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How Privileged are you?


Dirtyhip

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There has been a lot of talk about this.  We should not feel guilty, but merely stay aware of this.  Not everyone gets the same opportunity in life.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/regajha/how-privileged-are-you

 I scored 54.  

Some of the questions might have skewed things incorrectly for my score.  Like, knowing who/what Sallie Mae is, because of my knowledge, not having loans though this agency.  

 

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34 minutes ago, bikeman564™ said:

who the frick comes up with these questions?

I assume buzzfeed.  Some of them are very eye opening. 

One job I interviewed for:  

"Are you married? 

Do you have children?  Do you intend to have children?  We are looking for a team player and want some one that is not going to leave to take care of family."

I doubt men are asked these questions.  I was asked these questions in 1998.  Not that long ago.  

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13 minutes ago, bikeman564™ said:

who the frick comes up with these questions?

Pardon my French but obviously a homosexual, entitled,liberal terrorist.

i almost backed out of the quiz because the questions were worded in such a way that I could see where they were going. I finished it and came out 50% privileged.

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4 minutes ago, roadsue said:

Or, instead it could be someone who understands power imbalances, but otherwise is a lot like you. 

The terrorist question is legit.  I know a colleague that was harassed and delayed due to the way he looks.  He and his family are Serbian. 

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I was a 59.  I guess being the token brown kid in your community and growing up white even though you’re not is the only thing that doesn’t make me privileged per their scale.

1 hour ago, Dirtyhip said:

There has been a lot of talk about this.  We should not feel guilty, but merely stay aware of this.  Not everyone gets the same opportunity in life.

People aren’t talking about this in my circles.  From a professional stand point, many of the things brought up are illegal to discriminate against so are really not a thing.  Or maybe  because I’m a “white” heterosexual Christian male I just don’t see it even though it’s still there?

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I started taking the test... then I got confused... Was this about my childhood or about me right now? 
Two completely different times. 

When I was younger I bought everything I had, my parents said it was a learning thing.. I was not given anything like the other kids I knew. 
First car, college, drugs, paid rent to my patents when I hit 17, international trip for school was paid for from money I worked for and saved for from Christmas gifts I returned....and so on.. I have always worked for what I had and really was not given much... 
I have been ridiculed in life for me being me, and now in Texas because I don't belong to a church or believe in god.. 

I am who I am, there are people less fortunate then me, but my wife and I have worked hard for what we have. 

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I scored 31.

I've said enough about myself in this forum over the years, that regular forumiters know enough about my background.  

I don't talk about "privilege" with friends.  Instead, occasionally over the years perhaps chat for 5-10 min. with closest friends  I have mentioned certain experiences. And sometimes the other friend has same experience also.  One discusses directly the incidents, experiences.   With white closest friends...I don't accuse them of privilege.  If it's appropropriate, I will  mention incidents and what should be done.  These are long standing friends of several decades.

I also acknowledge with friends my privilege and how grateful I am:  to speak English, the power language of the world, born in Canada....yet having experienced directly great difficulty of learning English. I feel this dichotomy the most when I am with recent immigrants.  And yea, when I was a teen, times of being ashamed of my hardworking immigrant parents because ie. mother couldn't speak English, etc.  

I checked off the one below because:  I am Chinese-Canadian because of my mistaken identity too many times over the decades..it gives me empathy... It gives me empathy for others struggling mentally because not just 1 but 2 suicides in extended family.

It gives me empathy now..for the Chinese restaurants that are struggling business wise, across Metro Toronto, etc. because of the coronavirus hysteria.  Privilege is a hard word to live with ….and I need to guide my life by putting my negative experiences by educating...others.

image.png.42ad871bbc20f37a515fec4738388557.png

 

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29 minutes ago, bikeman564™ said:

I own 3 cannondales. Does that make me privileged :dontknow: should of been more bike brand questions.

 

Yea, that's privileged. Most people though, wouldn't know I have 4 bikes.  I like telling people this privilege....because that's redefining privilege....  :P I don't look like a 4-bike owner. :)  I guess installing solar panels in a home in North America, is a form of privilege ….that means you've done research, went through all the municipal hoops of getting a permit, etc.

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I’m privileged because I had a car in high school. I worked all through high school. I bought my own car ($30.00 of hard earned cash) I bought my own tools and worked on my car. I didn’t do any school extra curricular activities, band, sports, clubs. I am privileged. That survey is bullshit.

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Have you worried about making rent?  I've been really poor.  Working minimum wage, living in a nasty apartment that had cockroaches for a while.  I did not own a car.  It was beyond my affordability. 

I do not know what it is like to make a late rent or mortgage payment, so I answered no to that question.  I thought about it all month, as I worked toward the goal. Always pulled it off.  Ever had a hungry night?  Only once, ran out of food on a backpack trip.  So, I answered no to that question too.  An affluent backpack trip with lack of food is not really going hungry.  It's having fun with some bad planning.

What is biased about asking about sexual orientation or race?  Have you not seen the statistics? 

I'm not trying to make anyone angry.  Just saw this early this morning, as I enjoyed my early morning feeling grateful.  I was feeling grateful, because I was thinking about how lucky I am to live somewhere that allows me easy walking/riding to anything I need.   Everyday I feel grateful.  

If you think about this quiz, as a global idea, would you still think this quiz is biased?

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Privilege is not solely manifested in material possessions. For example, the question about whether people ask to touch your hair. Nobody has ever asked me whether they can touch my hair, or whether it’s real. But my bald  co-worker gets asked to have his head rubbed almost daily, and my when black female students change their hairstyles, others ask them whether their hair is real and can I touch it. I have immunity from people wanting to enter my personal space to satisfy their curiosity, but the others don’t share in that privilege. 

 
 
priv·i·lege
/ˈpriv(ə)lij/
noun
  1. a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group.
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14 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

I’m privileged because I had a car in high school. I worked all through high school. I bought my own car ($30.00 of hard earned cash) I bought my own tools and worked on my car. I didn’t do any school extra curricular activities, band, sports, clubs. I am privileged. That survey is bullshit.

And this is an example of “fragility.”

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18 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

I’m privileged because I had a car in high school. I worked all through high school. I bought my own car ($30.00 of hard earned cash) I bought my own tools and worked on my car. I didn’t do any school extra curricular activities, band, sports, clubs. I am privileged. That survey is bullshit.

Good point.  Didn't think of that.  I know someone sixteen that had a car, beyond their parent's knowledge, bought with newspaper money.  They didn't have a license, either, cause parents would not sign for them to get one.  They parked it in the neighborhood, but not at their home.  HAHAHA  They paid $100, or so I was told.

This one, and the Sallie Mae one, can be seen two ways.  I know because of financial literacy, and not due to loans.

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You live with 46 out of 100 points of privilege.

You're not privileged at all. You grew up with an intersectional, complicated identity, and life never let you forget it. You've had your fair share of struggles, and you've worked hard to overcome them. We do not live in an ideal world and you had to learn that the hard way. 

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7 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

I’m privileged because I had a car in high school. I worked all through high school. I bought my own car ($30.00 of hard earned cash) I bought my own tools and worked on my car. I didn’t do any school extra curricular activities, band, sports, clubs. I am privileged. That survey is bullshit.

I see your point and in many regards feel the same as you. But here’s a counter point and what the poll tries to bring to light or maybe should.

When you got the jobs in HS did the ethnic kid, gay kid, or girl not get it because, you know, we don’t need their kind here or that girl will just get pregnant & leave.  Maybe they didn’t openly say that in an interview but their biases omitted others so someone like you could get the job.

Believe me I get the whole privileged dialogue and it’s something to be aware of. The truth is many white male heterosexuals don’t experience the biases that women, gay & people of color (and we can start adding age) experience and have a hard time relating to it. 

How hard one worked to get to a position of privileged really isn’t the issue as I see it.

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1 hour ago, ChrisL said:

I was a 59.  I guess being the token brown kid in your community and growing up white even though you’re not is the only thing that doesn’t make me privileged per their scale.

People aren’t talking about this in my circles.  From a professional stand point, many of the things brought up are illegal to discriminate against so are really not a thing.  Or maybe  because I’m a “white” heterosexual Christian male I just don’t see it even though it’s still there?

They are illegal, yes.  These things still happen, covertly.  

Not sure how many people know that Oregon started it's roots in white supremacy.   

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5 minutes ago, roadsue said:

Right?! Nobody educated in correct apostrophe usage back in the day.

5714B6BC-1C82-4B04-BA80-A8BF42A4B534.jpeg

No, but I was living in a tent while my dad built our first house (third house as well).  We did not always get a good dinner before bed.  I didn't have a car till I was in my third year in the navy.  I suspect that today's children would be a bit underwhelmed by that lifestyle.

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6 minutes ago, roadsue said:

Right?! Nobody educated in correct apostrophe usage back in the day.

5714B6BC-1C82-4B04-BA80-A8BF42A4B534.jpeg

“Back in the day..” I got thrown out of a bar in 1986 because of the color of my skin.  I was refused service for what I can only assume was the color of my skin as the four white patrons were helped in 2005.  

Bad grammar aside this is still an issue today...

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There are certain things one is biologically born with that one can't change:  gender, race/skin colour, sexual orientation.  One can change nationality but with significant change in cultural orientation by readjusting to another culture/society and the different societal adjustment can get compounded if your race is different from the majority in power, or the women just don't have the same basic rights for safety, jobs, higher education, etc.  

Or one tries to change the basic biological trait in oneself:  it can very fast result in serious/major psychological disconnect/problems/self-harm.  Take it seriously.  It would become a mental health problem...denying your race, gender, etc.

True:  We found out dearie's brother's step daughter came out as lesbian, then just a few years later she is currently becoming transgendered, a guy.  She broke off with her partner (of course).  She is totally cut off from her family.  I don't know the details of family dynamics, since I"ve never met his wife, kids.  I said to dearie:  She has a  long psychological journey....  It's probably way easier just to be homosexual but not transgender.  So I probably sound incredibly privileged.... 

 

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Have you asked your heterosexual children any of these questions when they told you they were interested in another person? 

What did I do wrong? Maybe you’re just rebelling?

Should I take you to therapy? Aren’t your feelings for them unnatural?
Why did you wait so long to tell me? How are we going to tell the family? What about AIDS? 

Or, have they had immunity from questioning their orientation?

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2 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

“Back in the day..” I got thrown out of a bar in 1986 because of the color of my skin.  I was refused service for what I can only assume was the color of my skin as the four white patrons were helped in 2005.  

Bad grammar aside this is still an issue today...

I got thrown out of a bar back in the early 70s because I didn’t pave a PLCB card. I had never even heard of one. My bet is nobody else had one either but they didn’t like my motorcycle or my long hair.

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1 minute ago, Longjohn said:

I got thrown out of a bar back in the early 70s because I didn’t pave a PLCB card. I had never even heard of one. My bet is nobody else had one either but they didn’t like my motorcycle or my long hair.

I’m starting to hear the song “signs” in my head. Maybe you should have pulled your hair under a hat, had a cold one then took the hat off & let the hair flow!

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