Privilege exercise

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Activities like this just make me angry. My teen had to do one at school and came home so confused because they kept talking about white privelige and so many of the things didn’t apply to him, even though he’s white. It’s a difficult conversation to have with your kid when he’s made to feel embarrassed that he’s white and further embarrassed that he’s not coming from storybook circumstances.

Sounds like the exercise worked. The point of these things is to make your teen question the status quo. Some discomfort is natural, and it'll help DS to perhaps empathize a little with brown-skinned minority kids who might experience this discomfort on a regular basis. BTW, a good teacher would also introduce things like economics, education, etc., and other factors that go into identity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ouch, probably not very well thought out exercise. Someone probably saw that video and thought we'll make the privileged kids realize their privilege - failing to see that it would be at the expense of the underprivileged. Another privilege of the privileged.

It's possible the club leader noticed this during the exercise, once the results went up onto the board. A conversation with him/her would help them as they handle with the club moving forward, as well as how they would use an exercise like this in the future. Not to say that you owe it to help the club leader in this way, but that the conversation would be beneficial all around.

Yes, these should have been scored privately, and the board should have listed ranges: 60-70, very privileged (with a definition), 50-60 (definition), etc..
And then the sheets, which should not have had names on them, could be collected and the kids could see the range of scores in the group, but not know who was who. And this only if the group is 20+ people so it wouldn't be a slam-dunk to match people to scores even without names.

[Anonymous]

OP here. To be clear, I do think these exercises have their value, and I think privilege is very real. The issue wasn’t so much the concept, but how they went about it and made the scores very “public”

Anyway, DD wasn’t comfortable talking to them in person but emailed the advisor when she got home from school today about why the activity was problematic and how she hopes they’ll reconsider the way they implement such activities in the future.

[Anonymous]

Good for her!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Activities like this just make me angry. My teen had to do one at school and came home so confused because they kept talking about white privelige and so many of the things didn’t apply to him, even though he’s white. It’s a difficult conversation to have with your kid when he’s made to feel embarrassed that he’s white and further embarrassed that he’s not coming from storybook circumstances.

Sounds like the exercise worked. The point of these things is to make your teen question the status quo. Some discomfort is natural, and it'll help DS to perhaps empathize a little with brown-skinned minority kids who might experience this discomfort on a regular basis. BTW, a good teacher would also introduce things like economics, education, etc., and other factors that go into identity.

No one discloses that. The people that arrange these types of exercises are 100% focused on skin color. No one chooses the circumstances they are born into. It should be possible to teach empathy without degrading self- worth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Activities like this just make me angry. My teen had to do one at school and came home so confused because they kept talking about white privelige and so many of the things didn’t apply to him, even though he’s white. It’s a difficult conversation to have with your kid when he’s made to feel embarrassed that he’s white and further embarrassed that he’s not coming from storybook circumstances.

Sounds like the exercise worked. The point of these things is to make your teen question the status quo. Some discomfort is natural, and it'll help DS to perhaps empathize a little with brown-skinned minority kids who might experience this discomfort on a regular basis. BTW, a good teacher would also introduce things like economics, education, etc., and other factors that go into identity.

No one discloses that. The people that arrange these types of exercises are 100% focused on skin color. No one chooses the circumstances they are born into. It should be possible to teach empathy without degrading self- worth.

OP here. It wasn’t focused on race, it was focused on all aspects of privilege- economic privilege, educational privilege, able privilege, heterosexual privilege.
DD is white but lost “points” elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

At least it’s just an exercise.... imagine if it was her reality... like every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least it’s just an exercise.... imagine if it was her reality... like every day.

What?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Activities like this just make me angry. My teen had to do one at school and came home so confused because they kept talking about white privelige and so many of the things didn’t apply to him, even though he’s white. It’s a difficult conversation to have with your kid when he’s made to feel embarrassed that he’s white and further embarrassed that he’s not coming from storybook circumstances.

If your white male teen participated in a privilege exercise and felt underprivileged compared to his white peers than it wasn’t about WHITE privilege. It was mixed socio-economic, education etc like the exercise OP’s daughter did. I guarantee you that your white male son experiences just as much white privilege as other white kids. Some examples of statements (not written by me for sake of time) that demonstrate white privilege:


1. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
2. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
3. When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
4. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
5. I can swear, or dress in second-hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.
6. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
7. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
8. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world’s majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
10. If a traffic cop pulls me over I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race.
11. I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children’s magazines featuring people of my race.
12. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
13. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more less match my skin


-White person sick of other white people whining, “I’m poor, not privileged!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ouch, probably not very well thought out exercise. Someone probably saw that video and thought we'll make the privileged kids realize their privilege - failing to see that it would be at the expense of the underprivileged. Another privilege of the privileged.

It's possible the club leader noticed this during the exercise, once the results went up onto the board. A conversation with him/her would help them as they handle with the club moving forward, as well as how they would use an exercise like this in the future. Not to say that you owe it to help the club leader in this way, but that the conversation would be beneficial all around.

Yes, these should have been scored privately, and the board should have listed ranges: 60-70, very privileged (with a definition), 50-60 (definition), etc..
And then the sheets, which should not have had names on them, could be collected and the kids could see the range of scores in the group, but not know who was who. And this only if the group is 20+ people so it wouldn't be a slam-dunk to match people to scores even without names.

But the person without privilege now has the privilege of seeing exactly in numerical value how much less privileged they are. That's fantastic. As I said before the privileged kids get the privilege of seeing how privileged they are at the expense of the less privileged. There are many better ways in which one might do this without making the less fortunate feel any more marginalized than they already feel. Trust me, the underprivileged kids already know, very well what they lack. No need to point it out again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ouch, probably not very well thought out exercise. Someone probably saw that video and thought we'll make the privileged kids realize their privilege - failing to see that it would be at the expense of the underprivileged. Another privilege of the privileged.

It's possible the club leader noticed this during the exercise, once the results went up onto the board. A conversation with him/her would help them as they handle with the club moving forward, as well as how they would use an exercise like this in the future. Not to say that you owe it to help the club leader in this way, but that the conversation would be beneficial all around.

Yes, these should have been scored privately, and the board should have listed ranges: 60-70, very privileged (with a definition), 50-60 (definition), etc..
And then the sheets, which should not have had names on them, could be collected and the kids could see the range of scores in the group, but not know who was who. And this only if the group is 20+ people so it wouldn't be a slam-dunk to match people to scores even without names.

But the person without privilege now has the privilege of seeing exactly in numerical value how much less privileged they are. That's fantastic. As I said before the privileged kids get the privilege of seeing how privileged they are at the expense of the less privileged. There are many better ways in which one might do this without making the less fortunate feel any more marginalized than they already feel. Trust me, the underprivileged kids already know, very well what they lack. No need to point it out again.

OP here. You said it very well, thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least it’s just an exercise.... imagine if it was her reality... like every day.

OP here. It WAS based on one’s everyday reality. You checked the box if it applies to your real life

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Activities like this just make me angry. My teen had to do one at school and came home so confused because they kept talking about white privelige and so many of the things didn’t apply to him, even though he’s white. It’s a difficult conversation to have with your kid when he’s made to feel embarrassed that he’s white and further embarrassed that he’s not coming from storybook circumstances.

If your white male teen participated in a privilege exercise and felt underprivileged compared to his white peers than it wasn’t about WHITE privilege. It was mixed socio-economic, education etc like the exercise OP’s daughter did. I guarantee you that your white male son experiences just as much white privilege as other white kids. Some examples of statements (not written by me for sake of time) that demonstrate white privilege:


1. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
2. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
3. When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
4. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
5. I can swear, or dress in second-hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.
6. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
7. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
8. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world’s majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
10. If a traffic cop pulls me over I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race.
11. I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children’s magazines featuring people of my race.
12. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
13. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more less match my skin


-White person sick of other white people whining, “I’m poor, not privileged!”

The criteria above refer to profiling. That is distinctly different, and not the opposite of privelige.

Sorry, white chick. You still don’t get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Activities like this just make me angry. My teen had to do one at school and came home so confused because they kept talking about white privelige and so many of the things didn’t apply to him, even though he’s white. It’s a difficult conversation to have with your kid when he’s made to feel embarrassed that he’s white and further embarrassed that he’s not coming from storybook circumstances.

If your white male teen participated in a privilege exercise and felt underprivileged compared to his white peers than it wasn’t about WHITE privilege. It was mixed socio-economic, education etc like the exercise OP’s daughter did. I guarantee you that your white male son experiences just as much white privilege as other white kids. Some examples of statements (not written by me for sake of time) that demonstrate white privilege:


1. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
2. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
3. When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
4. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
5. I can swear, or dress in second-hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.
6. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
7. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
8. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world’s majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
10. If a traffic cop pulls me over I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race.
11. I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children’s magazines featuring people of my race.
12. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
13. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more less match my skin


-White person sick of other white people whining, “I’m poor, not privileged!”

The criteria above refer to profiling. That is distinctly different, and not the opposite of privelige.

Sorry, white chick. You still don’t get it.

Only a few are related to profiling, most are not. And the list was not meant to be exhaustive by any means but merely a brief look at the variety of ways that white privilege goes unrecognized by those who have it. And as I said, this list is not made up of my own words but rather pulled from an article I read a long time ago on the topic that I knew I could easily pull up on Google.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Activities like this just make me angry. My teen had to do one at school and came home so confused because they kept talking about white privelige and so many of the things didn’t apply to him, even though he’s white. It’s a difficult conversation to have with your kid when he’s made to feel embarrassed that he’s white and further embarrassed that he’s not coming from storybook circumstances.

If your white male teen participated in a privilege exercise and felt underprivileged compared to his white peers than it wasn’t about WHITE privilege. It was mixed socio-economic, education etc like the exercise OP’s daughter did. I guarantee you that your white male son experiences just as much white privilege as other white kids. Some examples of statements (not written by me for sake of time) that demonstrate white privilege:


1. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
2. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
3. When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
4. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
5. I can swear, or dress in second-hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.
6. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
7. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
8. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world’s majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
10. If a traffic cop pulls me over I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race.
11. I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children’s magazines featuring people of my race.
12. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
13. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more less match my skin


-White person sick of other white people whining, “I’m poor, not privileged!”

14. I can go on DCUM and post lists like this until the cows come home, constantly proving what a superior person I am because I am so cognizant of the fact that I am white and privileged, and I properly hate myself for it, while everyone else of my race does not self-flog enough.