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If the problem isn't privilege, but the lack of it, then we should be focusing on that lacking and try to raise everyone up.
by jonny_eh 6y ago
If the problem isn't privilege, but the lack of it, then we should be focusing on that lacking and try to raise everyone up.
- malyk 6y agoBut the problem with that is the people with the privilege are blind to what the problems are. It took a simple conversation with someone of color for me to even begin to understand this. The conversation was something like: "The 15th time the guy behind the deli counter calls over your head to the person behind you in line instead of you really understand that you are not only different, but invisible to people because of your difference." Sure, we've all had something happen a few times. But this is an everyday occurrence to people who aren't a part of the dominant group. To me, a WASP, I couldn't even fathom that ever happening. It's just not part of my lived experience. How could someone just skip over the next person in line? It doesn't make any sense. But, that was, and is, my privilege blinding me to the daily plight of so many people. So yes...we should work to "raise everyone up", but simply being the person with privilege blinds us to the problem entirely.
- dleslie 6y agoIf you mean to find a way to grant privilege to the underprivileged: it's a grand idea, but it's not always possible in practice. We can't make everyone share the same aesthetic interests, and so we cannot be equally beautiful to all observers. But we can try to ensure that beauty, and other ultimately irreconcilable privileges, are not overwhelming factors in our quality of life.