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> They are saying you should consider if and how your privilege helped you out Yes, they are. "Check your privilege" is often used to say "you didn't do that.

by anamax 5y ago

> They are saying you should consider if and how your privilege helped you out Yes, they are. "Check your privilege" is often used to say "you didn't do that." Even if you assume that "privilege" is a big reason why you had an opportunity, there are almost always many people with the same "privilege" who didn't do said thing. Moreover, it's almost always some skin color argument. There are many "don't look white" people who had privileges that I didn't have but I'm supposed to "check my privilege."

borski 5y ago
The idea is simply to acknowledge where your privilege helped you, and how others may not have had the same experiences or ease of access to certain things, etc. The trope of “he’s black and rich, and I’m white and poor” is irrelevant, as there are different kinds of privilege. In rural Alabama, being white and poor is going to lend you a much closer set of relationships than being black and rich. In SF, it may be the other way around - the point is everyone should simply be aware of how various privilege has helped them. And again: this takes nothing away from hard work. It simply acknowledges that another person who worked just as hard but had a different set of lived experiences and privileges may not have the same result. That’s not bad; just fact. And again: it has nothing to do with guilt. You shouldn’t feel guilty about it; ~everyone has some kind of privilege. But ignoring it or pretending it doesn’t exist is the exact opposite of the point, which is, at the end of the day, an exercise in empathy.
- anamax 5y ago
  Bull. I've seen "check your privilege" used to shut people down, to shame them, etc. I've never seen it used as a positive thing. It's telling that you really want to say that no black person has privilege. You'd certainly never tell one to "check your privilege." How much time have you actually spent in rural Alabama? I say that because the most racist places in the US are urban, the NE and the coasts, not the south. Yes, there are racists everywhere, but the only places where blacks and whites interact productively at scale are in the south.
  - borski 5y ago
    Calm down, and stop assuming malice where there is none, please. Firstly, I never implied or said that no black person has privilege. Second, my entire point that you seem to be missing is that everyone should recognize what privilege they do have and have benefited from. I’ve spent plenty of time in the South; I am not implying there is no way for a black person to interact productively with white people in the South. I am suggesting that, generally, in a lot of rural areas of the South, being white lends you more “immediate credit” than being black. And, to your point, that was but one example. I could have said “inner cities,” and made the same point. That does not, in any way, change the point; it only serves to reinforce it.
    - anamax 5y ago
      I get that you want to be a white knight but you're defending malice, said defense being that you can imagine that "Check your privilege" being used differently than it actually is. And, you've yet to explain what good comes from said "recognition". What, exactly, do you want me to do differently because I benefitted from succeeding in a situation that actually was available to many? (I'm pretty sure that you won't be satisfied with me just saying "hey, I built on stuff that had happened before.") Yes, there are lots of places where being white lends you more credit than being black. Similarly, there are lots of places where being black lends you more credit. So what? My point is that the south tends has more successful interaction than the north. That's actually more true in the rural areas.
      - borski 5y ago
        I don’t think we’re going to agree here, even though I’ve tried to find common ground a few times. The good that comes from recognition is being able to place yourself in someone else’s shoes and empathize better with their lived experiences, thus enabling you to better understand their situation. If you don’t find that worthwhile, I don’t think I can convince you to. But, for what it’s worth, I’m certainly not trying to be any kind of “knight.” I’m just trying to have a calm and open discussion.

by anamax 5y ago

borski 5y ago

The idea is simply to acknowledge where your privilege helped you, and how others may not have had the same experiences or ease of access to certain things, etc. The trope of “he’s black and rich, and I’m white and poor” is irrelevant, as there are different kinds of privilege. In rural Alabama, being white and poor is going to lend you a much closer set of relationships than being black and rich. In SF, it may be the other way around - the point is everyone should simply be aware of how various privilege has helped them. And again: this takes nothing away from hard work. It simply acknowledges that another person who worked just as hard but had a different set of lived experiences and privileges may not have the same result. That’s not bad; just fact. And again: it has nothing to do with guilt. You shouldn’t feel guilty about it; ~everyone has some kind of privilege. But ignoring it or pretending it doesn’t exist is the exact opposite of the point, which is, at the end of the day, an exercise in empathy.

anamax 5y ago
Bull. I've seen "check your privilege" used to shut people down, to shame them, etc. I've never seen it used as a positive thing. It's telling that you really want to say that no black person has privilege. You'd certainly never tell one to "check your privilege." How much time have you actually spent in rural Alabama? I say that because the most racist places in the US are urban, the NE and the coasts, not the south. Yes, there are racists everywhere, but the only places where blacks and whites interact productively at scale are in the south.
- borski 5y ago
  Calm down, and stop assuming malice where there is none, please. Firstly, I never implied or said that no black person has privilege. Second, my entire point that you seem to be missing is that everyone should recognize what privilege they do have and have benefited from. I’ve spent plenty of time in the South; I am not implying there is no way for a black person to interact productively with white people in the South. I am suggesting that, generally, in a lot of rural areas of the South, being white lends you more “immediate credit” than being black. And, to your point, that was but one example. I could have said “inner cities,” and made the same point. That does not, in any way, change the point; it only serves to reinforce it.
  - anamax 5y ago
    I get that you want to be a white knight but you're defending malice, said defense being that you can imagine that "Check your privilege" being used differently than it actually is. And, you've yet to explain what good comes from said "recognition". What, exactly, do you want me to do differently because I benefitted from succeeding in a situation that actually was available to many? (I'm pretty sure that you won't be satisfied with me just saying "hey, I built on stuff that had happened before.") Yes, there are lots of places where being white lends you more credit than being black. Similarly, there are lots of places where being black lends you more credit. So what? My point is that the south tends has more successful interaction than the north. That's actually more true in the rural areas.
    - borski 5y ago
      I don’t think we’re going to agree here, even though I’ve tried to find common ground a few times. The good that comes from recognition is being able to place yourself in someone else’s shoes and empathize better with their lived experiences, thus enabling you to better understand their situation. If you don’t find that worthwhile, I don’t think I can convince you to. But, for what it’s worth, I’m certainly not trying to be any kind of “knight.” I’m just trying to have a calm and open discussion.