So, a lot of people are talking about social justice these days. It’s the idea that everyone should be equal, and that we should recognize the types of “privilege” that divide our society. In this view, a white, heterosexual male supposedly has the biggest opportunity to succeed simply because of who he is, whereas a Hispanic or African-American female would have a much harder time, simply because of who she is. This has become the root of ideas like Feminism (bringing females to the level of males) and Black Lives Matter (advocating that black lives are important as any other). The social justice movement is all about fixing these divides, and although I think the intentions behind it are great, I think there’s a serious flaw in how we’re going about it. And this flaw is that we bring things like race and gender into the discussion.
We view privilege as being connected to who someone is, but in a modern society where discrimination is outlawed, this cannot truly be so. Yes, prejudice still certainly exists, but these people make up an overwhelming minority these days. Here are some stats on that. Now, some of you might be saying, what about stats like these that still show a clear divide between blacks and whites? This brings us to my next point.
Privilege, in actuality, comes from where a person starts. Life is like a very unfair race; everyone’s trying to reach the same finish line, but some people have a lot farther to run, simply because of the situation they were born into. Here are two examples of how privilege, itself, is very real:
1) Someone whose parents went to college is far more likely to attend college themselves and succeed, as the importance of education was always emphasized to them. On the other hand, someone whose parents never graduated is less likely to attend school, as the benefits of doing so were not as clear.
2) Someone raised – and socialized – to be assertive has better chances of advancing in their career, as they will have a natural tendency to reach out and grab what they want. This is opposed to someone who is "told” to accept their place, who would have a harder time advancing.
Here are a few other examples of privilege, that might seem unexpected:
3) Someone who doesn’t attend college and instead starts working right out of school learns an invaluable real-world perspective that cannot be taught in a classroom.
4) People whose parents struggled financially learn to better appreciate life in general, and generally appreciate more from their experiences than those more advantaged.
5) Children who grow up in single-parent or other nontraditional households learn to become independent and self-sufficient early on, leaving them better prepared for the adult world.
So, as you can see here, privilege comes in all shapes and forms. It’s also different depending on the context you’re looking at. But most importantly, it really has nothing to do with dividing factors at all.
The reason these factors keep getting brought up is because of our history. Because racial discrimination and sexism used to be practiced on a wide scale, this has left us with a residual divide that still exists today. More men and white people have gotten farther, simply because history gave them a head start. However, this does not mean the opportunity isn’t there for marginalized groups – quite to the contrary we’ve seen plenty of these people become highly successful. But we certainly have a long ways to go.
As a side note, I know I’m writing this article from a place of privilege myself. Several generations ago, my ancestors came to America through Ellis Island. They were dirt poor at first, as they tried to establish a life for themselves. Slowly, however, they did. Each new generation built upon the progress of the last. My grandmother was the first to graduate high school, followed by my mom being the first to get a degree. Now, my sister and I are in college ourselves, with the opportunity to move even farther ahead. I recognize that some of you might be in the position today that my family was in 50 years ago. But you, too, can move ahead. It’s possible – that’s the American Dream.
The point is that we’re fighting the wrong battle. We’re trying to undermine those who’ve found success, when really we should be focusing on the barriers that keep people from climbing the ladder. If we focused on solutions like raising the minimum wage, making college more accessible, and providing supports for at-risk youth, we could truly nip this privilege issue in the bud. No one is ever going to be truly equal, but we all have equal rights. We’re all human beings, and no human being is ever less than another. So let’s make this truth.
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