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No, customer service workers do not have it easy
Every once in a while, one of my fellow Americans blows my mind with her assumption that customer service workers get insurance, paid sick days and paid vacation, and at least $10/hour. These assumptions are often of no consequence, but on some occasions they're offered in justification of why no one should be...
Privilege means never having to explain why it doesn’t work for Others
One of the most annoying privilege memes I've ever dealt with is "Anyone can get rich in this great country; if they don't, it means they're just not working hard enough." I encountered this meme almost daily as a kid growing up in a highly conservative "red state" in the US, but I imagine there are variations of it...
Criticism, hostility and non-support: three different animals
If you find yourself in agreement with a dominant belief - the most popular religion in your culture, a love of the favored local sports team, or the belief that life is mostly neat and people are mostly good-hearted - you may occasionally have trouble distinguishing someone who doesn't lick your butt in agreement...
White Trash Blues: Class Privilege v. White Privilege
If you blog about white privilege, you're probably sick to death of people playing the "white trash" card in your comments. Their argument usually goes something like this:
"Being white didn't give me all these privileges you're talking about."
"I know plenty of [minority] people who are better off than I...
College has become a barrier for smart poor kids
ETA: This post is US-centric, and I should have made that clear. How much or little it applies to other countries, I can't say.
As soon as employers made college a necessity for jobs of any significant income (and even some of shockingly low income, such as "receptionist") back in the 80s or 90s, college started...
by Jennifer Kesler
Recently, I was re-subjected on Hathor to a popular but not universal vegan position: that the only reasons anyone eats meat are tradition and pleasure. That no one eats meat because they must. We can just eat rice, beans and grains in lieu of meat.
That assertion is rolling in privilege. Specifically, the privilege of not having a health condition for which doctors advise a special, non-vegan diet.
Let’s get one thing clear: the debate about whether or not some vegan diet … READ MORE
by Jennifer Kesler
After the 2004 presidential election, I engaged in some surprisingly restrained discussion between Americans and Europeans. The Europeans felt betrayed by not only Bush, but the people who voted for him. They were actually afraid of what the United States might do under his leadership in Iraq and elsewhere. The Americans, for the most part, didn’t get it. The U.S. wasn’t perfect, but surely no one doubted the country could be trusted, did they?
They did. Americans were hurt to learn … READ MORE
by Jennifer Kesler
I’ve been reading Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. It’s considered an essential work on the subject, and I’m getting a lot out of it. But after detailing the staggering hours children need to fit into honing a craft like sports or music (and he acknowledges you really do have to start in childhood because the competition is that fierce), he says:
What seems to set apart those at the very top of competitive pursuits from … READ MORE
by Jennifer Kesler
I know many of you reading this are thrilled with the passage of the universal health care bill. There are several aspects of it I love, too. To name two, we should’ve been protected from that “pre-existing condition” bullshit thirty years ago, and anything that makes Medicare work better is going to help out some people I care about.
But there are two enormous problems with this bill. First, it should’ve been funded by tax dollars, not compulsory consumption of a … READ MORE
by Jennifer Kesler
A few months ago, we had a discussion about whether the original name of this website, Blind Privilege, was ableist. As is typical when someone raises a question like this, there were several people who agreed with changing the name and several who thought it wasn’t necessary. And a few who thought it was ridiculous to even consider changing it.
This prompted me to do a lot of reading and research online. There are a number of worthwhile opinions … READ MORE
by Jennifer Kesler
I recently searched online for the question of how an adult abuse survivor might go about suing his or her abusive parent. The results I got astounded me, but they shouldn’t have. I know my country wants parents abusing its kids. It makes this clear so many ways. This is just one more.
First, the cultural. Most of the search results lead to other people asking my question. The responses they get range from “You’d be much better off just getting … READ MORE
by Jennifer Kesler
I sometimes think one of the strongest barriers to equality is that when you’re trying to join a group you weren’t born into, you have to either smile and nod while listening to the crap those people say about the group you were born into, or stand up for yourself and your people and alienate the very group of people you were hoping to join. Except now you’re wondering if they’re worth joining – unless you’ve learned to despise your … READ MORE
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