#2 My Daily Life

I will begin with myself. I am a 25 year old Christian white woman of Irish descent. I have grown up for the most part in middle class neighborhoods and have lived a lower middle class life. My parents were divorced when I was 9 and as the oldest of three girls I became the nanny/cook/maid while my mother worked two or three jobs before she remarried four years later.
I now attend the University of Toronto. Does this mean I am privileged?

On our campus most students are commuters and many, about 12% are international students. Most students can afford to drive to school everyday, many have their own car. Many of the international students have a bank account filled by their parents whenever they need money, many do not worry about where they will find rent money or how they will pay tuition. Many do worry about these things constantly and I am one of them.
This is my bias and it makes it challenging for me to see how race disproportionally affects those who are 'visible'. Yes I am white and in my world currently do not feel or see how that affords me any privilege, but that's not to say it does not exist. It surely does.

For the last three years I have lived in what would be considered low-income housing, many of it is government subsidized housing for refugees. Living in this place has exposed me to toxins from beg infestations and exterminations, molds and pollutants. Every year I am privileged enough to gain grants and loans from the government as a low-income status student. I now have over 25 000 dollars of debt. Even with these loans many times I have not been able to make rent and now without a job, consistently subsidize groceries with going to a food bank.

I do not see this financial difficulty as being related to my race. I hope that it is temporary and it likely is. I am getting an amazing university education which many are not able to. I cannot help but notice that 98% of the community I have been living in made up of a visible ethnicities, many of them new arrivals to Canada.
I often go for runs down into the ravine towards the lake and there are beautiful houses which line the edge of the ravine. I wonder how many of them are fully of white families?

You can see these divisions all throughout Toronto. Income, race and social status are intricately woven with health, education and overall well-being and even in such a diverse city those of 'colour' are unequally impacted.
In Peggy Macintosh's article she makes the point that as a white woman, “When I am told about our national heritage or about 'civilization,' I am shown that people of my color made it what it is“ (1988). While this may be true in the United States or elsewhere I do not feel this is relevant for Canadians. In school students learn extensively about Aboriginal history, the history of slavery and of the United States as well as the white people who DID form the country. That is not a lie at all so why should it not be taught? If I went to Nigeria I would hope that I would learn about what really happened and how their country was formed as well as learn things of relevance to Nigerians.
Race and identity I feel is more complex than just black and white. If I were to address a crowd of coloured individuals I would refer to myself as white. If they were Americans I would be Canadian specifically, not just Caucasian. If they were Canadians of all races I would identify as Irish. My race then is dynamic and dependant upon those around me and how I choose to present myself. Is this a part of white privilege or can all races do this?

As a Christian my religious traditions and beliefs are often considered and taken into account as Canada was founded upon this religious tradition. I know that I will not be made to work on Sundays if I choose not to, as well, I will never have an exam or class on that day. I have nearly all of my religious holidays off as national holidays. Although I am often the only Christian where I live, and as a person of faith am often ‘persecuted’ I know that I can practice my beliefs without physical harm and with a large amount of support from those in places of power.