SOC 262 Week 3: Sociology Matters

Sociology Matters Week 3

SOC/262

Sociology Matters Week 3

Introduction

When looking at our society, there are many different racial and ethnic groups. Some of these groups may be treated better than others. With society, there are many times when people of different groups may judge or react to outside groups in a negative manner. Today, I really want to go over white privilege and the things that may be taken for granted just from being white. I will also look at ways that these privileges may be reduced and the efforts that could be taken.

What Privileges Do You Enjoy That You Have Always Taken For Granted

When some white people think of white privilege, they take this as an assumption that they have never struggled to earn things in their lives. In reality, this is not what white privilege refers to. The meaning of white privilege really refers to “legal and systematic advantages given to white people by the United States, such as citizenship, the right to vote or the right to buy a house in the neighborhood of their choice” (Collins, 2018). As someone who is white, I can truly say that there are many things that I do or buy without thinking about how it is a privilege for myself. I have the ability to go to the store and easily find hair products that work for my hair, whereas someone who is ethnic, may have a harder time, or even a smaller section to choose from. Another example would be how the grocery store is stocked with a variety of food options that reflect the culture for the majority of white people (Collins, 2018). As someone who is white, there are several situations or things that occur where we would never think twice about if we are being “favored” over a different race. I honestly take for granted the fact that I can go through life without being judged or criticized as much as someone of a different race would be. We see it all too often where a person of color is being accused of a crime that they did not commit, with most of this assumption coming from the color of their skin. People that are white take many things for granted and it is unfortunate that we do not think about these situations more often to where we could try and make a change.

Can You Think Of A Way To Reduce One Or More Of Those Privileges So The Others Can Be More Equal

I feel that it is important for everyone to try and reduce the privileges that whites have to try and help other races or ethnic groups to become more equal. When it comes to the example of hair products being available in the store, it would be beneficial to create larger sections for ethnic hair types so that they have the same amount of products to choose from as someone with white hair. We can write to our stores to explain how having limited sections for these different cultures is showing how whites have privileges and that there is a need to explain these other sections. I feel it is important to express to stores how important it is to have more of a diverse variety of products so that everyone coming into the store can feel more equal, no matter their race or ethnic background. The example about how other races and ethnic groups are judged or criticized, this one is a bit more difficult to make more equal. The main reason that this is more difficult is because it takes getting more people involved to change this overall persona of judging these different groups. I feel that this starts with the parents, as their children tend to take after their same views on these types of issues, so it is important for parents to be more open and accepting of different groups so that, hopefully, the up and coming generations will continue to be accepting.

Conclusion

This week, we really got to see how people in our society are treated better than others. There are many different privileges that white people have and honestly, most of them are even taken for granted. Most white people do not think about how there are so many different privileges, in many different scenarios, that are being taken for granted. We, as a society, need to work on reducing these privileges, so that there can be more equality between the different races and ethnic groups. I definitely feel that everyone should come together to help eliminate these privileges, as everyone deserves an equal chance, equal judgement, or equal options, no matter the circumstances.

References:

Collins, C. (2018). What Is White Privilege, Really?. Retrieved from https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/fall-2018/what-is-white-privilege-really 

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