Does Privilege Matter?

[Green Bottle]

I specifically meant people who think the world owe's them, and who look down on others, like royalty..

[drunkenshoe]

People quite often fail to see their privilege. That's kind of the point.

[drunkenshoe]

I specifically meant people who think the world owe's them, and who look down on others, like royalty..

It's a huge chart, Green. They are just a part of it. That^looks different because it is 'institutionalised'. It's official. The root is the same.

[Baruch]

Green Bottle ... thanks to the "special relationship" ...

Americans have gone from being "temporarily embarrassed millionaires" to being "temporarily embarrassed royalty" ... at least in some political dynasties ;-(  In GB, you have actual "entitled" people.  In the US political argot ... "entitlement" is a nasty word ... usually applied to poor people who get assistance from the government ... but not applied to plutocrats who get extra breaks they don't need, or corporations who are despoiling the nation.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

People quite often fail to see their privilege. That's kind of the point.

So it's just a matter of opinion?

[Mermaid]

So it's just a matter of opinion?

Nope.

[Baruch]

A bi-directional opinion ... an asshole thinks he is privileged, and the losers around him agree that he is, and are jealous of his delusion.  Without followers, the leaders would all be in padded rooms, rather than flying in Air Force One and starting wars.

[Sal1981]

A bi-directional opinion ... an asshole thinks he is privileged, and the losers around him agree that he is, and are jealous of his delusion.  Without followers, the leaders would all be in padded rooms, rather than flying in Air Force One and starting wars.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Nope.

Yep.

[aitm]

A bi-directional opinion ... an asshole thinks he is privileged,

I think you changed the definition or perhaps misunderstood the original intent:

I do not think I am privileged..i.e, that I should by nature or any other method be deserving of any special treatment over others…

I am privileged in that I was/am fortunate enough to have a far easier life than 80% of the rest of the world.

I am also privileged in that for all my struggles the effort for me to "escape" my troubles were made far less difficult than many others due to my skin color, sex, and fucking pure handsomeness…….

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I thought guilt-tripping had gone out of style, but here it is, old name ground off and all bright, shiny, and new. Nothing ever changes.

[aitm]

I thought guilt-tripping had gone out of style, but here it is, old name ground off and all bright, shiny, and new. Nothing ever changes.

well, I have no guilt whatsoever.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

well, I have no guilt whatsoever.

Ditto, which points up nicely the futility of the campaign to make "everybody but me" feel bad.

[Baruch]

aitm ... I was generalizing into the psychological motivation.  But I get your POV ... I feel the same way.  But I feel both good and bad about it ... but while I haven't done much to directly cause harm, my participation in the "system" contributes to harm ... but escaping systemic guilt is very hard indeed.  On the other hand, I don't go around guilt tripping anyone over perceived harm to myself or to whatever group I identify with.  That aspect is "un-jewish" ... but then I am non-conformist.  On guilt tripping, it is only appropriate to use the Jew card ... if someone is playing the victim in a way that excludes other victims, and if it excluded Jewish victims, then it is anti-Semitic.

So where am I on the "underlying" motivation for this string?  Yes, I never destroyed any Native Americans, and I have never enslaved any Africans ... and yes, self identified White folk have many problems in life, not all of them being the beneficiaries of systemic racism.  Psychologically I would say ... stop playing the victim ... or the perp.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

My grandparents all came from Ireland in the 1900s. I don't feel no guilt about Native Americans or the descendants of people who were captured by their neighbors and sold to Europeans.