- Published: September 13, 2022
- Updated: September 13, 2022
- University / College: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
- Language: English
- Downloads: 12
Tal Fortgang`s article “ Checking My Privlidge” is about white people being discriminated against because they have many privlidges due to the history of their power. He writes of those who use his privilege against him in speech that, “ I do condemn them for diminishing everything I have personally accomplished.” This seems a simple statement. Who exactly is diminishing everything that he has accomplished? I do not believe that this is happening. It seems that Fortgang is upset because while not everyone is equal in the history of mankind, and even today, he wants the world to pretend that everyone is. It is if he wants people to stop fighting for equality and to understand reality. That white males over years have been in power and have made the field of play unequal, does not diminish his accomplishments. But ignoring the white male privilege is to ignore reality. The other way of saying his point would be to say that he wants people who have it unfair and are discriminated against to forget all that. It is like he is saying to a recently released slave to forget that for generations his family was enslaved by white people and to just act like all is equal.
It is certainly not Fortgang`s fault that he has this privlidge. He was born into it. It is not his fault any more than it is Michael Jordan`s fault that he was good at basketball. But does Michael Jordan want people to ignore and forget that he is tall. Fortgang should be thankful for his privilege, he should see how it has helped him, and he should not be offended when people bring up that fact.