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In reply to the discussion: If you are the member of a privileged group AND call yourself progressive [View all]ChaoticTrilby
(211 posts)Last edited Wed Feb 27, 2013, 08:56 PM - Edit history (1)
I agree that privilege is used in very vague ways, and it does bother me on occasion. As I see it, privilege should be used exclusively as a noun, not a descriptor. By that, I mean that "whiteness" is a privilege, but being white doesn't simply mean that I am privileged overall. I'm not - shifting from working class to full-on poor throughout my life really freaking sucks and I get just as vitriolic trying to explain to people why the massive accumulative costs of school supplies (particularly science calculators) can and do put a bind of peoples' funds as I do when trying to get people to just listen to each other about experiences of racial/sexual/etc. discrimination.
That was a mini-rant, I'll admit. But my main point was that it is perfectly possible to hold some privileges while being deprived of others. I understand that, so I try to listen to others about what it's like to lack this or that privilege. I think that that was what the OP was mostly aiming for.
I sometimes forget how loaded the word "privilege" can sound, and I apologize for that. Sometimes, I feel like we all just lack the right words to come across properly. As for that comment regarding MLK's quote, I again understand what you mean. However, people do still judge each other by skin color, which is the source of discrimination. When I "point out" privilege, I'm mostly trying to keep in mind the fact that racism/sexism/able-ism still exists and can make things very difficult for people, and that we should try to acknowledge this by actively fighting against it and listening to each other when we're discussing our experiences. While I dislike bringing up the same book multiple times, I'm reminded of a discussion my high school class had about whether or not To Kill a Mockingbird should be a required read in schools as it "had racism in it." My stance was that it should, because forgetting about racism wouldn't make it go away - we should have to face, and discuss, it.
The OP was going for a stance of fighting against "privileged thinking" by acknowledging it and listening to each other, I believe, but I can see how the word choice might have gotten in the way for some DU'ers. Understandable.