Privilege and Other Adventures...

I read a fantastic article likening Straight White Male Privilege to the lowest difficulty setting in an RPG video game.


You can share in the genius of the analogy here.


So, this got me reflecting on various and sundry conversations I've had with various and sundry folks about privilege and power.  It's a fascinating topic to me.  And an important one.  We cannot begin to unravel the complicated knots of the human dramas around us without first honoring just how complicated they are.  Part of that is an honest look at who we are and where we stand in those dramas.


Let me get this out of the way, being privileged is not a call to shame.  There is nothing wrong with privilege!  *I* am a child of privilege (being a straight white female has a lot of perks as well--especially being one from a middle class upbringing).  These musing are not meant to judge or belittle.  They are simply musings about power and the allocation of it in our world.  I'd just like to understand why we feel this need to be the underdog all the time.  Those of us who have been lucky enough to be born into privilege can honor that with some gratitude.  We can say thank you for what we've been given by first acknowledging what we've been given.  It does not take away from our hard work and effort to recognize the head start granted to us.  I can still screw up my life, I can still fall on hard times, I can still wallow in the mire even though I was born to privilege.  Don't panic, none of those experiences will be taken from the privileged (we somehow have this need to define our worth by how many obstacles we've overcome).  I will, however, be more able to contribute to the world in meaningful ways if I swallow a spoonful of humility every morning.  When I realize that what I have is really not mine to begin with, well, I think I'm a little more willing to share it.  The scarcity model will never heal humanity's rifts...


Why bring this up?  Well, it ties right in with thoughts I've been mulling about dealing with honoring the complexities of a problem before attempting to apply solutions to it.  We cannot hope to address issues of social inequalities without an understanding of the underlying issues.  Privilege and power are some of those underlying issues.  There are generational ripple effects of marginalizing a group of people.  We may not see all the effects fully unfold for several generations.  


It takes more than a cursory interest in social justice to create effective and lasting change.  One must delve a bit more deeply and be willing to problematize seemingly commonplace issues.  Until you can get more of a perspective on the "other side", all you will do is push around the same tired rhetoric.  Until we recognize the place of privilege, we won't be able to make many gains in balancing inequalities that surround us.  Ignoring or minimizing the challenges facing those around us does NOTHING to further progress (the idea of being "colorblind" is misdirected even if it is well-meaning).  Don't we all want our struggles (and successes) to be valued for what they are?  Don't WE want to be valued for experiencing them?


Perhaps we should stop more often and humanize the experiences of others...