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While I think it's a very good idea to take stock of one's privileges relative to others, and how these privileges impact the outcomes of our lives, I'm a big p

While I think it's a very good idea to take stock of one's privileges relative to others, and how these privileges impact the outcomes of our lives, I'm a big proponent of the notion that privilege lies on a spectrum, it isn't binary. The distinction isn't between those with privilege and those without, but instead between different levels of privilege. Certainly whiteness, in a white dominated society, is one example of privilege that gives you a head ups, all else being equal, but usually all else isn't equal. I think it can often be a mistake to focus on white privilege being the major reason for an outcome when it was most likely the result of a number of intersecting privileges, whiteness being one of them, but not necessarily the most important. I also think the parent comment does address something important, namely that while many people may not be particularly comfortable with introspection or the notion of privilege, there are likely many who would be more receptive to these ideas if the people labelling them privileged, often along rather one dimensional attributes without taking in to consideration areas in which they are decidedly underprivileged, didn't hail from some of the most privileged demographics in the US. Posters in this thread have shared a number of feelings that hit very close to home regarding my own experience growing up impoverished in this country, and I make a very conscious effort to try and remain aware of the incredible number of unearned privileges and good fortune that I've been the recipient of, but even someone like me often can't help but recoil when I hear some of the most privileged people in SV, and consequently probably the country and world, so confidently label and denigrate others as privileged.

StanislavPetrov 9y ago
One of the reasons I was so impressed by this piece was that the author didn't mention any sort of identity, other than just being poor. Anyone who is poor, who has been poor, can identity with some or all of what was written here. Perspective is always important when considering any subject. The subject of "white privilege" when it comes to the debate over poverty and power is often misguided, just like any blanket judgements made based on race. The fact that the oligarchs who have ruled the world for centuries are virtually all white means little to nothing to the millions of poor white people that have, in many cases, been destitute for generations. A good friend of mine, who happens to be white, was born in a very bad neighborhood in Queens, New York to two poor, white parents. He went to school in one of the worst schools in New York. His father pumped gas and his mother was unemployed, spending her time with him and his two siblings. Both of his parents came from a poor family, neither of them had attended college. When he was 14, his mother died of a treatable disease because they couldn't afford health insurance. After that, he took care of his sister and brother after he got home from his afterschool job. When he was 23 his father was shot and killed during a robbery at the gas station. 50 years old now, no education, he scrapes out a living working at a gas station himself, barely able to afford the rent on his rented, basement room. Poverty doesn't discriminate. Many if not most Americans in 2017 are in or near poverty themselves, with no savings, one crisis away from homelessness or bankruptcy. Those trying to make it a racial issue are distracting from the very real problem we face.
- arethuza 9y ago
  What would happen to your friend if he was ill for a while and couldn't work? [NB I'm not from the US]
  - StanislavPetrov 9y ago
    He would likely become homeless and possibly end up living on my couch.
- JBlue42 9y ago
  > Anyone who is poor, who has been poor, can identity with some or all of what was written here. This is something I only thought about after moving away from where I grew up. Poorer white people would moan about black people and Mexicans all day but I wish I had pointed out to them that they're all poor together and have more in common than they do with the rich people they love to watch on TV.
jachee 9y ago
>I'm a big proponent of the notion that privilege lies on a spectrum, it isn't binary. Agreed, and my genetic combination of healthy, cis, hetero, white, and male put me on the "more privileged" end of that spectrum. Recognizing privilege in oneself leads to recognizing it—and the desire to have it at least acknowledged—in others. It also empowers me to leverage that privilege to benefit others who don't share it. As an example, I think Tim Cook does a great job of this at Apple.
- dbaupp 9y ago
  Framing it as linear/just a spectrum leads to the "oppression Olympics" of people thinking that having white privilege means their, say, poor or abusive upbringing "doesn't count", like the originator of this subthread. However, this is wrong, because having privileges is multidimensional, there's so many axes upon which one can have (varying levels of!) privilege or disadvantage. There's a lot of nuance that often gets lost or forgotten in people's knee-jerk reactions to being told/reminded of their privileges: often one understandably thinks about all the ways in which one still had to struggle, rather than recognising that there were ways in which one didn't.

StanislavPetrov 9y ago

One of the reasons I was so impressed by this piece was that the author didn't mention any sort of identity, other than just being poor. Anyone who is poor, who has been poor, can identity with some or all of what was written here. Perspective is always important when considering any subject. The subject of "white privilege" when it comes to the debate over poverty and power is often misguided, just like any blanket judgements made based on race. The fact that the oligarchs who have ruled the world for centuries are virtually all white means little to nothing to the millions of poor white people that have, in many cases, been destitute for generations. A good friend of mine, who happens to be white, was born in a very bad neighborhood in Queens, New York to two poor, white parents. He went to school in one of the worst schools in New York. His father pumped gas and his mother was unemployed, spending her time with him and his two siblings. Both of his parents came from a poor family, neither of them had attended college. When he was 14, his mother died of a treatable disease because they couldn't afford health insurance. After that, he took care of his sister and brother after he got home from his afterschool job. When he was 23 his father was shot and killed during a robbery at the gas station. 50 years old now, no education, he scrapes out a living working at a gas station himself, barely able to afford the rent on his rented, basement room. Poverty doesn't discriminate. Many if not most Americans in 2017 are in or near poverty themselves, with no savings, one crisis away from homelessness or bankruptcy. Those trying to make it a racial issue are distracting from the very real problem we face.

arethuza 9y ago
What would happen to your friend if he was ill for a while and couldn't work? [NB I'm not from the US]
- StanislavPetrov 9y ago
  He would likely become homeless and possibly end up living on my couch.
JBlue42 9y ago
> Anyone who is poor, who has been poor, can identity with some or all of what was written here. This is something I only thought about after moving away from where I grew up. Poorer white people would moan about black people and Mexicans all day but I wish I had pointed out to them that they're all poor together and have more in common than they do with the rich people they love to watch on TV.

jachee 9y ago

>I'm a big proponent of the notion that privilege lies on a spectrum, it isn't binary. Agreed, and my genetic combination of healthy, cis, hetero, white, and male put me on the "more privileged" end of that spectrum. Recognizing privilege in oneself leads to recognizing it—and the desire to have it at least acknowledged—in others. It also empowers me to leverage that privilege to benefit others who don't share it. As an example, I think Tim Cook does a great job of this at Apple.

dbaupp 9y ago
Framing it as linear/just a spectrum leads to the "oppression Olympics" of people thinking that having white privilege means their, say, poor or abusive upbringing "doesn't count", like the originator of this subthread. However, this is wrong, because having privileges is multidimensional, there's so many axes upon which one can have (varying levels of!) privilege or disadvantage. There's a lot of nuance that often gets lost or forgotten in people's knee-jerk reactions to being told/reminded of their privileges: often one understandably thinks about all the ways in which one still had to struggle, rather than recognising that there were ways in which one didn't.