So there is a lot of buzz around discussions of privilege and its implications in social settings. In more capable areas the discussion is occurring smoothly with people working cohesively to use privilege responsibly to shape a world where there are no underprivileged groups. In other areas the responses have been violent. One only has to look at the University of Texas where students launched balloons filled with bleach at students of color on several, separate, occasions.
The University also has received sharp criticism for the Greek organizations race themed parties with the article citing "The local chapters of Tri Delta and Zeta Tau Alpha have recently apologized for a fiesta-themed party where two party attendees wore shirts that read 'Illegal' and 'Border Patrol.'" But the University of Texas is not the only college homes to these travesties. Colleges and Universities across the nation are dealing with these problems from Tufts University to my own Allegheny College. The common response from people in these organizations to accusations of racism or apathy in the face of racism has been, "Please don't dismiss everybody because there are people out there who care and that want to help," as Mandy Stein from the article pointed out. At Allegheny College where a forum was called to address Greek life there was a lot of this apathy in the face of racism and defensiveness in the face of blatant, and repeated incidences of Black face and cultural appropriation of Native American culture and symbols. Some students stated that they felt attacked by minority students calling them out on their actions, saying things along the lines, "well I didn't mean it like that" or "I'm not racist" with the latter eerily reflecting tweets that appeared during the 2012 Presidential Election.
This pattern poises a question for us, whose duty is it to deconstruct privilege? Is it, as the trends show, the responsibility of minority groups (who are already tasked with preserving their cultural heritage) to educate larger society about the pitfalls of their actions, or is it the responsibility of the privileged to educate themselves and see the dangers of privileged attitudes and blatantly racist attitudes?
The answer lies in the following passage in Stigma; Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identities by Erving Goffman, that I have bulleted and italicized for added flair, on what the assumption that minorities be the teachers of privilege means to the privileged:
The University also has received sharp criticism for the Greek organizations race themed parties with the article citing "The local chapters of Tri Delta and Zeta Tau Alpha have recently apologized for a fiesta-themed party where two party attendees wore shirts that read 'Illegal' and 'Border Patrol.'" But the University of Texas is not the only college homes to these travesties. Colleges and Universities across the nation are dealing with these problems from Tufts University to my own Allegheny College. The common response from people in these organizations to accusations of racism or apathy in the face of racism has been, "Please don't dismiss everybody because there are people out there who care and that want to help," as Mandy Stein from the article pointed out. At Allegheny College where a forum was called to address Greek life there was a lot of this apathy in the face of racism and defensiveness in the face of blatant, and repeated incidences of Black face and cultural appropriation of Native American culture and symbols. Some students stated that they felt attacked by minority students calling them out on their actions, saying things along the lines, "well I didn't mean it like that" or "I'm not racist" with the latter eerily reflecting tweets that appeared during the 2012 Presidential Election.
This pattern poises a question for us, whose duty is it to deconstruct privilege? Is it, as the trends show, the responsibility of minority groups (who are already tasked with preserving their cultural heritage) to educate larger society about the pitfalls of their actions, or is it the responsibility of the privileged to educate themselves and see the dangers of privileged attitudes and blatantly racist attitudes?
The answer lies in the following passage in Stigma; Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identities by Erving Goffman, that I have bulleted and italicized for added flair, on what the assumption that minorities be the teachers of privilege means to the privileged:
- the pain and unfairness of having to carry a stigma will never be presented to them;
- they will never have to admit how limited their tactfulness and tolerance is;
- they can maintain uncontaminated by intimate contact with the stigmatized and;
- they can remain unthreatened in their identity beliefs.
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