White Privilege

Even though our culture today seems to make an effort to emphasize the importance of diversity and equal opportunity for all, the way it operates still meets the needs of what is a “typical” white American. This unfair advantage for whites is called white privilege. In our law system, whites do get arrested but tend to get off the hook easier than other races. Our school system is supposed to be equal, but standardized tests cater toward children whose first spoken language was English. An important standardized test like the SAT or ACT may be harder to pass for students of different backgrounds but it is a way for our capitalistic society to set a limit on equal education. Very alarmingly, employers who are white tend to veer toward judging the black person poorly at an interview. Unfortunately, this results in a black person losing out over a white person for a job who is just as or less capable. However, with the exception of a few shows starring black families, the lifestyle of the typical white person is portrayed in our culture and media. For example, even the black models in the magazines are more often seen with sleek, smooth hair and many African-American women desire to “tame” their poofy locks. In movies, more often than not, white characters are playing the lead and the black ones are more likely to be poor, the comic relief, or criminals. Discrimination is far from over and you can tell this is true when people are fearful when a black man walks behind them, when people judge the white or Asian person is naturally smaller than a black person, and the millions of racial stereotypes that kill people’s self esteem and make them want to fit an image other than their culture. Sure, whites are faced with stereotypes, but they are trivial because the important things in society still ring in their favor.