Johnson- Privilege, Power, and Difference (Chapter 4)

Today’s society is filled with many unique and fascinating people. Each person has had their own experiences. Some people have traveled the world, and others have participated in marathons. However, everyone is not equal in the world. While times have in fact changed dramatically over they years, such things as racism and discrimination still exist in today’s society.
In chapter 4 of Allan G. Johnson’s Privilege, Power, and Difference book, he discusses the problems of privilege and oppression that are present in today’s society. According to Johnson, “inclusion and acceptance are key aspects of privilege.” Often times, these things occur without anyone intending harm, such as, one’s tone of voice shifting causing their remark to sound sarcastic therefore making someone feel unaccepted.
Racism happens all around the world every day, openly and on purpose. Real estate agents may steer people of color away from certain neighborhoods that are predominately white despite their backgrounds or personalities. “Where people live makes a huge difference in the jobs they have access to, the quality of community services, and their ability to affect those who govern them.” This forces blacks to live in areas simply because of their skin color. In the working scheme of things, it is shown that there is a glass ceiling, meaning the dominant group (white males) has the ability to move above the ceiling rising higher and higher in their line of work while the minority groups are stuck underneath the ceiling.
Today, for minority groups such as blacks, there is a struggle to earn a living or a degree. It has been noted that whites just brush off their hardships and believe they know what it’s like to be in their shoes. But in reality, how would they know that it’s not?
According to Johnson, “problems of privilege and oppression are far from over.” The patterns of history are continuing and there’s no sign of them stopping unless people take action and make it change. Today, people are ignoring reality and believe that if they replace it with good intentions, it will go away. But this idea depends on one’s ability to work together and discover the truth on the other side. I agree with this idea. Many people want to see change in the world but do not realize that action must be taken in order for that to happen.