Racial and economic equality in the United States is impossible. Starting with slavery, moving to Jim Crow and culminating with hate crimes and racial profiling, there has been a continuous stream of factors preventing the realization of an equal American society. While it is true that great strides have been made to correct the social and political inaccuracies, the harsh reality is that all these attempts are futile. Practices such as affirmative action and equal opportunity programs, are effective at leveling the playing field, however, they will never be able to make it completely equal. White privilege and its social consequences represent one of the main reasons why equality is unattainable. Ideally, the destruction of white privilege and the belief systems that support it could result in the formation of an equal nation. However, human beings have no available means to destroy this demon, and hope exists only in the attempts at minimizing the damage to our country. Furthermore, natural inclinations towards competition make inequality unavoidable.
White privilege is a system that amasses to whites' greater wealth and resources. It also lends them access to a higher quality of justice, services, and capital than other racial groups. Simultaneously, white privilege has resulted in impoverishment and injustice for the vast majority of racial minorities. White privilege is more than a set of attitudes or individual opinions; it is a comprehensive framework of policies, practices, institutions, and cultural norms that influence every aspect of American society. Being white constitutes a powerful asset in the United States and globally. Using William Ryan's theories on equality, white privilege represents a major discrepancy in his "Fair Play" perspective. If, as he sees it, individuals are all afforded the same rights with regard to "pursuing happiness," then it is inevitable that certain people, due to their individual intellect and skill, will be more successful at "attaining happiness".
