written by Kevin Kirkbride

After reading the opinion article by Jessie Gomez in a past issue of The Clause, I was thoroughly outraged by the one-sidedness of the writing. In response, I would like to share my own views on “white privilege.”

To begin, it is unfair and offensive to stereotype all “white” people into the same category.

It must be understood that just because we may share the same skin color does not mean that we share the same ideologies, histories, customs and “advantage in social, political and economic circumstances.” For example, we can take most European countries and say they are aesthetically of the “white” race. Maintaining the fallacy that all “white” people are similar in ideology and custom would be disgraceful to the proud histories that our ancestors forged.

Now when you look at the United States, and Southern California in particular, you can easily see the uniqueness of the individual, by which it is an insult to equate one to another based on skin color alone.

As for my background, I come from a family that is not very wealthy. My parents struggle to pay the bills and need to budget carefully to make ends meet. I worked hard to get where I am. I did not get here on handouts or charity.

I have not seen this white privilege that many people reference. I do not get special grants and scholarships because I am white, although I could say the opposite for those of other ethnicities. It is this discrimination against “white” that causes many problems.

If there were a club celebrating German heritage on campus, how accepted would that be in comparison with the Black Student Association?

If Activate wants students and faculty on this campus to support its movement, then it needs to definitively explain what discrimination its members are experiencing. It is not enough to simply say, “We stand for progress.” It is our responsibility to take a step back and look at the big picture before jumping on the bandwagon of the newest controversy to hit our campus.