Privilege In American Politics

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Privilege is an aspect of every person’s life. It comes into play even in the most mundane, everyday events. Usually it goes unnoticed, especially by those that have it. Privilege is an unavoidable part of each of our lives, and it is our responsibility to learn how to navigate it. This essay will address an everyday example of privilege in motion, look at how privilege normalizes certain groups, as well as dissect how privilege works, even when unnoticed in the moment. The example of privilege used in this essay is an experience I have had in a classroom setting. Oddly enough, privilege was present even during a discussion about privilege in American Politics.
This discussion over privilege happened in a Rhetoric in American Politics class here at the University. It was about a third of the way through the fall semester, and right after the recent election of Donald Trump. This was obviously the topic of our discussion in a rhetoric class with a focus on politics. The class consisted of about fifteen students. Most of them white, and most of them male. This isn’t to say there weren’t minority groups represented, they were there, they were …show more content…
In part, because white men have had the ability to create and distribute knowledge, and because of this, their idea of normal was set in place. And because of this, they have been allowed to create policies, run governing bodies, and make decisions that impact those who don’t necessarily qualify as “normal.” When bringing these points up, in a classroom setting or otherwise, there are claims of “identity politics” or “reverse racism/sexism.” That’s because there is often a perceived sense of guilt that goes along with the acknowledgement of privilege, and these strategies of denial are used to combat this. Even so, it is still integral and necessary to point out these privileges as they arise in society, and in miniscule
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