Malcolm X Post 1: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Reading this story by Peggy McIntosh made me realize all of the different privilege I, as an individual, receive. I'm not oblivious to the fact that whites are held up higher on the status quo than blacks are in America, but I never would have noticed all of the little things if it weren't for this passage. Little things such as flesh colored bandages. Until this passage, I never realized that the flesh colored bandages were only made for whites, there are no such things as black, flesh colored bandages. To find something like this out is just plain confusing. Whites are not the only people on this world, everyone should think about other races' needs. Just because discrimination isn't as prominent in our lives as it once was does not mean that it doesn't exist. The little things that white people generally wouldn't recognize are probably what other races realize the most. 

After I read this passage, I kept my out for little discriminatory actions that I encountered throughout my day. I was surprised to see how many I could find. Not only was I able to see racial discrimination, but gender discrimination also came up a few times in my day. It's really sad to see that people make racist or gender remarks, but don't realize that they could be hurtful. In lunch, a male friend used to joke and tell another friend to "Make me a sandwich woman!" Although I knew it was a joke, it bothered me to know that he could say something like that and not even feel a little bad about it. I have never personally had someone say that to me, but I know that it would hurt me on the inside. 

I also feel that people who are less outgoing or crazy get the shorter end of the stick in public places such as school. Being a naturally shy and to-myself kind of person, I've never had many advantages in my classes. I notice that some teachers tend to unknowingly separate the class into the more fun, talkative kids, of whom they like to call on, ask for favors, and help more often. Students like me, who may be too self-conscious to speak in front of a class of their peers would probably agree that the help we need is not always given to us, but often handed out to students who make themselves known in that class. 

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/272355/favoritism_in_public_education_the.html?cat=9

In one of my old classes, I realized that my progress report said that I was missing an assignment. The only reason it was missing was because I was absent when it was due. I had the assignment and made the mistake of showing it to my teacher while a more popular student was talking to her. She nodded in acknowledgement that I had the paper but continued to talk to the other student. Our next progress report, I found the same assignment was still missing. My teacher was "too busy" to jot down that I had the assignment and had completely forgotten. My whole grade was affected because she was not particularly interested in what I had to say. It really hurt me and made me feel like I was less important or not worthy. After that, I rarely talked in the class because I felt like my opinion didn't matter.