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Quote by Gish Jen

“A white person was by definition somebody. Other people needed, across their hearts, one steel rib.”

Quote by Gish Jen

Author

Gish Jen
Gish Jen

Gish Jen is an American-born Chinese writer, born on August 12, 1955, in Shanghai, China. Her works are known for their unique perspective and profound cultural insight, exploring themes such as cultural differences between China and the United States and issues of identity. more

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“It seems to me that obliviousness about white advantage, like obliviousness about male advantage, is kept strongly inculturated in the United States so as to maintain the myth of meritocracy, the myth that democratic choice is equally available to all. Keeping most people unaware that freedom of confident action is there for just a small number of people props up those in power and serves to keep power in the hands of the same groups that have most of it already.”

“For me white privilege has turned out to be an elusive and fugitive subject. The pressure to avoid it is great, for in facing it I must give up the myth of meritocracy. If these things are true, this is not such a free country; one's life is not what one makes it; many doors open for certain people through no virtues of their own.”