understanding privilege: notes from Classified with some of my own thoughts

"Basically, privilege means getting an unfair special advantage because you are part of a group. Discrimination, on the other hand, means getting an unfair disadvantage. Having an experience of privilege in common is very different from having an experience of discrimination in common, because the two things work in completely opposite ways.

Discrimination erases individual identity. It says that everyone in the group is the same and so deserves to be treated the same, regardless of how cruel or inhumane that treatment is.

Privilege erases group identity. It says that everone in the group is a unique and special individual, and that it's their uniqueness that entitles them to preferential treatment.

Dealing with discrimination requires reclaiming individual identity. Understanding privilege, on the other hand, requires figuring out all the ways that we're not unique individuals. We have to start looking for the unfair advantages we get just because we belong to a group, not because of anything we did on our own."

Most of us have been taught about discrimination and racism since elementary school. But privilege? For me, the first time I heard the words "white privilege" was a year ago in the Spring 2006 issue of The Roundtable (St. Louis Catholic Worker). Less formally, the first time I was aware of class privilege was through one of Ruby Payne's poverty workshops in Bennington, VT in the fall of 2004. I was done and graduated from college by that time! I had participated in leadership conferences, Breakaway trainings, surrounded myself with friends of the social reform and activist variety -- and I hadn't had one discussion about privilege.

It's easier to get riled up about discrimination. It's blatantly unfair. It's wrong. It's the cop taking the other driver's side because English is not my mom's native language. It's my friend Andy being arrested for trespassing because he had a shaggy beard and baggy clothes, when all he was doing was skateboarding on the bikepath and the dark caught him.

But what if you really were speeding and got a ticket, but because your neighbor was buddies with some guys on the highway patrol, your charges were dropped when you got to traffic court? Would you go around telling that story? I don't think any of us would say, "Thank you for the gesture, but I'll go ahead and pay my $170 ticket anyway." And most of us, grateful that we didn't have to pay it, would still feel guilty about how we got out of it, and probably keep mum.

I guess that's why privilege isn't talked about. There's a certain amount of shame and guilt associated with it, or unawareness. But we're never going to level the playing field just by addressing discrimination. We've got to teach about privilege like we teach about discrimination, so it becomes part of our social conscience, so even those that aren't discriminated against know about discrimination and those that have privilege know about privilege.

* * *

When I told Grant what book I was reading, he quickly asked, "Who do they define as 'young people with wealth'?"

"Having wealth as a young person means we've got tons of chices about everything from where we live to what kind of work we do. It's about the freedom to make plans for the future based on our dreams, and being able to take risks because we have resources to fall back on if we fail.... Having wealth is a safety net, a backup plan and an expanded set of options all rolled into one."

Yes, Grant, you and I fall into this category, object all you want. We grew up in freakin' Boca Raton, FL, and oh, I want to hide that fact, too. You know I thought our family had less than everyone else before I realized that we had more? There are people with even more wealth and privilege, but we've got it, too.

When I first realized I had this privilege, I was overpowered by a sense of guilt. I remember sitting in Kelli's living room after Breakfast Brigade one Friday morning trying to explain this guilt to her. I mean, here I was bringing breakfast to the men at the labor pools, and also graduating college without debt, without a care in the world. It was so grossly unfair! And Kelli must have been smiling inside as you do to a little kid who's being tormented by monsters in the closet or imaginary friends. She stopped me by saying that it doesn't help anyone to feel so guilty. Be grateful for what you've been given, and go ahead and take advantage of it, experience the world. Not many people are that lucky, and there's no need to throw it away.

* * *

"But all the class privilege in the world doesn't erase discrimination.... But while class privilege does not insulate, it can negotiate... Class privilege gives us options that other people struggling against the same forces just don't have."

It's NOT either-or -- either you have privilege or you're discriminated against.

* * *

Chapter 9 was probably the most humbling chapter to read:

"The most effective social change leadership will always come from those who have the clearest vision. The more privilege we have, the harder it is for us to see what's going on. This means we're often not the best choice for a leadership role. We can learn to see beyond our own experiences... Yet as much as we can learn, we won't ever know what it's like to stand in a less privileged place. We won't ever have the life experiences we'd need to see the big picture with the most clarity.

This doesn't mean we have to sit the whole thing out. There's still so much that each of us can bring to movements for social change. It's just that sometimes we've got to learn to take a supporting role instead of a leading one. While this is a real reversal from everything we've been told about young people with wealth being the future leaders, it's also our chance to become a more integral part of the change we seek."

And the kicker:

"No matter how deeply we are committed to change, because we have privilege, our lives don't depend on it. Taking action is a choice, not a necessity."

If anything illustrates privilege, it's that right there.