Reading McIntosh’s article about white privilege, ironically, reminded me of another article with the title “Why I’ll Never Apologize for my White Male Privilege,” written by Tal Fortgang, a former Princeton student.  He opens the narrative by mocking the popular saying “check your privilege,” which suggests that whites should be “apologetic” for the invisible power that they hold in the world.  The essay closes by saying that everyone has a story told by numerous factors but to assume that the whole story comes from the color of the skin or from the sex of the individual is a condescending assumption.

Both authors offer differing definitions of privilege in their respective lives.  Fortgang mentions the difficulty that his parents and ancestors faced during World War II, suggesting that his privilege is rooted in the fact that his parents and ancestors suffering led to his betterment not his race or gender.  McIntosh, however, talks about an extreme form of privilege, saying that the whites in America confer dominance to other groups than radiate privilege.  If we subscribe to Fortgang’s notion of privilege, it can be said that everyone has privilege.  Everyone has some form of advantage in a particular field given to that individual by nature. Someone looking to study mathematics may be intellectually adept while someone looking to become a soccer player may be physically adept.  McIntosh, however, restricts her definition of privilege to racial domination of one group over another group as evidenced by the ways in which whites can be privileged in society.

Although both authors have respectable views on the varying definitions of privilege and its application to our society, Fortgang seems to have a more realistic and optimistic approach to classifying the current nature of racial relations in America.  Fortgang suggests that privilege rests on the idea of free will, the notion that our privilege comes from either our hard work, character and determination or our ancestral work ethic.  Perhaps Fortgang’s most appealing idea was his assertion that calling him racist was tantamount to ignoring all this accomplishments and contributions that led him to an Ivy league. In terms of race relations, Fortgang suggests that all races have some form of advantage. Although an “unconscious” bias exists in American culture against non-white races, Fortgang radiates hope, saying that through an impeccable work ethic and will it is possible to overcome that impediment (McIntosh 1). McIntosh, on the other hand, offers a somewhat pessimistic view of race relations, suggesting that it is something that individuals are born into rather than being in control of it.  However, McIntosh offers a valid solution to this problem, saying that it is important to identify the role that race plays in our lives.  All in all, though McIntosh offers a praiseworthy, but ultimately too idealistic, solution to the dilemma of race relations in America, Fortgang offers some hope that free will is the remedy for this crisis, a message that is much more realistic that McIntosh’s.