let alone any…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack Analysis
    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages

    White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack Analysis

    McIntosh (1990) asserts how many individuals of the white race an unaware that they attain “white privilege.” As white individuals are taught to not recognize their “conferred dominance,” many of these individuals believe that…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Racism Without Racists Summary
    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Racism Without Racists Summary

    In the first chapter of his book Racism without Racists: Color-blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva argues that color-blind racism, a new racial ideology which emerged in the late 1960s (16), has become “a formidable political tool” for “the maintenance of the racial order” and “white privilege” in the “post-Civil Rights era” (3). According to his argument about color-blind racism, in contemporary America, although few whites appear like racists, racial inequality does exist everywhere (2). Racism changed from “overt means” of discrimination to “subtle and institutional practices” (3). “Nonracial dynamics” become “white common sense” about explanations…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    White Supremacy and the Alleged Inferior Essay Example
    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages

    White Supremacy and the Alleged Inferior Essay Example

    My first argument is, White supremacy indirectly influences social hierarchy. If we revert back to the United State’s presidential history, it is evident as to why white people feel that they are “at the top of the food chain”. “Bonilla-Silva 34” White males make up a vast amount of our government, and as we take this into consideration, we realize that this only fuels a seemingly inextinguishable fire.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Is the Claim of White Skin Privilege a Myth?
    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Is the Claim of White Skin Privilege a Myth?

    As a whole, minorities from all religions, races, and sexualities have reached numerous high points in life. These high points have resulted in the establishment and entitlement to minorities having the same rights as whites. However, the right of blacks as in being equal is always up for debate. Statistics show and prove that for every dollar a white household brings in, a black household only brings in 61 cents. Some people like to say that the white household is more skilled or has a higher education, however, this is not the case in most situations. These facts can be accurately traced back to the issue of discrimination against blacks. Most people agree that this type of discrimination is seen frequently but never spoken of. Why are there different meanings of this word for different races, if the foundation of our country established as everyone is equal? What do these rights actually mean, and if most people pay these rights absolutely no attention at all, why are these rights even in place? Focusing on the topics of white benefits, white denial, and a personal opinion, in this essay will I will explain to the reader the question, “Is the claim of white skin privilege a myth?”…

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    White Privilege In Today's Society
    • 348 Words
    • 2 Pages

    White Privilege In Today's Society

    White privilege is when individuals who are born with White skin are awarded unearned social benefits, assets, protections, and advantages over people of color strictly because of their skin color (McIntosh 1998; Crosley-Corcoran 2014). For instance, White people do not have to warn their children about systematic racism that still exists in today’s society and how to manage their lives in order to protect themselves from it (McIntosh 1998). While some White people may be disadvantaged due to other social statuses they hold, they still profit from having White skin whether or not they recognize it (Crosley-Corcoran 2014). As an example, poor White people still tend to have better access to social institutions than people of color (Guillén…

    • 348 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of White Privilege
    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Examples Of White Privilege

    In the case of Eric Garner, for example, a black man was choked to death by a white cop simply for selling loose cigarettes on a street corner in Staten Island. Garner, who was grabbed from behind by Officer Daniel Pantaleo and held in a headlock leading to death by asphyxiation, cried several times in the few seconds before his death that he could not breathe, but the officer never let go. While the selling of loose cigarettes is an infraction of the law in the state of New York, it is not one punishable by death. The attack on Garner was unprovoked, and caused by an innate fear within whites that blacks are more likely to be violent, leading to an unnecessary death. Had Garner been white, he more than likely would not have been killed. In this instance, white privilege is exemplified in the fact that white people do not have to concern themselves on whether or not their activity looks illegal out of a not unfounded fear of situations such as…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Black Masculinity Research Paper
    • 1263 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Black Masculinity Research Paper

    In the United States, the inequality of many different types of races and genders is very clear. Many people are treated unjustly whether it's from the police, the judicial system, or society itself. A lot of people are prejudiced towards others because of their appearance, skin tone, or who they are and it's a very serious problem. The media that we have today is arguably being used as a tool to make certain groups of people look inferior to others. Many people feel this way because of events that have happened in the last few years across the country from Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown repeatedly being depicted as thugs in the news to racist advertisements in the 1900s. Black masculinity is being manipulated by the media to fit a certain…

    • 1263 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    White Privilege
    • 5321 Words
    • 22 Pages

    White Privilege

    I decided to try to work on myself at least by identifying some of the daily effects of white privilege in my life. I have chosen those conditions that I think in my case attach somewhat more to skin-color privilege than to class, religion, ethnic status, or geographic location, though of course all these other factors are intricately intertwined. As far as I can tell, my African American coworkers, friends, and acquaintances with whom I come into daily or frequent contact in this particular time, place and time of work cannot count on most of these conditions. 1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time. 2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me. 3. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live. 4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me. 5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed. 6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented. 7. When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is. 8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race. 9. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege. 10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race. 11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person’s voice in a group…

    • 5321 Words
    • 22 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Private Privilege In America
    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Private Privilege In America

    What is privilege? This seems to be the topic of discussion in America since forever; but it is now being questioned more now centuries later and its plastering a smear on America, additional to the election of 2016. Trump and people like Trump who has great wealth and power, has and keep us assured that even in the new millennium we are making almost little to no progress of change and appreciations when it comes to the play of feelings of the oppressed. As a black man I do not feel those in power are for people like me, or for anyone that do not look like them. All they have done is let it be known that racism, genocide and white privilege will never die down. Now a days, it seems that the people of power are still accepting of the crooked…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Personal Semiotics
    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Personal Semiotics

    A large part of my identity is my racial background. It plays a major role in who I am, and how I view everything around me. My social circle is full of people who are considered to be minorities. When I view news broadcastings mentioning black people in America being the receivers of police brutality, it causes me to feel a personal connection and a personal loss. Not only am I black, but I’m also American. People like Donald Trump being in control…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Opprsseion
    • 1638 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Opprsseion

    Oppression and all its invisible forms keep us as a people divided why? In my paper I will be discussing the many forms of oppression and how to understand oppression and why it works as a whole to keep minorities at large subjugated without them even knowing it at times. to truly understand oppression one has to experience it. I mention in my paper many injustices about “African American” struggles and women struggles as well. To better grasp this idea of white privilege and male privilege one must first have to except the fact that there is an advantage race and a disadvantage race and it is clearly a man made “social construction” of what this society deemed right and ethical.…

    • 1638 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More

Related Topics