There's no one goal of the privilege discourse, but a major one is for people to simply acknowledge their privilege and be aware of its role in their successes. This creates a barrier for smart, intelligent, and hard working people to move up in society just because they come from different backgrounds. And so they discount people who maybe haven't gone to as great a university as them or haven't had the same social experiences (like ski trips or backpacking across Europe). The problem is when privileged people reach a point in their lives where they control hiring decisions or can act as gatekeepers to important resources, they don't acknowledge the help they've received and don't realize that not everyone has had these. If you're from a white, middle class family with professional parents who went to university, and your a male who is comfortable in you gender and sexual orientation, you've not only faced a lot fewer barriers than other folk you've also received some important bonuses like help from you parents and the social and cultural capital necessary to integrate into professional communities. And these factors no doubt played a big part, but certain privileges helped you along the way. Your own privileges are often invisible to you and because of this it's easy to ascribe your successes solely to your own hard work, perseverance, and intelligence. Quote The point of privilege discourse is to remind people to be humble about their accomplishments and to be aware of the challenges other people (women, minorities, poorer people) face that they themselves might not be aware of. Quote from: Cindy on February 23, 2016, 04:19:26 AM Alright so lemme explain something here People are simply saying that, among the same level, white males tend to have a higher disposition towards success than black males or women. Nobody is saying that men never face any hardships or are never discriminated against - ESPECIALLY due to class divides. Like, seriously, it's a really simple concept. A poor white man will naturally have eons less opportunity than a rich black woman, but will have slightly more opportunities than a poor black woman due to institutionalized and systemic racism and sexism. "Privilege" simply means that, given the same starting point in life, it is easier for that person to gain traction over others.Ĭlass > race > gender, it's pretty much as simple as that. Skin color and gender really only effect someone over the same class level. "Privilege" has become such a buzzword that most people are content to think that it's simply a non-issue and just a point for the "opposing" side to shut down arguments.Īll these dumb talking points with "WELL THERE ARE POOR WHITE PEOPLE SO WHAT ABOUT THEIR PRIVILEGE, HUH?!" come from people that don't get the basic concept that class is the ultimate divider. Most SANE people do not expect anyone with "privilege" to actually do much about it. The actual problem here is one of class, social mobility and inequality. In what way does me "checking my privilege", with all the associated political baggage that comes with, help policy makers improve public education or end the war on drugs? What about the growing white underclass being left behind in both the US and the UK? Are we going to pretend that their problems are not, by and large, an extension of the same kind of policy mistakes which have for so long disproportionately harmed people of colour? What about the fact that the attainment gap is really one of class and not of race? Black people aren't in gaol for minor drug offences because they are black, they're in gaol because we have pursued policies (like the war on drugs) which disproportionately affect black people despite their being no racist motivation behind such policies. The fact that I am white is irrelevant to my position of privilege outside of being a demographic indicator. The concept of "white privilege" is meaningless because it transfixes on a variable-race-which is largely unimportant. Right, and this is something that continued civil rights activism and policy reform haven't accomplished?
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