The Violence of White Entitlement and the Hypocrisy of Earned Merit

The immense set of sociopolitical privileges that insulate and protect white people teaches them in sometimes implicit ways that not only are they better than people of color, but also that racial others are subordinate. Despite how ridiculous this presumption of superiority sounds, it is repeatedly steeped in the consciousness of white people from a very early age. In discussing what it means to have merit among a diverse population, it should be considered that the parties involved are speaking with different definitions. White merit is defined by privilege and access, and is dependent on specific adherence to unspoken rules protecting whiteness.