Contested Spaces

In the three poems by Wong, Rushin, and Carrillo the authors expresses their anger and/or resentment towards whites that comes from their experiences of being a minority. Wong wished she was white instead of dark throughout her whole life and constantly strived to fit into that mold. Rushin is tired of being the only black friend of her group and she explains all the ways that others rely on her for this reason. Carrillo writes about how "white sisters" just do not understand what it is really like to be dark skinned and about their misconceptions. They may have pictures of a black woman but they do not actually have a black friend.

Macintosh's article helps explain the anger that Carrillo shows toward white men and women. White people have a privilege that comes along with being white but they do not realize this. Because they do not recognize that they have an advantage over minorities, minorities become resentful. Macintosh says that if someone is privileged but does not know that they are then they will not be able to work at ending it. Personally, I know their are times when I forget how privileged I am that I am white but their are times that I recognize it. Even when I do recognize it though, I feel as if there is nothing I can do to help fix it. The best that I think that I can do is to try to maintain awareness and to not use my privilege to further disadvantage those that are not privileged.

The article by Macintosh also relates to the poem by Rushin. It seems to me that the white friends of this black individual rely on her to be their link to the black world and make them feel better about themselves because they have a black friend. Even though they are priviliged, by having a black friend they seem to be trying to show that they are equal and not privileged. By having one black friend they are not proving anything about equality. Actually, they are just causing aggrevation to their black friend because of their inability to see that they truly are privileged.

Wong's poem can also be analyzed with the help of Macintosh's article. Wong recognizes the privileges of white people and longs to gain such advantages. Instead of expressing anger, Wong expresses her enviousness of whites. It is a shame that she must feel this way because she even says some things that she was proud of about herself when she was young, like her intelligence. Unfortunately, others have put ideas in her head that being Chinese is not as good as being white. It is true that whites have privileges but minorities should be happy with their selves just the way they are. However, I know this is easier said than done due to the world we live in.