Blog Post #1 on "Privilege, Power, and Difference"

 

Privilege, Power and Difference by Alan Johnson (Chapters 1-3)

QUOTES

1.  “The purpose is to change how we think so that we can change how we act, and by changing how we participate in the world, become part of the complex dynamic through which the world itself will change” (p. viii).

This quote from the introduction of Privilege, Power, and Difference by Alan Johnson explains how a small and individual level of change can have a bigger impact on the world. Throughout these three chapters, Johnson repeatedly brings up that people avoid certain words and topics surrounding racism and privilege. In chapter 1, he states that “if we dispense with the words we make it impossible to talk about what’s really going on and what it has to do with us” (p. 2). This is one example of an individual change that can have a larger impact on the world around us.

2.      “Understanding how to bring dominant groups into the conversation and the solution is the biggest challenge we face… [My work in this book] is to identify tools for understanding what’s going on and what it’s got to do with us without being swallowed up in a sea of guilt and blame or rushing into denial and angry self-defense” (p. 11).

Throughout the text, Johnson challenges the reader to think about their own privilege. Blame, denial, and self-defense are things that I have seen a lot in conversations about privilege, power, and differences.  

3.      “Imagine you woke up tomorrow morning and found that your race was different… or imagine that your gender or sexual orientation had changed… How would that affect how people perceive and treat you? How would it affect how you see yourself? How would it change the material circumstances of your life, such as where you live or how much money you have? In what ways would the change make life better? Worse?” (p. 18-19).

This quote comes after Johnson asks the reader to consider The Diversity Wheel (Figure 3.1 from the text, below) and how they would be described according to it. There are several instances in this reading where the author asks the reader to look at their own life in terms of their privilege. Johnson gives the reader specific conditions and questions to consider, making it easy for someone to think about their privilege in a comfortable setting. This is connected to quote number one and the impact of small changes that an individual makes on their surroundings.

 

Below: Figure 3.1 from page 18 of Privilege, Power, and Difference by Alan Johnson

 

Below: A diversity wheel developed in 2017. Notice the few updated sections compared to the wheel used in the reading. (https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Diversity-Wheel-as-used-at-Johns-Hopkins-University-12_fig1_320178286)

Reflection/Questions/Comments:

               I appreciated the lists of “What Privilege Looks Like in Everyday Life” for race, gender, and sexual orientation on pages 27-33. They reminded me of the S.C.W.A.A.M.P. activity we did in class. While reading pages 9-10, I couldn’t help but feel pessimistic. Johnson writes, “It will take all or at least most of us to get us out of [the trouble we’re in],” when discussing the trouble surrounding privilege, power, and difference. I think that Johnson breaks down the “problem of difference” in simple terms on page 10, but I think there will always be this vocal group of people that refuse to be a part of the solution.