Comments on: Why I Think the Concept of Privilege is Not “Bullshit”

By: Privilege « More Sex Chocolate and Red Lipstick

Privilege « More Sex Chocolate and Red Lipstick — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:45:57 +0000

[...] talking about and ‘privilige-gate’ is pretty much done with now. (See Britni, Nadia, Nell Gwynne and the post that sparked the anger: Champagne and Benzedrine - sorry if I missed [...]

By: GreenGlass

GreenGlass — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:04:39 +0000

thoughtful and well-written piece nadia, but largely flawed philosophy. i read as far into the mcintosh piece as her list of her self-described privileges where it launches off into caucasian apology. i take a different tack to my interaction with my fellows– i haven’t a problem with expressing apologies to those people i’ve wronged; but i cannot and will not apologize for circumstances of my race, birth, parentage or location. on the whole, fortune has smiled on my life and given me more advantage than most other humans in history– for which i am grateful and unapologetic. peggy mcintosh’s unfortunate circumstance of being trapped at wellesley, in a white woman’s body no less, is no fault of mine. thus begins a long list of things for which i bear absolutely no guilt nor responsibility like world war one, slavery, and the trail of tears. of course, here in the freest meritocracy in history, everyone who wants to may wear sackcloth and ashes and whine interminably…like mistreated white girls at wellesley. enjoy their free speech, i counsel. tomorrow may be a much worse day than today.
[nice to know you're more than just another pretty face, btw]

By: Sarahbear

Sarahbear — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:25:37 +0000

You made your points in a very articulate way. I really enjoyed this.

By: Champagne and Benzedrine

Champagne and Benzedrine — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:28:36 +0000

Brilliantly, brilliantly written response Nadia; not that I should have expected anything different.

Even Britni pointed out that I actually acknowledged the existence of privilege in my post claiming that it was bullshit, so after reading her response and yours I realized that wasn’t really the point i was trying to make.

I was largely just expressing my frustration at the notion; which is tiresome, flawed and pushed by people who make assumptions and ignore their own so-called privileges.

I try and live my life treating everybody equally; so I don’t see the point of trying to be aware of how my very existence, as a result of the lottery of life, somehow oppresses others.

If I act deliberately in a way that oppresses others, shame on me. If the fact that I’m white and male and heterosexual somehow takes something away from strangers I’ve never met, without my intent, then I’m not entirely sure what people expect me to do about it.

I’m certainly not going to wring my hands in apologetic liberal guilt and I’m done listening to strangers demand I acknowledge my ‘privilege.’ I live my life with a clear conscience, so I’m not accepting the burden of guilt for the random circumstances into which I was born.

One point, Nadia – you mention class and English society. You’d actually be astonished about the reality of class in the UK and that’s one of the reasons I feel so strongly about this issue.

By: Epiphora

Epiphora — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:23:55 +0000

Amazing fucking post. Just amazing. Beautifully articulated and so right on the money. This is what it comes down to: The point of talking about privilege is not to confine us to where we were born, but to make all of us aware of how we oppress others.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:27:14 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by NadiaWest: New from Nadia: Why I Think the Concept of Privilege is Not “Bullshit” http://bit.ly/dzbP3Q...

By: On Privilege

On Privilege — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:32:29 +0000

[...] Please read Nadia West’s response to the privilege discussion, because it’s fantastic, and far more articulate than I could [...]

By: Britni TheVadgeWig

Britni TheVadgeWig — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:31:02 +0000

This post is so much better than I could have ever articulated on my own. Seriously, thank you so much for getting across points that I was failing to properly articulate. This is fantastic.

By: Nell Gwynne

Nell Gwynne — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:05:20 +0000

Excellent piece. I love how you analyze computer usage–In my hometown the library is one fo the few places that has high-speed internet because it’s a rural community where companies have decided that investing in laying highspeed cables won’t make enough of a profit for them. Woohoo economic privilege!