10 Ways Your Life Would Change If You Had White Privilege

The very first benefit of "white privilege" is not having to acknowledge there is white privilege. In a 2011 study, sociologists from Harvard and Tufts universities asked both white and Black people to rate "racism" against each ethnic group since the 1950s on a scale of 1 to 10. The study found that many American whites believe they suffer more racism than Blacks despite the inequalities in society that exist in their favor, often at the expense of African-Americans. Due to white privilege, most whites don't have to worry about drug use stereotypes costing them a job. A recent study, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, uncovered that in cases where drug testing is not required, employers are likely to deny Black job seekers employment because they assume that African-Americans are more likely to be using illegal drugs. White privilege, for the most part, protects whites from racial profiling. Many whites can go on believing that law enforcement officers are there to protect and to serve, while Black and brown people face the greater share of police injustice, which can include being illegally stopped, searched, beaten, arrested and murdered. In 2011 in New York City, 685,724 people were stopped, 84 percent of whom were Black and Latino residents — although they make up only about 23 percent and 29 percent of New York City’s total population respectively, according to the Center for Constitutional Rights. The human rights group reported that 88 percent of all stops did not result in an arrest or a summons being given. Because of white privilege, whites will never have to inform their children of the harsh realities of systemic racism. For Black children whose parents neglect to discuss race, it can be catastrophic, especially in a world that permits a disturbing amount of unprovoked violence against young Black people. On the other hand, white parents can opt out of the conversations as they did in researcher Birgitte Vittrup's study at the Texas Woman’s University’s Department of Family Sciences. Vittrup's research looked at how parents' attitudes about race affected their children. During the experiments, almost all the "self-proclaimed colorblind" white parents who were asked to talk about race with their children abruptly walked out of the study. Having white privilege means likely never being a labeled a terrorist no matter how many people are killed. Despite the number of mass shootings and bombings committed by white men and boys in America in recent years — Newtown, Aurora, Fort Hood, Tucson, Columbine, Boston, etc. — the terrorist label appears reserved for only people of color. Let's not mention how many millions were maimed or killed by weapons of mass destruction in the biggest wars of the 2oth century, all propagated by white men. Because of the benefits of white privilege, whites aren't told to get over slavery or any of their historical experiences. The words "never forget" rang out in reference to the 9/11 attacks. They are omnipresent in talks about the Jewish Holocaust, during World War II. It's even acceptable to use the phrase in reference to the sinking of the Titanic. But when it comes to slavery, the worst human atrocity known to modern man, people are often encouraged to get over it and move on. It happened way back then. White privilege prevents their communities from being the primary target of the "War on Drugs." Although whites use drugs just as much or more than anybody else, the cross-hairs of the "War on Drugs" has been focused almost entirely in Black and brown neighborhoods. Several authors have written on the racial disparities in arrests, prosecutions, imprisonment, rehabilitation programs and other aspects of the "War on Drugs." This has had no effect on stemming the proliferation of drugs in America or the world. According to estimates by the United Nations, worldwide consumption of opiates, cocaine and marijuana increased by 35 percent, 27 percent and 9 percent, respectively, between 1998 and 2008, despite an overall escalation in seizures and other drug-war tactics. On the other hand, Black communities have been plagued with missing fathers and broken homes due to the unfair practices. White privilege means no one questions why they get that really good job or into that prestigious university. Although white privilege has established de facto affirmative action for white folks, many feel threatened by the idea of affirmative action for Black and brown people who have been disenfranchised by the historic and institutionalized white privilege. The Harvard and Tufts study mentioned previously concludes that whites saw race relations as a "zero sum game" where they consider any gains by Blacks as a loss. White privilege means not being affected by negative stereotypes that have been perpetuated so much that they are believed to be true. According to an October 1999 article in the Yale Political Quarterly by Stephen Balkaran, titled "Mass Media and Racism," mass media have played and will continue to play a crucial role in the way white Americans perceive African-Americans. He asserts the overwhelming media focus on crime, drug use, gang violence and other forms of antisocial behavior among African-Americans has fostered a distorted and pernicious public perception of African-Americans. This focus has led to African-Americans being denied equal access to employment, and essentially forced to remain second-class citizens. White privilege means not having to worry about being penalized in society for God-given features: hair, skin color, etc. A study out of the University of Washington and Michigan State University found that whites react more negatively toward people who strongly identify with their ethnic groups and are more comfortable with those who don't. Most people feel comfortable with those most like them. But with today's status quo, this preference can be dangerous to Black and brown people when it is played out on the institutional level, were livelihoods are at stake.

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