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In short, being rich is a privilege, especially when born into a rich family. But any of the super rich can tell you, it carries its own issues (being in fear of being scammed, boredom and higher suicide rates, inability to relate to other people, and being out of touch with the economy and how to spend wisely (nouveau riche only) meaning their favorite shops act predatory, guilt, and especially having to live your life under strict rules or risk being cut off). I having never been rich but I have rich relatives. So yeah, it's sad for them too.
Being white is not privilege, it's called being the majority. The majority never feels privilege, because they have responsibility the rest doesn't have. For instance, male privilege is a crock. Women get less salary, but often child support money, they get access to abuse clinics (men are never thought of as victims in abuse or rape), and get paid time off sometimes to raise kids. Don't you think I might want to spend time with family? Men get drafted for selective service, to be forced to fight and die for their country during a war. All told, after factoring much higher instance of rape and abuse (ask any any mixed group about safety, women carry pepper spray, men don't), women don't have privilege. But neither do men, not really.
Being part of the majority is not privilege. Being treated better than the majority is privilege. When you can fine people $125,000 for being transphobic, this is a privilege. But transgender people have to deal with seriously bad **** (like almost zero employment in private sector, frequently forced into prostitution, higher depression, much higher violent murder rate, and they are the majority of raped inmates, etc). Being black has privilege like the occasional reparations and special interest groups, but it has a number of downsides (like high jail risk, economic inequality, and some serious stuff).
I can point out any group, why they are privileged and why they aren't. But this isn't productive. We need a better world, not to punish the majority for what a few from the majority managed. Are all whites likely to become movie stars? No. Does that mean if you are white you have the privilege of being more likely to be a movie star? Maybe, but maybe not.
All of us are suffering. It's time to end this squabbling over who gets more and start looking around for how to make things better. And seriously if you are on Facebook and send me a post about privilege, I will unfriend you. Ibhad a rough life as a white male, and a rough life as transgender female.
Money buys you options and choice. It does not always buy happiness.
I agree that being white is not a privilege it is just how you were born. There are some places where being white can get you beat up like in prison or in bad neighborhoods.
I recently spent a couple of days in NYC and even sticking to the tourist spots my wife and I were in the minority being white.
You talk about rape, why? is it a males privilege that most of the time he doesn't have to worry about getting raped? Women carry pepper spray to protect themselves while men rely on their strength and fists. It is just how it is. The same goes for being drafted and going to war. By the way women can now serve in combat roles but they are not subject to being drafted. When it comes to selective service I think the illegals and refugees have a privilege because they do not need to sign up for a draft.
I agree that we all need to get over it. Just because I'm white doesn't mean I had anything to do with before I was born. People need to stand up and take responsibility for their own actions. If you break the law you will get in trouble and go to jail. If you resist arrest you may get roughed up or shot by the cops. If you sneak into the country you might get caught and deported.
Everyone should be given the same level of respect from society then it is up to them to destroy that respect or gain more by positive gestures.
America has become a weird place where criminals are excused and people who do nothing are exalted and make millions. Weird.
Money may not guarantee happiness but it can finance a really good try. Just not worrying about going broke can allow a person to do more of what they want and that makes being happy much more likely.
Money may not guarantee happiness but it can finance a really good try. Just not worrying about going broke can allow a person to do more of what they want and that makes being happy much more likely.
Yes, money can't buy you happiness. I have been poor and I have been well off. I can assure you that I much prefer to be well off.
In short, being rich is a privilege, especially when born into a rich family. But any of the super rich can tell you, it carries its own issues (being in fear of being scammed, boredom and higher suicide rates, inability to relate to other people, and being out of touch with the economy and how to spend wisely (nouveau riche only) meaning their favorite shops act predatory, guilt, and especially having to live your life under strict rules or risk being cut off). I having never been rich but I have rich relatives. So yeah, it's sad for them too.
Being white is not privilege, it's called being the majority. The majority never feels privilege, because they have responsibility the rest doesn't have. For instance, male privilege is a crock. Women get less salary, but often child support money, they get access to abuse clinics (men are never thought of as victims in abuse or rape), and get paid time off sometimes to raise kids. Don't you think I might want to spend time with family? Men get drafted for selective service, to be forced to fight and die for their country during a war. All told, after factoring much higher instance of rape and abuse (ask any any mixed group about safety, women carry pepper spray, men don't), women don't have privilege. But neither do men, not really.
Being part of the majority is not privilege. Being treated better than the majority is privilege. When you can fine people $125,000 for being transphobic, this is a privilege. But transgender people have to deal with seriously bad **** (like almost zero employment in private sector, frequently forced into prostitution, higher depression, much higher violent murder rate, and they are the majority of raped inmates, etc). Being black has privilege like the occasional reparations and special interest groups, but it has a number of downsides (like high jail risk, economic inequality, and some serious stuff).
I can point out any group, why they are privileged and why they aren't. But this isn't productive. We need a better world, not to punish the majority for what a few from the majority managed. Are all whites likely to become movie stars? No. Does that mean if you are white you have the privilege of being more likely to be a movie star? Maybe, but maybe not.
All of us are suffering. It's time to end this squabbling over who gets more and start looking around for how to make things better. And seriously if you are on Facebook and send me a post about privilege, I will unfriend you. Ibhad a rough life as a white male, and a rough life as transgender female.
...but it's even truer that poverty certainly doesn't.
Being black has privilege like the occasional reparations and special interest groups, but it has a number of downsides (like high jail risk, economic inequality, and some serious stuff).
"There you go again, talking about reparations, there you go again, talking about something else free ... we don't owe you a damn thing, and you got to be out of your mind, so take your reparations and stick em where the sun don't shine".
I think privilege exists, and is situational, incremental, and additive.
White privilege won't help you when a bot scans your resume but it might help when a human scans your name, address, and education. (But your class privilege might hold greater weight.)
White privilege won't help you find a place to live is you have no money but it often helps if you have some money.
Imagine everyone is lined up in a field. People who come from a poor background take a step back. People whose parents are married take a step forward. A step forward for being white. A step forward for being Christian. A step backward for being Jewish or disabled. At the end, people are all over the field. Then a whistle blows and they have to run to the end of the field. Some of the people in the back are really fast and hit the front of the pack. Others stumble over rocks or fall flat on their face.
Here's the problem: If you are in the front of the pack, you see a few of those people come sprinting up and end up toe to toe with you. You assume that you are working just as hard as they are, not knowing how much more talent, effort, and luck that it took to pass everyone else. In reality, if you were merely running at an average pace, you would still end up way ahead due to your starting point. They point to the people who started out with them who fell and say, "See! It's not just an X thing!" while not seeing how much further behind those who already started off behind fall when they hit those humps. You see the world through your perspective, which is why you don't notice a lot of the issues those with less privilege face. After all, *you* would never have such issues because you work hard, follow the law, and keep your nose clean, right?
The thing is, most of us intrinsically understand privilege. Some people are just getting upset because they are being confronted with this knowledge from people who experience this lack of privilege. Saying you are privileged isn't a character judgment or an edict to give away all your money and live like a monk - it's an awareness thing.
The thing is, most of us intrinsically understand privilege. Some people are just getting upset because they are being confronted with this knowledge from people who experience this lack of privilege. Saying you are privileged isn't a character judgment or an edict to give away all your money and live like a monk - it's an awareness thing.
Ahh. So you are looking for awareness. Well, then here it is
If life was completely fair then anyone living in a 1st world country would have a whole lot less.
Matter's little to me and IMO most anyone else if you feel that you lack some sort of "privilege". And it won't change anything in the way that I or anyone else conduct's their business. But if you treat me fair then I'll treat you fair. You can't expect anything more than that.
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It's true that money doesn't buy happiness...
