Understanding what is meant by ‘white privilege’

By Letter to the Editor on July 4, 2020.

It’s been said that; “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” I am proof that you can! At the age of 73, I’m still learning new things and I try to keep an open mind and listen to others. As a white male, I have always been annoyed when I’d hear someone use the phrase “white privilege.” I erroneously thought that just because I was a white person, it was assumed that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I like many others, have gone through several times of hardship in my life.

I recently decided to look up the meaning and discovered this explanation: White Privilege: “inherent advantages possessed by a white person on the basis of their race in a society characterized by racial inequality and injustice.”

Now I get it! In case someone reading this doesn’t, let me give you a couple of examples.

Let’s say I apply for a job along with a black male who is the same age, same qualifications and the same education. In most cases, who is most likely to get that job?

My family and an Indigenous family try to rent an apartment here in Lethbridge and we both have the same income, children, etc. Which family do you think is most likely to get the approval to rent the apartment?

None of us can select our race, so I am not going to apologize or feel ashamed because I am white but I now can acknowledge that I finally understand what white privilege means.

Doug Cameron

Lethbridge