Privilege, Power, and Difference

Privilege, Power, and Difference

Author - Allen G. Johnson

Is the fear of difference learned as Johnson claims? He claims that we are not normally afraid of difference, which suggests that social conditioning contributes to this fear.
The phrase "pit groups against each other" means to create conflict or competition between different groups. He suggests that its omission is a fear of making white males uncomfortable. How is this not seen as a racist idea?

Johnson presents "privilege" and "white racism" as something largely determined by identity categories (e.g., race, gender). But can privilege be more situational or fluid than his framework allows? For example, can someone experience both privilege and marginalization in different aspects of life simultaneously, or in different cultural contexts?

Johnson’s quote, “No one is white before he/she came to America,” underscores the idea that whiteness is not an inherent or biological identity, but a social construct created to uphold power structures. This perspective highlights how racial categories in the United States were intentionally developed and redefined over time to unify certain European ethnic groups under the label of “white” to establish and maintain a dominant racial group. The formation of this identity was not just about inclusion—it also required the systematic exclusion and marginalization of Black, Indigenous, and other nonwhite people. This process, built on both privilege and division, has had profound and lasting consequences for American society and its persistent racial inequalities.