S.C.W.A.A.M.P and Johnson

     In the book "Privilege, Power, and Difference," written by Allan G. Johnson, topics of how to have a deeper understanding and thought process of racism and inequality are spoken on. Very soon into the introduction, Johnson brought up a topic that had me thinking for the next hour if not longer.  Johnson speaks a multitude on how white people who can not recognize their own privilege and benefits are one of the biggest reasons racism is still strong in today's world.

    Many white people when speaking on the topic of racism have one thing to say and one thing only, "I'm not racist". However, that sentence could not mean less when it actually comes to doing something about it. Johnson illustrates this by saying, "All of us are the problem," (Johnson 1). With just this one sentence Johnson opened my eyes. I have already had thoughts and conversations about this topic in the past but the simplicity of his statement helped me truly understand what it means.

    I will be the first to admit that I have privilege. I am a straight, white male who grew up my entire life in the middle class. Of course, I had my fair share of struggles in my life and I still do. I even face my share of prejudice. For example, I played a music festival last weekend that was centered around New Orleans blues, and while this was meant as a compliment I was told, "I never expected to see a white boy from up north playing this".  However, I will openly admit that this is something that I deal with that is nothing in comparison to the struggles people of different races, different genders, and different financial classes have to go through. 

    Something Johnson tried to teach with this book is that it is important to understand that being told, "i didn't expect you to be here because of your race," is substantially different than being told, "you don't belong in this space because of your race,". It is extremely important to have an understanding of your own privilege and status to fully understand and recognize the hardships that others are going through.

Comments

  1. AngieSeptember 22, 2024 at 6:32 PM

    I totally agree! I think it is very important and great that you understand that our own privilege and recognize that others might be going through different hardships because everyone is different and goes through different situations.

    ReplyDelete

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