International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
In Finland, and elsewhere too, racism is commonly understood as racial prejudice in racist individuals. This ignores the reality of racial discrimination, which is much more pervasive than simple racist acts committed by racist people. Racism is systemic, which means that it pertains to our whole society, working through invisible systems which bestow dominance on white people. This is called institutional racism. Some definitions of instututional racism can be found here.Institutional racism has been defined as those established laws, customs, and practices which systematically reflect and produce racial inequalities in society. If racist consequences accrue to institutional laws, customs or practices, the institution is racist whether or not the individuals maintaining those practices have racial intentions.
The flip side of institutional racism is white privilege. It means, that whether or not a white person is racist, or strives to become anti-racist, this person benefits from white privilege. When we grow up, we learn many things that are usually not explicitly taught to us - racial prejudice is one of these things. (Read Our Racist, Sexist Selves by Nicholas D. Kristof for more on this.) White privilege lets us see ourselves as normal, and as Peggy McIntosh writes, "whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative, and average, and also ideal, so that when we work to benefit others, this is seen as work that will allow “them” to be more like “us.”"
In her essay White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, Peggy McIntosh lists 50 instances of white privilege. I have chosen a few of them here:1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.
6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.
11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person's voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race.
12. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can cut my hair.
16. I can be pretty sure that my children's teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others' attitudes toward their race.
18. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race.
20. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
21. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
22. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
41. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
46. I can chose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more or less match my skin.
50. I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.
Peggy McIntosh writes:
"The pressure to avoid [thinking about white privilege] is great, for in facing it I must give up the myth of meritocracy. If these things are true, this is not such a free country; one's life is not what one makes it; many doors open for certain people through no virtues of their own."
White skin color gives an unfair advantage to white people, because institutional racism disadvantages people of color. Our success depends not only on our own merits, but on the opportunities we are given. Our skin color affects these opportunities.
There are different types of privileges, some of them are basic human rights, while others enable the privileged person to damage others. Peggy McIntosh writes: "Some, like the expectation that neighbors will be decent to you, or that your race will not count against you in court, should be the norm in a just society. Others, like the privilege to ignore less powerful people, distort the humanity of the holders as well as the ignored groups."
One factor seems clear about all of the interlocking oppressions. They take both active forms, which we can see, and embedded forms, which as a member of the dominant groups one is taught not to see. In my class and place, I did not see myself as a racist because I was taught to recognize racism only in individual acts of meanness by members of my group, never in invisible systems conferring unsought racial dominance on my group from birth.
Jennifer Kesler comments on Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack:
"It’s easier to see when others have advantages you don’t; tougher to see when you hold advantages others don’t. You’re trained from birth to see your privileges as rights you are owed simply for showing up. But if not everyone has those “rights”, then clearly they are privileges. If you claim not to support unequal rights dispersed on random criteria such as color or gender, then you need to listen carefully and investigate before dismissing claims that other people don’t fully share your “rights”."
I have collected here a few additional links for your anti-racism neeeds. :)
"Check my what?" On privilege and what we can do about it by Andrea Rubenstein
Privilege means never having to explain why it doesn’t work for Others by Jennifer Kesler
White Trash Blues: Class Privilege v. White Privilege by Jennifer Kesler
Clues for white people dealing with racism: "it's not about you"
It's Not About You by jonquil
How Not To be Insane When Accused of Racism: A Guide For White People by Ampersand
Baby-stepping away from racism: A guide for white people by paradox-dragon
Ally Work: Suggested Reading
How to Suppress Discussions of Racism by coffeeandink
The Art of Defending Racism by yeloson
How white privilege works on an international level:
Martin Jacques: The global hierarchy of race
"Whites are the only race that never suffers any kind of systemic racism anywhere in the world. And the impact of white racism has been far more profound and baneful than any other: it remains the only racism with global reach."
Racism on an international scale by oyceter
Link list:
sparkymonster's List of Links for Clueless White People
Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
United Nations: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March. On that day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid "pass laws". Proclaiming the Day in 1966, the General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.
The flip side of institutional racism is white privilege. It means, that whether or not a white person is racist, or strives to become anti-racist, this person benefits from white privilege. When we grow up, we learn many things that are usually not explicitly taught to us - racial prejudice is one of these things. (Read Our Racist, Sexist Selves by Nicholas D. Kristof for more on this.) White privilege lets us see ourselves as normal, and as Peggy McIntosh writes, "whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative, and average, and also ideal, so that when we work to benefit others, this is seen as work that will allow “them” to be more like “us.”"
In her essay White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, Peggy McIntosh lists 50 instances of white privilege. I have chosen a few of them here:1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.
6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.
11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person's voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race.
12. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can cut my hair.
16. I can be pretty sure that my children's teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others' attitudes toward their race.
18. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race.
20. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
21. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
22. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
41. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
46. I can chose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more or less match my skin.
50. I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.
Peggy McIntosh writes:
"The pressure to avoid [thinking about white privilege] is great, for in facing it I must give up the myth of meritocracy. If these things are true, this is not such a free country; one's life is not what one makes it; many doors open for certain people through no virtues of their own."
White skin color gives an unfair advantage to white people, because institutional racism disadvantages people of color. Our success depends not only on our own merits, but on the opportunities we are given. Our skin color affects these opportunities.
There are different types of privileges, some of them are basic human rights, while others enable the privileged person to damage others. Peggy McIntosh writes: "Some, like the expectation that neighbors will be decent to you, or that your race will not count against you in court, should be the norm in a just society. Others, like the privilege to ignore less powerful people, distort the humanity of the holders as well as the ignored groups."
One factor seems clear about all of the interlocking oppressions. They take both active forms, which we can see, and embedded forms, which as a member of the dominant groups one is taught not to see. In my class and place, I did not see myself as a racist because I was taught to recognize racism only in individual acts of meanness by members of my group, never in invisible systems conferring unsought racial dominance on my group from birth.
Jennifer Kesler comments on Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack:
"It’s easier to see when others have advantages you don’t; tougher to see when you hold advantages others don’t. You’re trained from birth to see your privileges as rights you are owed simply for showing up. But if not everyone has those “rights”, then clearly they are privileges. If you claim not to support unequal rights dispersed on random criteria such as color or gender, then you need to listen carefully and investigate before dismissing claims that other people don’t fully share your “rights”."
I have collected here a few additional links for your anti-racism neeeds. :)
"Check my what?" On privilege and what we can do about it by Andrea Rubenstein
Privilege means never having to explain why it doesn’t work for Others by Jennifer Kesler
White Trash Blues: Class Privilege v. White Privilege by Jennifer Kesler
Clues for white people dealing with racism: "it's not about you"
It's Not About You by jonquil
How Not To be Insane When Accused of Racism: A Guide For White People by Ampersand
Baby-stepping away from racism: A guide for white people by paradox-dragon
Ally Work: Suggested Reading
How to Suppress Discussions of Racism by coffeeandink
The Art of Defending Racism by yeloson
How white privilege works on an international level:
Martin Jacques: The global hierarchy of race
"Whites are the only race that never suffers any kind of systemic racism anywhere in the world. And the impact of white racism has been far more profound and baneful than any other: it remains the only racism with global reach."
Racism on an international scale by oyceter
Link list:
sparkymonster's List of Links for Clueless White People
Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
United Nations: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March. On that day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid "pass laws". Proclaiming the Day in 1966, the General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.