Jose Ducena
Date: 3-1-2012
2nd Paper/ Sociology 321 L
Instructor: Dr. Neenah Estrella-Luna
Interview Assignment
White privileges, like many unearned privileges are not always very black and white for the average observer to see; as it was during the early to mid-twentieth century. Currently it is very much oblivious to the individual who are benefiting from white privilege. This is simply cause over time; the mentality has been institutionalized to be seen as the norm, rather than morally unethical. Some whites will even argue that “White privilege is a lie made up by Blacks, or any other minorities looking for an excuse to be lazy”. Being insensible enough to say that minorities simply need an excuse to why they have a hard time achieving success or their full potentials. Really and truly, the fact is White privilege still exists and is actively shown worldwide.
During the time spent conducting my interview in order to depict real life examples of White Privilege, versus textbook based facts. Doing this, I was able to take a closer at the views of individual participant experience with the matter. My findings were indeed interesting as I thought they would be prior to my interviews. I found with Cape Verdean Gisa friend, her experience was solely done my mistake or I would like to think it was; being so pity in itself. The incident happened recently at the university cafeteria. She explains that “a woman of Caucasian decent selectively gave her prepared her meal with more time and better than white male ahead of her. My friend being very optimistic assumes that this was done simply cause of the fast food setting. However, the Caucasian server for a second time prepares a young white female meal better than young black lady who stood behind my friend. By this time, it is clearly shown that this was no mistake and it was being done purposely. The White student who received the fair treatment goes about their way being very satisfied with the courtesy they receive with their meal preparation; when my friend walks off confused to what just took place.
The second interview I conducted was a bit different and more transparent to see the pattern of White Privilege illustrated. I found in my African American friend Jessie experience merely favoritism, a very common Privilege trait. Her story closely resembles the typical black working class story. Living in a largely urban area, her parents wanted to make sure she got the best education possible, so they enrolled their daughter in a private school in the suburbs. Knowing this would be the best chance for my friend Jessie to get a good education, which majority of the black kids in the neighborhood could not afford to make such efforts. The incident happens in the first few weeks of her enrollment. Being the only black kid in the class, this ought to be expected but she was hopeful that it would happen being well into the early twenty first century. A question was ask in her class, and knowing she was surround in a classroom of kid’s living and breathing white privilege, she felt pressured to prove to the instructor she just as smart and did not fit in the stereotype of lazy black folks. Having done this assumption, she raises her hand first to answer the question that was asked, only for the instructor to choose the white child next to her. This continued throughout the school year until my friend was convince she was in fact inferior and that white privilege was not at all a phenomenon, but the reality of children like her all over the country.
The last participant to my experiment was simply my good friend Rose, which is as white as they come, but also very humble in her nature. She totally rejects the idea of White privilege because she believes that no one should be limited in achieving their full potentials in life. When I asked her the question, “ Have you heard of white privilege and do you think its real, why or why not ?”. She replied, saying “yes it exists but I don’t think it truly matters anymore, because the true hard workers are always rewarded at the end of it all. The reality of white privilege existed back 1950’s and 1960’s but it’s a different story now altogether. The answer which I received was very optimistic on her part and I truly applaud her for actively trying to clear the institutionalized values that society have place upon whites who simply have not earn it. However the fact remains s that whites are still over privileged and it is actively being shown in the school classrooms, school cafeterias, Hospital emergency rooms and more.