I think the very first thing I have to talk about is the metaphor comparing white privilege to an invisible weightless knapsack in the first reading. One of the most interesting ways I have heard someone put it. The thing that intrigued me the most was the significance of the “weightless” aspect of it. All of us have our own baggage that we carry everyday as a person, we all carry our burdens. Some heavier, some lighter, but we all know that they are there. What I found interesting is that the author says that white people carry their privileges around everyday too, on their backs, guaranteed to have them and use them whenever they please. But the author says weightless. Maybe I am just exaggerating this but it’s just crazy that this one word affects how I’ll see it from now on, white people don’t just not see their privileges. It’s there on their back and they can’t feel it because it’s been made weightless for them. Being the kind of person that I am, a lot of the time I can excuse ignorance just because if you cant see something then you cant see something. But they can’t feel that burden of holding all their privileges and that makes me think: why not?

I really liked the fact that the author was talking about women and mens privileges and that made them start thinking of their own, but not just considering her sex but all contributing factors like class/race/religion. I like when people are aware of their privileges, I think I have said that before. The author even made a list, and on that list I felt there were things that were important to point out but I have just never put it into words myself. One that stuck out to me was number 15 that says “I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.” I think that’s just one that I have never thought of. I’ve seen countless examples of it, specifically black people having to speak for their race in groups when they are the only one there. Why? No one can guarantee a whole race group has the same thoughts as one girl so why put her to speak? It just made me think that I have never had to do that in a big group before and how insensitive it is too. I hope there will always be another person of color in whatever public room I walk into. Overall the reading was very eye opening when it comes to recognizing some of the privileges I have due to the color of my skin and the people around me. 

The second reading starts off strong with the author wanting to make sure people use the term “oppression” correctly which I can agree with. In my experience I haven’t heard people using it deliberately wrong. I will be thinking about the context in which the term is being used though from now on. The author is right in wanting to point it out too, we have to know what it means in order to stop it from happening. One quote I found that shocked me was “If we ever deny that any person or group is oppressed…we are accused of insensitivity…For women, such accusation is particularly intimidating, since sensitivity is one of the few virtues that has been assigned to us if we are found insensitive we may fear we have no redeeming traits at all and perhaps are not real women.” I was shocked at how true it was, there are so many moments where I have felt this way and therefore silenced myself. We are taught to be nice and hear people out even if you know what they are saying is completely wrong, that’s not right.

The author gives a metaphor, they compare oppression to a birdcage. Sounds simpler than it is, the author says understanding oppression depends on how you look at situations. You need to be able to see the big picture and look outside of just your own point of view.  People see oppression as one general thing you can work to overcome but fail to see all the things that limit a person into being able to even start. 

The part where the author talks about men opening doors changed my life. I’m not kidding. The author explains that when men open doors for you it is not entirely a kind gesture or even at all. Men want to get to the door first. Men are capable of helping you when they think it will benefit you but don’t help when it comes to actual life and death situations. I know the author didn’t mean to make me see men in a worse light but they did, it’s all true, they will rather hold a door for you than change the system that keeps us in a constant state of fear. They ignore it and only advise you to work around it. I liked that the author mentioned how men also say they are being oppressed when they are the ones contributing to that system. Men cant cry because men would rather be praised for not crying than be mocked and compared to a woman. They are rewarded for their punishments to themselves. Even the barriers they created that limit them still find a way to reward them, even if it’s just maintaining their status of being a man. I never thought about it that way.