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The article doesn't really have a point. The title is really the only thing that the article is trying to demonstrate. "Privileged" is a code word in feminist

The article doesn't really have a point. The title is really the only thing that the article is trying to demonstrate. "Privileged" is a code word in feminist discourse, and is applied to virtually any and every distinction that social beings make. The overall thrust of the article is to shame—i.e. if you had an opportunity that others didn't have, you should feel guilty about it. It's not clear to me how this kind of discourse moves society forward. Everyone has different opportunities, no one is pretending that poor people have just as easy a time as rich people. If you have a claim to status ("I've been hacking since age 8") that's based on a pre-existing advantage, you should feel guilty for claiming such status. This type of discourse is not about hacking or hackers or geek culture, it's a discourse that is deeply offended by the very existence of status or distinctions, and has trouble believing that any source of privilege has been earned (unless you happen to have a subaltern identity).

dgordon 16y ago
Well put. To use an example that's well-known here, this is like pretending that Bill Gates only became Bill Gates because he had rich parents and got access to a computer at 14 years old in the late 1960s, and that his great intelligence and willingness to work harder than most people have even considered working at developing his ability were irrelevant or incidental. The implication that if you're white, male, middle-class or up, etc., then you're only where you are because of unfair advantage and should be considered an "oppressor" is everywhere in this sort of so-called discourse. Look to the Soviet Union or Khmer Cambodia for what this ideology, empowered and taken to an extreme with some slightly different axioms, can lead to. By the way, thanks for teaching me a word -- "subaltern." I was disappointed to see that it's mostly an identity-politics buzzword, but I'm sure I'll find a use for it.

dgordon 16y ago

Well put. To use an example that's well-known here, this is like pretending that Bill Gates only became Bill Gates because he had rich parents and got access to a computer at 14 years old in the late 1960s, and that his great intelligence and willingness to work harder than most people have even considered working at developing his ability were irrelevant or incidental. The implication that if you're white, male, middle-class or up, etc., then you're only where you are because of unfair advantage and should be considered an "oppressor" is everywhere in this sort of so-called discourse. Look to the Soviet Union or Khmer Cambodia for what this ideology, empowered and taken to an extreme with some slightly different axioms, can lead to. By the way, thanks for teaching me a word -- "subaltern." I was disappointed to see that it's mostly an identity-politics buzzword, but I'm sure I'll find a use for it.