Just a thought I had and wanted to share before I get to work and stay away from tumblr for the rest of the day. (Yeah, right! Like that’s actually going to happen!)
When somebody tells you you benefit from white/male/whatever privilege, it’s not an insult and it’s not an attack. It’s not something that you have to deny or try to offset by going out of your way to show ways in which you also suffer from prejudice. You won’t get any sympathy points for that.
The point is, you can’t just be “not racist,” or “not sexist,” or “okay with gay people.” You can’t just say, “I have black friends” or “I don’t hate women.” That’s not enough.
Most of us are privileged in one way or another. Part of what makes us “allies” is our ability to acknowledge this and keep it in mind when we interact with people. This is actually very difficult to do, as it requires a lot of self-examination and constant effort to change behaviours that are ingrained in us as a result of that privilege.
(Sorry, thought is kind of incomplete. More later, maybe. I really do have to work.)
Maybe you don’t use the word in that manner, but it’s ridiculous to think that you can speak for every other person who has ever thrown that word around in a conversation. In my experience, more than one person has used it as an attempt to automatically invalidate any and all opinions I may have on a matter; in effect “shutting me up”.
“Privileged” is an insult. “Privileged” is inevitably trotted out by a woman or person of color who maintains that my point of view on an issue of race or gender is inferior to theirs because of my race and/or gender, so “privileged” is a racist and sexist notion. Further, I refuse to take seriously someone who says that their notions about my life as a white male trumps my own experience as a white male. Not even another white male gets to pull that horseshit on me because every human being is an individual. — Ryking
That is right, y’all! There is no such thing as privilege. There are no social benefits to being man. None. And there certainly aren’t any social benefits to be gained from being a white person. We’re all individuals here! Everyone has their own struggle! My life is already hard so don’t tell me I don’t have it bad enough. Don’t tell me I have privilege! What privilege? How dare you! You’re hurting my fucking feelings right now. I have those you know. I’m a white man BUT I STILL HAVE FEELINGS. I’M NOT EVIL AND I’M NOT TRYING TO TAKE EVERYONE’S RIGHTS AWAY. STOP BEING SO BUTTHURT. ACTUALLY, I’M THE ONE WHO IS BUTTHURT RIGHT NOW BUT I’LL STOP AS SOON AS YOU STOP SUBSCRIBING TO THIS STUPID ‘PRIVILEGE NOTION’ BECAUSE IT’S A FUCKING MYTH. MYTH, I TELL YA! AND PLEASE DON’T SAY THAT I CARRY THIS PRIVILEGE AROUND BECAUSE THAT IS SUCH A MEAN THING TO SAY AND I’M A NICE WHITE MAN. WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME CRRRRYYYY? WHY WON’T YOU JUST LET ME LIVE MY LIFE? WAAAAAAAAAA.
— Ryking
olol I think this was the same person who insisted that we should shunt aside such notions of racism and focus on the REAL oppression: classism.
Not that, you know, those oppressions and so much more are linked together as part of the bigger picture. But whatever, saying that is meeaann as we are erasing Snowface experiences :’(
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"Privileged" is not an insult
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