Blog #1 - SCWAAMP & Power, Privilege, and Difference
S.C.W.A.A.M.P. is a set of different questions in society that we ask ourselves sometimes. Some questions include, "How is straightness valued in our society?" Another question is, "How is whiteness valued in our society?" These questions can be answered in many different ways, depending on how different people view different things. A white person in America may not think that they are valued if they have an altered set of beliefs about themselves and where they grew up, while on the other hand, an African-American person may/will think that white people are fundamentally valued exponentially more than any other race living in America.
In the reading by John Alan, he talks about his relationships with other races and how he can't understand the lives of other races and sexes since he is a white man from a middle-class life. He realizes that he has always had a privilege for everything in his life as he grew up. He states that "DIFFERENCE IS NOT THE PROBLEM." Alan states that difference is an illusion that disguises itself as being the problem. In reality, the problem is that people are scared of what they do not know and do not understand. Privilege has an uneven amount of power, and this causes it to keep going as it is. Unearned entitlements are the things that all people should have, though it seems that that is not the case. Unearned entitlements are given to some groups and not the other, leading to unearned advantages. These groups are unwilling to give up, and they don't even acknowledge these advantages.
Privilege can be showcased in our everyday lives in a multitude of ways, like how a white man can be less likely to be arrested after getting pulled over, being convicted, and going to jail. Another way is that "Whites can succeed without other people's being surprised." Even in sexual orientation, heterosexual people don't have to worry that their sexual orientation will be used as an insult against them. One last way is people's sex. Men do not have to deal with a constant focus on their gender, like how attractive they are, as opposed to women.
I think that you wrote a really nice post! I agree with your statement that " the problem is that people are scared of what they do not know and do not understand". I think that this statement explains perfectly to why people avoid hard topics of conversations which is because they do not know about other peoples experiences and what they may have gone through. I think people avoid these topics because of how sensitive and defensive some people may get when it is trying to be discussed. If people were open to discussing these topics then people would be able to learn and understand others point of views.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you broke your blog post up into three paragraphs, it made it easy to understand what you are saying. The way you gave examples on what S.C.W.A.A.M.P is is definitely helpful for the readers to truly understand. Its also so true how people are afraid of what they do not know and what they do not understand. I remember in the reading he says hoe people are scared of what they think they know, like with stereotypes or jumping to conclusions.
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