3 ms·
Others have responded to parts of this already, so I won't repeat their points. But one issue that I haven't seen anyone comment on is that race and sex are ver
by Steuard 14y ago
Others have responded to parts of this already, so I won't repeat their points. But one issue that I haven't seen anyone comment on is that race and sex are very overt traits, while family wealth and IQ are a good bit less obvious at a glance.
Being born in a poor family makes life much harder, no question, but (e.g.) if a straight white man from a trailer park does get into a good college then the people around him won't immediately guess his background (and judge him for it). A lot of them will make the high-probability assumption that his family is similar to their own, and that implicit sense of kinship will go a long way toward making him a welcome part of the community.
A person who's black or female in that same environment could hardly expect to have the same experience: those traits are in most cases obvious at a glance. If a teacher or a peer has a prejudice against both "blacks" and "people from trailer parks" (consciously or unconsciously), the black student will definitely suffer from it while the poor white student may luck out. And there's little chance that privileged white guys will unthinkingly assume that a black student is actually white or that a woman is actually a man and thus feel that implicit sense of kinship.
- jiggy2011 14y agoBut the straight white guy from the trailer part won't get a good educated because he will be discriminated against for being dumb.
- sophacles 14y agoOnly if he advertises his "trailer park" background. The point is, he can "pass" for not being from a trailer park with no difficulty (just get setting appropriate clothes and don't say "I'm from a trailer park" all the time).
- jiggy2011 14y agoThe discrimination will come in the form of standardized examination. If you aren't born with the intellectual ability to pass exams you can't go to harvard. It's not always easy to pass for upper class when you are not, this is especially true in the UK where you will be judged on your accent.
- sophacles 14y agoWhat? Being born in a trailer park now means being born stupid? This is goalpost moving. I didn't say pass for being "upper class". I was discussing passing for being "not from the trailer park". Lots of people at Harvard are not wealthy, just have good grades and SAT scores.
- jiggy2011 14y agoBeing smart is a huge privilege.
- sophacles 14y agoSure. Sometimes. It can be an exclusionary factor too. The point of privilege discussions tho isn't to eliminate all privileges. It is to recognize them, and work towards eliminating the implicit ones, by making them explicit. And to further decide which ones make sense and which ones don't. Assuming that someone is respectable based on skin color or iq or gender or whatever is a privilege that doesn't make sense. Assuming that someone is qualified to gain the benefit of an institution of learning based on a shown track record of learning well does - IMO. Recognizing that I have opportunities because I was unfairly given a pass by the cops when I was holding drugs, even though my buddy who wasn't was searched, is not self-flagellation. It is a simple fact of what happened. Recognizing privilege isn't an act of self hate. Using my privilege to influence the reduction of privileges that make no sense isn't self-hate either, it is an attempt to reduce the absurd. It's recognition that things are fucked up, and trying to correct it.