Sometimes we have to stop and ask ourselves, what is
privilege and do I have this privilege? Let’s first give a definition on what “being
privilege” means by definition. Privilege is a special advantage, immunity,
permission, right or benefit granted to or enjoyed by an individual or by
class. Basically privilege is having certain rights that others may not have.
Let’s also clear up that having privilege has nothing to do with being prejudice
or racist. Sometimes we can have certain privileges that we are not aware of
but some of us have it and some of us are well aware of the privileges that we
have. Having privilege is having imagery tools to help you get through life successfully.
Some have more tools than others but they do not have control of how many tools
was put in the toolbox.
This video first starts of by saying that boy scouts had
shot up at a local retirement home and everyone is no longer holding a grudge
with the police. The police at this point cheer with excitement. If you take a
closer look, all the police officers are white and the person in custody with
the police is black. One of the police officers who is white pushing the person
in custody who is black in the face and says to shut up. This particular scene
in the episode shows privilege in two ways. One way because police have a
certain privilege and also being white can give you a certain privilege. The
police was able to slap the person in custody without getting in trouble for
it, and no one spoke up about it either. We tend to see this as normal because
we usually see police as white males, and also black men at a disadvantage. You
will also notice that all the police were men and none were women. Men are also
put at an advantage in society.
Back in the day blacks were not allowed to sit in the front
of the bus and if they did sit there they had to give their seat to a while
person or they can be charged as a criminal. South Park brings to light this concept
when the dad expresses that they have “White Privilege” and that they black man
has to sit in the back of the car, no matter how educated or uneducated he is,
or even his Socioeconomic status (SES). He had this certain privilege to tell
the man that he cannot sit in the front and he has to be in the back. The other
kids are at an advantage because they get to decide where to sit.
The second part of the video has an interesting piece to it.
It shows that privilege is not just about race it can be about other things as
well. All boys in the episode are white and in the video they go to a park in
which since the boys scouts were accused of shooting up a retirement home they
are now at a disadvantage. One of the boys help a lady throw away trash and
they had seen it as him trying to harass her when in reality he was helping
her, the next guy was starting a fire to keep warmth and they accused him of
wanting to set the park on fire. The last guy was intentionally beating a dog
but because he had “White Privilege” he did not get in trouble or get looked at
wrong.
If you do not have this “privilege” that some people have it
can often put you at a disadvantage when in certain situations. If you do not
have these tools that others have it will make it harder on you as a person.
It's interesting how many shows like South Park can directly point out factors of privilege. Personally, I tend to stay away from South Park for the very fact that they realize various stereotypes and privileges different groups of people may or may not have and yet they do nothing to influence change. They continuously replicate and perpetuate these privileges and stereotypes within their episodes. Everytime I think of the show south park, I think of how they use the young african american kid as a token character and in fact, that's even his name. What do you think about the way South Park specifically uses privileges and stereotypes?
Personally, I feel the same way as you do. I try to avoid watching South Park especially because of the things that they put on their television show. I agree that they only use the black person to show "black representation" but then it goes to that debate on if bad representation is better than no representation at all. I guess I just wish that they used the episodes to influence change and not make it seem okay that black people also seem to be at a disadvantage or used as a token.
It's interesting how many shows like South Park can directly point out factors of privilege. Personally, I tend to stay away from South Park for the very fact that they realize various stereotypes and privileges different groups of people may or may not have and yet they do nothing to influence change. They continuously replicate and perpetuate these privileges and stereotypes within their episodes. Everytime I think of the show south park, I think of how they use the young african american kid as a token character and in fact, that's even his name. What do you think about the way South Park specifically uses privileges and stereotypes?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I feel the same way as you do. I try to avoid watching South Park especially because of the things that they put on their television show. I agree that they only use the black person to show "black representation" but then it goes to that debate on if bad representation is better than no representation at all. I guess I just wish that they used the episodes to influence change and not make it seem okay that black people also seem to be at a disadvantage or used as a token.
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