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I don't think he's suggesting that these things have not been in the favor of men in the past. He's saying that men are just not handed out things because they

• wpietri 13y ago
  Because they are benefiting from those past actions. And note that a penalty that offsets an unearned benefit is, from some angles, no penalty at all. The expectation that everything should be fair from my perspective is something that I have because I'm a straight, white, upper-middle-class male. I get to assume that it's all about me, because it so often is. People from less privileged backgrounds don't expect that nearly as much.
  • sliverstorm 13y ago
    Because they are benefiting from those past actions. Which brings us to the whole "sins of thy father" question.
    • wpietri 13y ago
      Does it? I think that's a different question. Consider European genocide of Native Americans. Suppose they all had been wiped out. Or consider German genocide of Jews, with the same hypothetical. I think the "sins of thy father" question is: Should the descendants of the criminals be punished for the crimes of their ancestors? My answer to this is "no". And I think bringing it up in this context mainly confuses things. I think the question of privilege is about present-day social inequities. If the question is, "Should we work to make society fair to everybody, no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, or other irrelevant factor?" There, my answer is a firm "yes". Will that involve people with unearned privilege giving up that privilege? Sure. But that's not a punishment for being among one of the privileged groups, no matter how much it feels like it.