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Sahh
Hummingbird
Hummingbird

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Joined: 28 Feb 2018
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 23

24 Jun 2018, 10:54 pm

ASPartOfMe wrote:
Sahh wrote:
AceofPens wrote:
Privilege points drive me crazy. It's a game of relativity. People judged to be "privileged" are subject to responsibility and mindfulness for everyone beneath them, but as you go farther down, does the chain continue? Shall we talk of high functioning privilege? Verbal privilege? And what will these admissions bring about? If they don't cause any practical results, it's pointless. I have yet to see any actual benefits to this new mindfulness.

Also, the term "NT privilege" is absolutely ridiculous. Since when is it a privilege not to suffer? We should not be telling people that they were gifted by the gods behind the gods simply because they weren't born autistic. NTs are at baseline. They're not afflicted or gifted. They're average. If you're going to talk about NT privilege, you might as well talk about breathing privilege.



Everything is relative and nothing is absolute, but we understand our world through forms of classification. Many people who are labeled with a particular privilege aren't being attacked, or assumed to have their fortune handed to them. It is however a means of building awareness that certain aspects of life can be more difficult for certain groups of people and by having that conversation, maybe the majority will be more apt to stop and think before making judgments or decisions based on their specific worldview. We're all different, and we all suffer, but it's not about that. It's about going through life with a lack of awareness of our own advantages. You don't need to play the victim to admit that you're in some way disadvantaged. It can help give better perspective and self-compassion to someone who has always felt on the outside.

It took me awhile to come to this conclusion myself, because it's so easy to accept the world as it is, but when you dig deeper you can start to see where we stagnate.

I, contrary to what you say, have experienced plenty of positive change coming from awareness of gender and racial inequality. It's not easy, but people are having the discussion. I think that mental health is still largely a blind spot, and disorders and illnesses are often stigmatized which only serves to exacerbate the problem.

Don't shut it down. It's a conversation worth having. Always.

I am more on the side of AceOfPens. If you are any type of minority you are more likely to be at a disadavantage because of discrimination of various types, misunderstandings and just because most people do not have to accommodate you.

The old defininition of privilege was being given an unfair advantage somehow usually economic or a favor. Another words the concept of priviledge was an individual thing where your group can be a factor.

The new definition is privilege adds to the old one and has become dominated by the group you are in. It says you are automatically privileged because of the group you are in.

IRL the new definition is not about awareness or is not about awareness anymore. It is a rhetorical weapon used to guilt shame and invalidate people to shut up with something you disagree with. It is saying your opinion is not really valid because you are in a group I deemed privileged. I have to give very grudging credit to whomever redefined the term in this way. Everybody belongs to some sort of group that has an advantage so “check your privilege” or think about your privilage can be used to distract from any argument by any opponent.

Giving credit most certainly does not mean acceptance. An advantaged person can be right in a discussion with a disadvantaged person. While bieng “privileged” in several ways an individual can be and often is more disadvantaged than advantaged so how is the new definition useful for all of those people?

Observation:
I find most of using privilage in the new way are privileged in the old fashioned way.


I actually agree with you. I think it is weaponized, overused and abused. The world is a very inflammatory place, and people will use any social advantage to gain leverage. I often find alternatives to the word "privilege" in conversation for that reason. However, that doesn't mean that there isn't truth in it, and just because it is sometimes misused, doesn't mean that it should be disregarded. Awareness and change isn't immediate, or without conflict.