Then maybe this metaphor from John Scalzi will work with you in understanding about straight, white male, um, privilege.
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Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is – Whatever
I've been thinking of a way to explain to straight white men how life works for them, without invoking the dreaded word “privilege,” to which they react like vampires being fed a garlic tart at hi…
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Reading the comments don't raise my hopes any. I wonder if Jesus had days when he was all like "OK, how about this then; A man was set upon by robbers, and…"
I like one of the comments that said something to the affect of "anyone born in America is on the Easy setting, or at least Easier Than Normal. The 12 year old in Sudan that has to walk for miles to find food and water and has no career prospects…that's the Hard setting."
I probably shouldn't put something I paraphrased in quotes, but there it is.
Yes, and there's a big gap between global perspective and local. The multi-player game we're in (according to our village-tuned minds) is local in nature. Global connections keep poking holes in the fence around our village.
Regarding the article, I do not like the word privilege pertaining to me. Certainly being raised white in the South was easier than being black in the South. But then, so many people have different upbringings and have many other privileges that I never had it's not fair to say my being white has made my life much easier than someone else's.
Having parents that know how to budget money and pass that skill on to a child is a privilege.
Having parents that appreciate quality education and take an active role in their child's schooling is a privilege.
Having two parents is a privilege.
Having grandparents nearby to help raise a child is a privilege.
Nevermind the privilege of wealth.
I'm not one of those "how come there's not a white history month" guys by any means, I can see that life is harder for many people for a variety of reasons. But I wasn't born on second. Or first. Perhaps my being a SWM got me a favorable call from the umpire here and there, but that's about as far as I feel my SWM privilege goes.
Well that, and any time you end up in the dock, or apply for a loan, or apply for a job, or interact with a police officer. Or lots of other stuff. You don't see it or feel it because you've never had to.
Well, I should point out that my interactions with police officers has been…poor.
Job application; I'll agree to that even though most of the places have worked outside of the South have had a pretty good mix of races and nationalities, but not much in the way of management…but then I'm not really management either so I've haven't a huge hand up in that regard.
My loan applications haven't gone well either because my credit wasn't good for several years. Perhaps I was offered a car loan at 18%APR rather than being told "no" thinking that maybe my white parents would help me pay for it or something. I didn't take the 18% loan btw.