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I can't tell if you're trolling, but "check your privilege" is one heck of a way to derail any argument. There is no virtue in being less privileged, and more

by lpsz 11y ago

I can't tell if you're trolling, but "check your privilege" is one heck of a way to derail any argument. There is no virtue in being less privileged, and more privileged aren't necessarily morally bankrupt.

hackuser 11y ago
> more privileged aren't necessarily morally bankrupt Not at all. Humans naturally assume their experiences and perspectives are generally shared; it's just the way we function. In this case, it makes dealing with the problems of society difficult because if you don't have those problems, you generally are unware of them and their true impact. "Let them eat cake", said one privileged person. Generally, it results in people thinking an issue isn't a big priority or can be put off. It isn't keeping them up at night, after all. See MLK's writing on it, which I posted here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10571341 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10571341
danharaj 11y ago
That's not the point of the phrase, and even I think it's a bit tired by now. The phrase asks the speaker to reevaluate their unspoken assumptions. I think 'lighten up and accept that the world is shitty' is a reactionary mode of thought, as if the 'real world' is a vast, static, unassailable entity and not an ever-changing tapestry of human activity. It is not a reasoned argument, it is not a response in a conversation, it is a demand that people shut the fuck up because the things they care about aren't worth caring about. "check your privilege" is a diplomatic and concise way of saying 'you have no fucking idea what you're talking about, and yet you feel entitled to control the conversation; maybe stop doing that?'.
- shaftoe 11y ago
  "Check your privilege" is also a concise way of telling someone that, based upon factors of which they have little or no control, whatever opinion they are expressing has little or no value because they do not or cannot understand viewpoints from a different set of experiences. Anotherwords, it's passive-aggressive bullying and belongs in the same category as telling a woman to stop worrying her pretty little head about such issues.
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  - rdancer 11y ago
    You and the grandparent don't necessarily disagree. "Check your privilege" is a great thing to say in a discussion, and an idiotic thing to say in a debate. It's been thoroughly discredited by being used as an ad-hominem attack in place of an argument, but sometimes people do ride in on a high horse, and asking them how the weather is up there may be the most appropriate question. You're both right.
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by lpsz 11y ago

hackuser 11y ago

> more privileged aren't necessarily morally bankrupt Not at all. Humans naturally assume their experiences and perspectives are generally shared; it's just the way we function. In this case, it makes dealing with the problems of society difficult because if you don't have those problems, you generally are unware of them and their true impact. "Let them eat cake", said one privileged person. Generally, it results in people thinking an issue isn't a big priority or can be put off. It isn't keeping them up at night, after all. See MLK's writing on it, which I posted here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10571341 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10571341

danharaj 11y ago

That's not the point of the phrase, and even I think it's a bit tired by now. The phrase asks the speaker to reevaluate their unspoken assumptions. I think 'lighten up and accept that the world is shitty' is a reactionary mode of thought, as if the 'real world' is a vast, static, unassailable entity and not an ever-changing tapestry of human activity. It is not a reasoned argument, it is not a response in a conversation, it is a demand that people shut the fuck up because the things they care about aren't worth caring about. "check your privilege" is a diplomatic and concise way of saying 'you have no fucking idea what you're talking about, and yet you feel entitled to control the conversation; maybe stop doing that?'.

shaftoe 11y ago
"Check your privilege" is also a concise way of telling someone that, based upon factors of which they have little or no control, whatever opinion they are expressing has little or no value because they do not or cannot understand viewpoints from a different set of experiences. Anotherwords, it's passive-aggressive bullying and belongs in the same category as telling a woman to stop worrying her pretty little head about such issues.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- rdancer 11y ago
  You and the grandparent don't necessarily disagree. "Check your privilege" is a great thing to say in a discussion, and an idiotic thing to say in a debate. It's been thoroughly discredited by being used as an ad-hominem attack in place of an argument, but sometimes people do ride in on a high horse, and asking them how the weather is up there may be the most appropriate question. You're both right.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]