Gather Privilege, Power, And Difference Imagined By Allan G. Johnson Issued As Copy

add to this over some time

This is one of the readings for our PLC group, I find the material within to be clearly written and organized, but, initially anyway, all relatively basic, Admittedly, I found myself feeling a bit impatient with it because none of it was new, That said, this is an excellent primer for teaching about privilege, power, and difference, particularly to a skeptical or uninformed audience, Honestly, I think our allwhite except for one and allmale except for one administration would benefit tremendously from reading and reflecting on its content, I've found most administrations at independent and private schools to be so homogenous, and despite good intentions, there is a tendency to play nice and not really dig into the thorny, complex, painful, and personal aspects of EID issues.
It's hard for people to speak up without anticipating defensiveness or negative consequences for "rocking the boat," and it's hard for those in privileged positions to truly see the issues that play out in both subtle and overt ways.
I am eager to see the ripple effects of reading and discussing works like this one, . .

He embeds relevant and powerful historical and contemporary examples into his discussions of these concepts and accessibly acknowledges people's resistance to truly reflecting on ourselves and our own participation in patterns of indifference or oppression.


"Since few people like to see themselves as bad, the words are taboo in 'polite' company, including many training programs in corporations and universities.
So, instead of talking about the sexism and racism that plague people's lives, the focus is on 'diversity' and 'tolerance' and 'appreciating difference,' all good things to talk about, but not at all the same as the isms and the trouble they're connected to".


One particularly striking for me quote was from an expert in disability studies who also happens to use a wheelchair that children approach him without hesitation or fear but they become more fearful as they get older.
This is a good reminder for me to be vigilant and mindful of how I raise my own children and who I expose them to, It has become more of an uphill battle to immerse ourselves in a more diverse array of peoples and life styles, . . we've grown increasingly comfortable and tracked, in many ways, to remain in a privileged bubble, I need to confront my own prejudices and preferences and constantly evaluate my values and goals for how I want to live my life and raise my children.
Comfort may not be the best option, despite its allure and security,

"Perhaps more than any other factor, the reluctance to recognize the more serious and entrenched forms of privilege is why most diversity programs serve as little more than a distraction and produce limited and shortlived results".


Oh boy. I have no doubt that nearly every reader of this review and anyone who has worked in schools or organizations with "diversity programs" has experienced this.
Creating a robust, real, effective diversity program is so hard, I'd love to find, experience, and learn from good ones, Surely, there must be some out there,

His historical review of the origins of racial categories points our attention to the white supremacy, white nationalism, and the more publicized forms of hate crimes today he doesn't get political in an obvious sense, but you can connect the dots.


I think the book gets really interesting for the sake of PLC discussions, especially starting in chapter, after all of the introductory material,

"Because a microaggressive act can be defended as 'small' and ambiguous 'I was only kidding', it can have an outsized effect by encouraging members of subordinate groups to doubt themselves 'Am I being too sensitive' as they try to figure out what to make of it and its significance".


"Avoidance, exclusion, rejection, and devaluing often happen in ways noticed only by the person experiencing them, and they can happen without anyone intending harm".


"The result is patterns of women and girls learning to circumscribe their lives in order to reduce the odds of being singled out for harassment or attack.
When subordinate groups get fed up and express rage, frustration, and resentment, there is always the danger that powerful others men, whites, Anglos, the nondisabled, heterosexuals, the middle and upper classes will not like it and will retaliate with accusations of being 'unprofessional' or 'malcontents,' 'maladjusted whiners,' 'troublemakers,' 'overly emotional,' 'bitches,' 'out of control,' 'malebashers.
' Given the cultural authority and the power to harm that such retaliation carries, it can be hard to defend against, further adding to the burden of oppression and increasing the unearned advantage of privilege".


Here's what really packs a punch for so many people in positions of authority:

"The position of white people and men in the world leaves them ill equipped to know what their female and minority subordinates, coworkers, and colleagues are up against as they try to make their way in organizations.
The path of least resistance is, for those in a privileged position, to see little or no reason to examine themselves in relation to the oppression that damages so many people's lives, to come to terms with how living in a world organized around privilege has shaped them, and how they see other people and themselves.
They might try to be fair, which is to say, to treat women as they would men, or people of color as they would whites, but this approach pretends that racism and sexism do not exist beyond conscious awareness and personal intentions, and makes it easier for them to feel unconnected to the trouble.
It makes even the possibility of diminishing that dysfunction and vulnerability for, say, a while male to mentor white women and people of color everything but a path of least resistance.
It also does not serve the needs of people on the outside looking in"

"If the person in power does not talk about or acknowledge privilege and oppression, the subordinate trying to learn the ropes and get along is unlikely to risk making powerful people uncomfortable by bringing it up.
With so much of importance left unsaid, it is hard to trust those in power, As a result, people do not learn what they need to know, They wind up stuck in place, or in some backwater position within the organization, their talents and abilities unrealized and of no particular use to anyone, including themselves.
Or they strike out on their own, dropping out of school or transferring to another university or leaving a job to start their own business or to work for a company that understands the importance of meeting the issues head on".


"Most organizational failures in the area of diversity result not from being run by meanspirited bigots they're not but from poorly dealing with issues of privilege or, more likely, not dealing with them at all unless the issue seem to go away without confronting the deeper reality of privilege and oppression".


I found this to be notable:

"Images of healing are also problematic because they imply that the damage being done is primarily emotional.
As reasonable as it sounds, it ignores the fact that a lot of the trouble does not begin and end with interpersonal relations and emotional wounds.
Much of it is embedded in structures of power and inequality that shape almost every aspect of life in this society, from segregation to economics, politics, religion, schools, and the family.
The idea that we are going to get out of this by somehow getting to a place where we are kinder and more sensitive to one another ignores most of what we have to overcome which is all that has kept us from it for so long.
It sets us up to walk right past the trouble toward an alternative that does not, and cannot, exist until we do something about what creates and drives privilege and oppression in the first place.
And that is something that needs to be changed, not healed"

Appealing to healing "feeds on the desperate illusion that if we ignore it long enough or try to replace it with good intentions, it will go away".


YES!

The above mostly covers chs,

"Another problem with acting from a sense of principle or virtue is that part of its appeal is the good feeling it gives people when they do it, which usually works only as long as the feeling lasts.
What is sustaining is a sense of ownership, that the trouble is truly our own and not someone else's, because this means our responsibility to do something no longer feels like an option".


Very thorough list under "Getting Off the Hook: Denial and Resistance" ch,.

A lot of his statements under "What Can We Do" ch,hinges on faith in progress from collective efforts, even when we cannot see them, To question who we are and how the world works as we look for alternatives, "It takes only one person to tear the fabric of collusion and apparent consensus",

"The simplest way to help others make different choices is to make them ourselves, in the open, where everyone can see, As we shift the patterns of our own participation, we make it easier for others to do it too, and at the same time, we make it harder to stay on the old path".


"we are not required to change people's minds, But we can shift the odds in favor of new paths that contradict core values on which system of privilege depend",

I find his specific lists to be most pedagogically helpful, He has great ones, such as one on "what privilege looks like in everyday life" adapted from McIntosh's essay, why dominant groups don't see privilege as a problem, and a list of questions that reveal worldview differences.


Some excellent questions at the end, esp, good for teaching. Johnson does a great job

picking apart what privilege amp power looks like and how it impacts our society in big and little ways, I wish he discussed more through out what we can do to help change the system besides just the last chapter, This book has helped me really start to reexamine my actions and implicit biases, .