Whiteness april reading/questions

Whiteness April Reading/Questions

Insert Whiteness April Reading/Questions The argues that the term “ whiteness” is a strategic move groundedin their racial identity. They have power because they are the majority and that being white is seen as a privilege.
Ethnicity is one of the themes in this article. For the American white population, ethnicity is not a substantial part of their everyday life. They view their ethnic lineage as a symbol and their whiteness as being descended from the European ancestry.
Use of color is another theme which has been used to define various races; blacks, Asians, are seen as people of color. On the contrary, white people do not see themselves as having a color. They see themselves as non colored people thus differentiating themselves with the rest; who are seen as people of color.
What made me uncomfortable in the reading was the answers given by the respondents. In the part of Whiteness as a strategy, they seem to think that their race is privileged as compared to the other races. One students response during a survey took by the author described “ white” as status, while the commentator at the local newspaper observed that, “ White males are everywhere. They control the money and finance; they control the flow of information, corporate boards and union leadership… white males are simply not happy unless they have a monopoly over everything they do.” I never look at it that way. What if they work as hard as the rest of the other races, and that they get their position legitimately. The only problem is that they are the majority thus we should expect more of them in work places.
I had not thought of how race was a big factor in our society. Maybe it is because of the way I was brought up. In our neighborhood most races were present and we all interacted with each other.
I am confused about what significance this article portrays the American society and community. That in this day and age, the writer still thinks that race should still be discussed. His ideology of “ whiteness” is wrong. Since the election of president Obama into office, the racial divide has lessened “ black” are seeing themselves as black Americans. People are accepting the possibility of a unified state where all are equal in race and gender.
The idea of “ whiteness” is far fetched. It belonged to the pasted generations where white saw themselves as superior to other races. In this day and age, power is exercised by all who are fit to run in those offices. People are being elected to power because of the contribution they can make to the nation, not of the color of their skin. If “ whiteness” was a strategy then the strategy has failed in this generation.
Work Cited
Roediger, David. Colored white. Berkeley: university of Colombia, 2002