Privilege, Power, and Difference by Allan G. Johnson
Main Idea
In this text, Johnson is opening a conversation about the various social injustices America is facing today. He does this by embracing terms that usually elicit defensiveness, acknowledging the relational aspect and reciprocal harms of privilege, and stressing the importance of the dominant group's participation in solutions.
Talking Points
1. Johnson talks about privilege as a relationship between two parties: "Privilege is always in relation to others. Privilege is always at someone else's expense and always exacts a cost." This is an important point because it frames privilege as a dichotomy, one group benefiting while another suffers.
2. Many people in a dominant group are unwilling to acknowledge or talk about their privilege. Johnson says "this is the single most powerful barrier to change. Understanding how to bring dominant groups into the conversation and the solution is the biggest challenge we face."
3. A last important point Johnson brings up is the reaction we have to the language surrounding these issues. Words like racism and sexism elicit a defensive response that often shuts down meaningful conversation and growth. He offers that these phrases be embraced but reframed and refocused on the ideas they represent rather than people they may describe.
hey!! I really liked your point about privilege being relational rather than something that exists on its own. The quote you chose helped me think about how one group's advantages are often connected to another group's disadvantages. I also agree that our defensive reactions to words like privilege and racism can make it harder to have the honest conversations that Johnson argues are necessary for real change.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to what Maya said, I think your point about privilege being relational is really interesting to me. It reminds me of a previous pedagogy class I took where we discussed how in order to have an in-group there must be an out-group. In order to have a powerful group we must have an oppressed group. Even if we shift who gets to belong in the powerful group (e.g. Italians being considered non-white and then white), as long as there are any power differentials at all, it's not true progress.
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome points Dana! I especially like the second talking point. I agree that people in dominant groups are often unwilling to acknowledge their position, and I think its important to think about the reasons why. Thank you for highlighting this!
ReplyDelete