Reply to I’m a scrappy gal who has made it on my own.. My dad was wealthy but just didn’t share

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Are there people worse off than you? If so, then you experience some privilege. Most of us do ... just like most of us experience some oppression as well.

[b]Experiencing privilege does not make you a bad person or unworthy of your accomplishments, just like experiencing some oppression does not make you a heroic (or tragic) figure. The point of the "privilege" discussion is compassion and humility -- to be aware of the fact that, but for some lucky circumstances not in your control, you could be in the same situation as that other person you think isn't as "scrappy."[/b][/quote]

This.  People are so invested in disavowing their privilege because they don't understand what it means.  Think of it as "unearned advantage."  It's the things that you didn't do anything to deserve, but got because of who your parents are, or the color of your skin, or your gender, etc.  If you are white, you grew up without the disadvantages of racism.  It doesn't mean your life was easy or you're a bad person.  It does mean that maybe you should check your assumptions about other people, and become aware of the ways in which your race helped make certain opportunities more available to you, etc.  Have some humility and compassion.  People who think they earned everything in life tend to have less of those things -- they are invested in thinking they deserve what they have and, by extension, if other people don't have those things, it's because they don't deserve them -- because they are lazy or lack self-control or are otherwise lacking.  In fact, people can work very, very, very hard and be very good people and not achieve wealth or stability, because of the circumstances of their birth and upbringing over which they had no control.  People who think "there but for the grace of God go I" recognize the role of luck and are grateful for what they have.  It doesn't mean they don't think hard work matters or anything like that.  It just means that they understand that we don't live in a just world in which everyone gets exactly what they deserve, and we can't judge someone's character based on their marital status or bank balance or education or whatever.  [/quote]

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