[Demimonde]

Originally Posted by LadyShea

It's not about shaming though, it's about recognition so as to avoid othering as in "Check your privilege".

For example, I am aware of my privileges. I am middle class, white, average sized, have average features, have above average intelligence, am healthy, employed, housed and fed, have a healthy average kid, etc. etc. etc. I am not ashamed of those things, but I do know that those things afford me...benefits? Perks? not sure the exact word but I enjoy a level of freedom to move about society without raising any eyebrows or suspicions or harsh judgments, and I am given the benefit of the doubt by those in authority (whether law enforcement or Kiddo's school officials), and really most people in general, because they simply expect someone "like" me to conform to societal mores and/or think quite a bit like they themselves do. I am not an other in most everyday situations.

I am an other in some ways, in that I am female, an atheist, infertile. an adoptive parent, and some other minor things, but they don't really come close to the privileged station I enjoy. So, I try to be cognizant of that, and look at it objectively, so as not to assume that I somehow earned that station ( like the lolbertarian kids who seem to think being born white and middle class with health insurance and food security is something they bootstrapped up themselves.)

I don't know of a secular counterpart, but the phrase "There but for the grace of god go I" goes through my mind sometimes.

Shea, you are brilliant. I was attempting to put together a post that would unpack this a bit and here you are encapsulating it perfectly.

I am gonna post my junk regardless though, because that is what Demi do.

The thing is there are two kinds of discrimination. There is active discrimination and passive discrimination (privilege). The example of "not being beaten up because of skin color" is the counter part of active discrimination, targeting an individual and dominating them because of their race is not a symptom of privilege- it is a hate crime. Not being the victim of a particular hate crime is not privilege it is another part of the social injustice dynamic.

seebs, giant bolded letters aside, perhaps you did not notice that in my post I did qualify that the language is loaded and offered an alternative? You made the statement that privilege is the "wrong" word and that it is "bad" but I disagree. It is perfectly consistent with its historic usage. I think the issue arises in that the concept of privilege in social justice is a new concept, it is a product of the twentieth century and many are not used to the term being used in this way even though it is accurate.

I think the issue arises in that when speaking of privilege we are not speaking at the personal level but at the group level. When I say I have white privilege, I am acknowledging that I am part of a group which has historically been given dominance, power, control, and yes an unfair advantage over other groups. However, when you take it to the personal level some are very bothered by the fact that they are part of this dynamic and find it both distasteful and beyond their control. Connotation wise it is a loaded phrase that people do not want to be identified with, no matter how accurate. Something something ... white guilt goes here.

But like most words, it is the largely accepted term thanks to Mr. Derrida, and the best we have. (That is a lie, I prefer "primacy" as I stated, but no one else uses that word as I do so it fails as communication.) There are a huge number of words though that change their meaning greatly depending upon what field you are discussing. I love the crap out of this meta-engine I found, Onelook.com for this reason. Today's word is mantle and it has very different meanings based on the field you are discussing, science, art, etc.