"Whites Swim in Racial Preference" by Tim Wise

Premise:

Ingrained
Privilege
Invisible
Subtle
Race-neutral
Development of Affirmative action throughout history
Opportunity
Inequalities
Hypocrisy
Cause and effects
Self- sufficiency

Argument:
Wise argues that although affirmative action was supposedly instituted to equalize society and expand opportunities for subjugated peoples, the program further extends the already prominent privilege that whites benefit from. He believes that the people who struggled to become free from oppression are still not receiving equal treatment in the eyes of the government. Wise also believes that privilege is so ingrained in the minds of white people that its presence and effects are not even recognized.

Evidence:
· Wise states, “privilege, to us, is like water to the fish: invisible precisely because we can not imagine life without it.” Wise explains how this privilege is so prominent that whites forget it exists and proceed to complain about how people of color are given so many opportunities to succeed. What whites forget is that even with these opportunities people of color are given, the privilege that white people embody is still more powerful and effective.
· When discussing the point systems for entrance to different universities and colleges around the country, Wise notes that “even truly talented students of color will be unable to access those extra points simply because of where they live, their economic status and ultimately their race, which is intertwined with both.”
· Wise notes that white privilege is evident in the fact that even though affirmative action is in place to prevent discrimination in colleges and universities based on race, “whites are more likely than members of any other group—even with affirmative action in place—to get their first-choice school.

Questions/ Comments
After reading this article, I was taken back by the fact that the author assumes he is writing to a white audience. When talking about white privilege he talks about how people like “us” are blind to the privilege and that “privilege, to us, is like water to the fish.” What would make him assume such a position? Isn’t this racist in and of itself? As one would only see fitting, this article goes hand in hand with Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” Unlike Wise, McIntosh does not assume that her readers are all white. Although she explains how she as a white woman views white privilege, she is careful not to group everyone together when she talks about privilege.