White Privilege s Representation in Immigration
In Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, Peggy McIntosh addresses the unconscious oppressiveness of white privilege in the American Society. One of the areas where this privilege is highly evident, but most often unacknowledged, is the ever-controversial theme of immigration. Immigration is both a vital source for this country and a clear example of white privilege in the U.S. ... Although immigration has many forms, and does not just involve the common negative stereotype of Latin Americans illegally sneaking across the border, a significant focus of this discussion will concentrate on illegal immigration and how it furthers white privilege. ... The established white society of settlers who were already here needed this source of cheap, productive labor to keep the economy going and used it to create even more wealth for themselves. ... S. ... S. ... S. today, although arguably in better conditions than in the past, is still something that the average, white-American citizen would never even consider doing. ... That does not mean, however, that they are not oppressed and that the dominant race in our society enjoys great privilege at their expense. Illegal immigrants, for example, pay high sums (that likely end up in a white man’s pocket) to be smuggled into the country and most often have to work, almost as slaves, to pay off their smugglers. ... The ability to miss work if necessary and access to health care are examples of benefits that a white member of the society would expect as an implicit fact of being a “human being”. ... White society continues to be able to buy cheaper products or find a low cost source of labor and at the same time able to ignore and even place blame on the group of people that they take advantage of.