To be honest, I was really surprised by the content and tone of Peggy McIntosh's essay on white privilege. The first thing I liked about the essay was that Peggy was inspired to acknowledge her white privilege as a result of her frustration with men not being able to notice their male privilege. I especially liked her description of what the privilege meant to her, " as an invisible package of unearned assets that [she could] count on cashing in each day, but about which [she] was "meant" to remain oblivious." Further, she compares it to a "weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools... and blank checks." I think that this comparison is beautifully and humbly put, as one can notice that McIntosh is clearly aware of how the white privilege is an advantage in her life. I also appreciated how the author understands why women of color find white women oppressive, something that is not easy thing to intercept. I think that because of the details she includes in her essay, the piece becomes more credible and valid to the reader because each claim is supported by full, satisfactory detail, The list which McIntosh includes in the essay works very well because it is easy to read and clearly highlights the essay's thesis. Had the author decided to instead just write paragraphs on examples of white privilege, her tone would not have been this effective. Another interesting thing to note about the essay is the author's growth and development of ideas, many of which alter from the ones with which she began writing. Some examples of this are her initial and final takes on racism and the positive versus negative aspects of the term "privilege".
I even enjoyed reading John Scalzi's "Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is" a lot since it successfully addressed a sensitive topic in a very humorous, novel fashion, which made it both delightful, but simultaneously effective. Its conversational tone and intelligent analogies worked well in my opinion, as I would prefer to read a lighter material on an issue, as opposed to a heavier reading, which does not arrest my attention and interest completely.
I completely agree with your evaluation of McIntosh's work: I too thought that her writing style was both clear and interesting, and her acknowledgment of her own privilege was both eye-opening and instructive for me. Her use of lists was helpful in understanding exactly what type of privilege she and other non-minority individuals experience, and her metaphors strengthened her points. I would say that while I also enjoyed reading Scalzi's piece, I personally prefer McIntosh's writing. I think that it invites personal evaluation and introspection, and it made me want to become more aware of the privilege and power imbalances not only in society, but in my own life. I saw McIntosh's work as more of a call to action than Scalzi's, which is why I like it a bit better. Still, both were very interesting and fun to read!
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