Talking Point #10

Allan G. Johnson; "What Can We Do?"

Author's Argument:
Johnson argues that if people do not do anything then nothing can get done because people do not want to do anything.

Quotes:
1. "Privilege is a feature of social systems, not individuals."
People become privileged because of the social system that they may be in and not because of their parents. If someone is rich then they are going to have everything on demand and when they ask for something they will receive it. If someone is middle class then they might see struggle in order to get what they want because the funds are not there in order for the item to be bought. Due to the struggle appreciation for the object will be there once the item is received. For a person that is poor, privileges are far and few in between. There are many things that are not given to them because there are no funds to support the item that is wanted. If the item is ever received then the people of that class know what they need to do next time in order to receive that item again.

2. "Racism, for example, shapes both the experience of being white and the experience of being a person of color."
Whether you are white or black you will experience some kind of racism in your life. Somethings whites target blacks and sometimes blacks target whites. Racism is always going to be around no matter what and it will be experienced by all types of people. Even though black people are more targeted more often than white people, racism is still in exsistence. Even though people may say that there is less and less racism in the world, it is still around because past generations have intergrated it into the heads of other generations. With it being in the heads of other generations, those generations just keep passing it to future generations so that it remains in existence.

3. "Systems shape the choices people make primarily by providing paths of least resistance."
There are some people that do as little as possible just to get by. When it comes to doing any kind of work, there are people that do not put the extra effort or go the extra mile just to imporve their work. The people that do not give that extra push are unable to get the best out of themselves because they do not put more effort into their work. If more effort was put into their work, then more things would be done and they would be even more successful and greater at what they do. When people try harder in certain areas they are able to get the best out of themselves. When people are able to get the best out of themselves, then they might even be able to bring the best out of others because then there may be a competition to as to who can be more successful.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:
Johnson argued in this piece and in the other peiece that if people do not do anything or say anything then the realization of things cannot be seen or heard. In this piece though, Johnson touches on privileged societies and how they use society to express themselves. He also talks about racism and how it will continue to be around for years to come. Johnson has the most direct article that I believe that we read during this semester. During the pieces though, it felt as if it was dragging and I didn't end up reading the whole article because after a few pages I felt as if I knew what his point was and how he wanted to express it.