Sunday, September 16, 2012
Chapter 5- Post 2
The concept "white men of privilege" refers to the assumption that social, economic, and political power in the United States resides with upper-class and upper-middle-class White Europeans of wealth and privilege (Harris & Sherblom, 2011, p. 83). This notion is part of the hierarchies of power throughout socialization that are based on long standing beliefs. Though I understand why this belief exists, I do not necessarily believe that it applies to our current culture. The text states that it is our challenge for the 21st century to revise these social norms and I feel that is being accomplished slowly but surely. One of the biggest game-changers in my opinion was the election of Barack Obama as this is the first time we have had a person of color as president of the United States. This serves as a contradiction to the concept "white men of privilege" as he currently holds the most powerful position in the United States. There is still much progress to be made; however, over time hopefully these barriers will be broken down.
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Hello Daisy, nice job with your discussion post. I decided to respond to your post because it had some parts I agreed with, and some that I did not. You discussed that since President Obama is African-American then that should contradict the concept of “white men of privilege.” I don’t agree that it does. While we may have our first African-American President, the rest of the members of our congress are made up of upper-class White men. Even the female population in politics is very low, much less minority women in congress. I think that while electing our first African-American President was an amazing step forward in ending racism and discrimination, we still have a long way to go.
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