Talking Point 8

Talking Point 8: Tim Wise: Whites Swim in Racial Preference

Premise:
• White supremacy
• Racial preference
• Discrimination
• White privilege
• Discreet powers
• Ignorance
• Affirmative action
• Complaining by whites of minority having more opportunity
• No egalitarian treatment
• Duplicity by whites
• Unfair schooling systems
• Preferential treatment
• Invisible power

Author’s Argument:
Wise argues that whites are ignorant of their own inherent power given to them by their skin color and that black and other minority groups are by no means given the same opportunity as whites. He also states even though affirmative action is in place there still needs to be discussions to help curtail the effects of unfair white advantages.

Evidence:
1. “White families, on average, have a net worth that is 11 times the net worth of black families, according to a recent study; and this gap remains substantial even when only comparing families of like size, composition, education and income status.
2. “We (whites) ignore the fact that at almost every turn, our hard work has been met with access to an opportunity structure denied to millions of others. Privilege, to us, is like water to the fish: invisible precisely because we cannot imagine life without it.”
3. “So the U of M offers 20 ‘extra’ points to the typical black, Latino or indigenous applicant, while offering various combinations worth up to 58 extra points for students who will almost all be white.”

Questions/Comments/Point to Share:
Whites Swim in Racial Preference has proven to be a good indication of just how serendipitous white people are to have their specified privileges and are completely ignorant of that fact. The article proved to be an easy read that both enlightened and gave me new ideas as to how I should look at my own life and stop to think of what my heritage has done for me. It relates to Johnson in a sense that it says that racial preference is something that needs to be explicitly talked about. I also feel that it has a correlation to the Lawrence article we read because of the fact that both are calling for reforms that will help squelch segregation in both schools and society at large. How would I and other normal people go about accomplishing some of these goals? While they seem progressive and innovative I view them as somewhat unrealistic due to their somewhat inherently radical nature.