Privilege Power Difference Allan G Johnson Chapters 1

Privilege, Power & Difference Allan G. Johnson Chapters 1 - 3

We’re in Trouble n n Everyone pretends not to notice the proverbial elephant in the room. …but the elephant: is a society where liberty and justice is for some, where the essential humanity of some people is denied and the American Dream is often a nightmare.

The “We”that’s in trouble is all of us n n Not just straight white middle and upper-class males Not just Black-, Moslem-, Lakota- or Mexican. Americans, you can’t separate the “problem of being, say, Mexican” from the “problem of not being white, in the US”.

We can’t talk about it if we can’t use the words n n Privilege, racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, heterosexism, classism, dominance, subordination, oppression and patriarchy & all the isms Naming something draws attention to it & makes you more likely to notice it a something significant.

What is Privilege? n n Privilege exists when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the groups they belong to, rather than because of anything they’ve done or failed to do. Privilege has become one of those loaded words we need to reclaim so that we can use it to name and illuminate the way things are.

What is the trouble we’re in? n n n The trouble we’re in privileges some groups at the expense of others. It creates a yawning divide in levels of income, wealth, dignity, safety, health and quality of life. It promotes fear, suspicion, discrimination, harassment, and violence.

Privilege n n n Is always at someone else’s expense and always exacts a cost. Two sides of the same coin. Everything that’s done to receive or maintain it, however implicit and unconscious – results in suffering and deprivation for someone. US society attaches privilege to being white and male and heterosexual regardless of your social class.

The Trouble We’re In Privilege, Power & Difference n n n Difference is not the problem The Problem is the attributes the powerful assign to difference The real illusion connected to difference is the popular assumption that people are naturally afraid of what they don’t know or understand.

The Trouble Isn’t Diversity The trouble around diversity isn’t that people differ from one another. The trouble is produced by a world organized in ways that encourage people to use difference to include or exclude, reward or punish, credit or discredit, elevate or oppress, value or devalue, leave alone or harass.

Oppression: The Flip Side of Privilege n n Social forces tend to “press” upon people and hold them down, blocking their pursuit of a good life (The American Dream). Belonging to a privileged category isn’t the same as being an oppressive person who behaves in oppressive ways.

What is the most powerful barrier to change? n n The trouble we’re in can’t be solved unless the “privileged” make the problem of privilege their problem and do something about it. Being able to bring dominant groups into the conversation is the challenge; it requires being “woke”, knowledgeable and skilled.

Reclaiming the words n Racist isn’t another word for “bad white people n Patriarchy isn’t another nasty code-name for “men” n n Oppression and dominance name social realities that we all participate in. Feminism isn’t an ideology organized around being lesbian or hating men.

Two Types of Privilege n 1. “Unearned entitlements” – things that all people should have like feeling safe in public, being accepted, valued for what they can contribute. n When unearned entitlement is restricted to certain groups, however, it becomes a form of privilege Mc. Intosh calls “unearned advantage”.

Two Types of Privilege n n 2. “Conferred dominance” goes a step further by giving one group power over another. i. e. men controlling conversations with women is grounded in the cultural assumption that men are supposed to dominate women. Reluctance to come to terms with more serious and entrenched forms of privilege is why most diversity programs produce limited results.

Privilege as Paradox n n n Individuals aren’t what is actually privileged Privilege is defined in relation to a group or social category. In other words, race privilege is more about white people than it is about white people. Whiteness is privileged in this society and one has access to that privilege only when identified as belonging to that category.

The Paradox of Privilege n n n People are privileged without feeling privileged. Privilege is more about the social category than the person within the category. The truly privileged can be oblivious to their privilege.