¶ … White and Its Impact on One's Position And Status In Society
Being white in the modern world affects one's position and status in society because society is very much the outcome of white Anglo-Saxon protestant (WASP) foundations, ideology, and practices that began hundreds of years ago with the break-up of Europe united under one faith, wherein all peoples who accepted that faith were viewed as part of the same mystical body. With the rise of Protestantism, the view changed, and every individual body or group of people held their own faith, and the ideology of the WASP came to dominate much of the world, fueling capitalism, colonialism, and industrialization. Today, diversity is discussed yet the WASP ideology is still strong under the surface and segregation is evident in society.
Thus, being white is like being part of the WASP club, of being born into a socially acceptable position based on one's heritage (racial and ethnic background). If one is white, one is most likely to be an inheritor of the protestant ethos that has driven much of history over the past 500 years. As Bernasconi (2010) points out, the philosophy of the white Anglo-Saxon protestants during the Enlightenment effectively shaped the way we think of ourselves today. Friedman (1990) echoes this sentiment in her discussion...
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