In the article White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Back Pack, Peggy McIntosh explains how white people have an unearned advantage in society solely due to the colour of their skin. The first important aspect of the article is that McIntosh argues that white people gain this privilege from the prejudice we attribute to people of colour. These ideas people have, put people of colour at a disadvantage in comparison to white people. The preconceived ideas people have about others affects their opinions causing them to undervalue people belonging to particular racial groups. Examples of these ideas are: that a certain race is uneducated, that a certain race is incapable performing certain tasks, or that one race is superior to another, also known as ethnocentrism. Since being white is an asset, it opens many doors for white people to rise to the top (McIntosh 8), while the undervalued people of colour are being held back. The fact that this happens and while people remain oblivious to white privilege, allows the current “taxonomy of privilege,” (McIntosh 9) to remain.
Another important aspect of the article is that McIntosh acknowledges that all white people are not racist, but they “are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege,” (McIntosh 3). If they do not see white privilege as being real, they will be less inclined to agree that other races are not treated as fairly and they will also not attempt to do anything to help the under privileged groups. In society today, most people would say everyone is treated fairly, but unfortunately this is not true due to white privilege. White people are not taught to see themselves “as an oppressor,” but are taught to see themselves as “an individual whose moral state depended on [their] individual moral will,” (McIntosh 6). This means that white people do not feel guilty or acknowledge themselves as causing harm