white privilege

1. Nicholas Lawson
Dr. Blanco
FYS100
2/22/2016
White Privilege, Extinct or Existent?
Throughout a lot of our history, white people have been superior. They always had the
upper hand on most of anything they chose to do. With that said, they typically had an easier
time in life in general; no worries about being judged based on their race, or being told they
couldn’t do something or go somewhere based on their skin color. Whites were basically
welcomed everywhere. Even in our not so distant past, 70 years ago or so, being white could
easily get you a job over a black person, simply because our country was still dealing with
making blacks equal to whites. Because of this, many people in the black community fought for
their rights to be looked at not as black, but as American. For the right to be equal to a white
man, and to be looked at as their equal.
In our more modern era, black rights are still being fought for. With our media coverage
today, someone watching would probably think that what is being talked about was from our
past, not our present. However, the negative stories about black and whites not getting along are
always blown out of proportion. Everybody today loves to watch drama and conflicts on TV, so
what better way to get more views on a news station than to give the people what they want,
violence. With what is always portrayed on the media, the group Black Lives Matter came along
to stop racial inequality against blacks. Sadly though, the media only talks about the conflicts
that deals with a white person “hating” on a black person. Media coverage will never show these

2. types of stories with the roles reversed. That’s because it wouldn’t get as much attention, it
would be too unordinary for a black person to be racist against a white person.
That is our problem, in our country racism only works one way, whites hating everybody.
Now tell me, what kind of white privilege is that? The only privilege white folk receive is the
privilege of being shown on the media hating or killing black people. It may be true, in our past
white people did have it easier, but that is simply not true today, and let me explain why.
As a white individual, I constantly have to be aware about how I am describing
somebody of a different race. If I described a black person by saying they were really tall and
had a big nose, I would be called racist, even if those two statements were true about the
individual. If I started a sentence with, “that black man,” I would be called out and told how that
is inappropriate. Now tell me, how many times has a black person said “that white guy” and been
called out for being racist? How many times in general do people turn a blind eye to a black
person being racist against a white person, but never hesitate how a white person is being racist
toward a black person.
In my personal opinion, I believe that blacks actually have more privilege than a white
person does today. In any TV show or advertisement, it is always racially diverse. When
applying for that last acting spot, maybe a black person got the spot over a white person, simply
because they were black, and that is what the director needed to make things equal. Maybe that
white person fit the role way better, but was cut because he was the wrong color. In everyday
life, if a person is white, they have to watch their wording when talking about a black individual,
but a black individual can say whatever they want to about a white person. I also feel that blacks
receive more attention in an effort to make sure we aren’t leaving them out, in a fear of being
called racist. Simply put, White privilege doesn’t exist anymore.