On being born with privilege
Posted by davidmcnab 8 years, 2 months ago to Philosophy
Earlier today, I saw a feminist posting on social media about the "privilege inherent in being white, straight and male". It had an undertone of expectation that anyone in that position should feel guilty and hold themselves back in favour of those denied that privilege.
Anyway, this was my reply:
To anyone with privilege of any kind be it artistic genius, or wealthy birth, or athletic capability, or political connections, or dominant gender/sexuality/ethnicity, I say this:
Do not under any circumstances allow yourself to indulge (or others to manipulating you into indulging) in that toxic infectious emotion called 'guilt', or feel you have to hold yourself back in any way, or for anybody.
Take everything great you have been given, and use it to its utmost to be all you can be. Through your productive accomplishment, you inspire others, and even lighten their load.
Audit all the helpful and unhelpful cards you have been dealt. Strategise your life to maximise the benefit of your helpful cards, and minimise the adverse impact of your unhelpful ones, and where possible, even convert the unhelpful ones into helpful ones.
And be mindful that the true measure of a person is not what cards they have been dealt, but how they play them.
I don't identify as Christian, but that passage on 'charity' in Corinthians offers much guidance, especially if you substitute the words 'open heart' and/or 'empathy' for the word 'charity' (which today has taken on a connotation of moral obligation to give to those less fortunate).
Anyway, this was my reply:
To anyone with privilege of any kind be it artistic genius, or wealthy birth, or athletic capability, or political connections, or dominant gender/sexuality/ethnicity, I say this:
Do not under any circumstances allow yourself to indulge (or others to manipulating you into indulging) in that toxic infectious emotion called 'guilt', or feel you have to hold yourself back in any way, or for anybody.
Take everything great you have been given, and use it to its utmost to be all you can be. Through your productive accomplishment, you inspire others, and even lighten their load.
Audit all the helpful and unhelpful cards you have been dealt. Strategise your life to maximise the benefit of your helpful cards, and minimise the adverse impact of your unhelpful ones, and where possible, even convert the unhelpful ones into helpful ones.
And be mindful that the true measure of a person is not what cards they have been dealt, but how they play them.
I don't identify as Christian, but that passage on 'charity' in Corinthians offers much guidance, especially if you substitute the words 'open heart' and/or 'empathy' for the word 'charity' (which today has taken on a connotation of moral obligation to give to those less fortunate).
Those ancestors scrapped for existence, toiled, bled, and died from disease in those early days. Each successive generation had a Calvinist bent for their duty to work hard, make the world better for their children, and help those who needed assistance. They were farmers, coal miners, wheelrights, blacksmiths, railroad workers, with only the most recent generation reaching college-educated upper middle class.
When I hear the term "privileged" applied to people of my color, it takes real restraint not to slap the speaker. If over three hundred years of dedication to the principles of the nation's founding, sacrificing lives in every major conflict, and never relying on government handouts even in their poorest days is somehow privileged, then I invite these phony "sufferers" to walk a few thousand miles in the shoes of my founding American family.
If a privilege is "granted," there's a presumption of a relationship between a grantor and a grantee. If my being white, straight (and tall) offends someone, I suggest they take it up with the grantor, not me.
and give it to them.
Who counsels the counselors?
not much matter if you were born with a lot of mon-
ey or not; if you were lazy and/or incompetent, you would
eventually lose it, and be down on the level with
"non-priveleged" people again. It is not neces-
sary for the government to take away people's
property (nor even for a lot of people to voluntar-
ily give it up), if we could just have freedom.
Jan
which I did was "not-you" replication of the achievement
of others. . only the occasional "you" inventions made me
a unique producer;;; otherwise, I was applying the
work of others to my circumstances. . I wanted to be
the next Edison, but only made it to journeyman.
I was indeed frustrated that I wasn't TAE.2, but
setting high standards for myself drove me for
my first 50 self-sustaining years and continue to
help me to this day. . the drive for excellence is
a worthy goal if credit is given as due, don't you think? -- j
.
None of the 'not you' category needs to be apologized for, please note, but it is dangerous. Studies done on the 'children of famous people' show a very high incidence of alcoholism and drug use, for example. (I just tried to look up some stats but could not find any easily - have read many articles on this in the past, however.) I observe that this sort of 'leg up' to success is often a poison pill.
Jan
"comfortable" parenting -- training and health care --
and opportunities to read, study and play on my own.
I had my lawn service, and still have the schwinn
ten-speed downstairs which I bought with some of
the profits. . taught me capitalism, work ethic, the
value of reputation. . the inheritance factor provided
about half of this house. . it's a good-un. -- j
.
The articles I read pointed the finger at the difficulty in the child of famous parents living up to the fame. Nothing they could do would make them 'better' than their parent(s). They always felt 'second class' or 'worthless by comparison'.
So, perhaps the winning of a lottery is a different phenomenon, though I think that you are probably accurate to point out that 'this rarely ends well'.
Jan
The pertinent question is...if you now have xyz million dollars why are you investing?
The key word for you is security and safety of your funds
Investing is ALWAYS a risk of one degree or another
Start off with where do you put it?
A bank and when it fails you get $250,000 back?
Offshore - nothing illegal with all taxes paid.
In country? The safest place at present are T bIlls even at zero percent. the most you will lose is buying power. So let's look at ten million after taxes. In a bank without a lot of extra steps each good for only 250,000, you would still have 6,500,000 in buying power if the crash was equal to 2008.
in a bank you would get 250,000 minus 35 percent or 175,000
Why? Uncle Sammy can't afford to renege on T Bills. He counts on them too much just to survive and besides...it's just a matter of issuing checks with magnetic notations
thus we arrive at the full faith and cred it of the US Economy.
L
#1. Buy stuff. Land. Houses. Rental properties. If you buy $6M worth of 'stuff that appreciates' or 'stuff that will give you an income over the next years' then you have something that can actually earn money.
#2. Spend your money on something you regard as worthwhile: De-extincting mammoths or the Thylacine; commercialization of space; longevity research.
You can do both, of course: You need about $3M to keep you in independent luxury (invested in real estate); then put the rest into something intersting.
Jan
Now a couple of new boats....in which to live and which provide an escape mechanism is much more my style
But after 'giving back half then 39% or whatever I'm more in favor of a Bobby and Sue investment.
Go on...take the money and run....
But other than t bills oddly enough no way I'd invest in an economy heading for another big crash.
Since you were discussing Tbills (above)...I don't think apartment buildings is beyond the range of feasibility.
Jan
At my age I'm not into property management considering the length of time and cost to drive out the deadbeats. A group favored by Judges...
It's not my cup of tea nor do I see any reasonable stoppage on trends nor any real hope of a recovery - just more of the same.
I'd rather live in a warm (for my old bones) and safe (as compared to the USA) country and enjoy my dotage.
But this began with your question of 'what about lottery winners'. I would not want to put the money in a bank, but I don't want to keep it in a mattress either. I am not nautically accomplished, so boats and ships are not where I would go - but land is.
I would hire a property management company.
Jan
I dote on my dotage....and just acquired a new bit of stuff (dinghy) for the boat... :-)
So if you used a million or so dollars to buy a big ranch and add secure gates, solar power, and a well, you have purchased a degree of security against some forms of mischance. You might also be able to sell said ranch for more than its cost + improvements, thus earning money by making yourself more secure. (Repeat.)
Jan
I recognize the amazing advantages of being born in America in the 20th century. That alone is no guarantee of happiness, but it makes the pursuit of happiness a completely different challenge when compared (for example) to an individual in India, Russia, China, or the entire continents of Africa and South America.
I complain frequently and loudly about the violations of the US Constitution and encroachments of the federal government and the powerful people who manipulate its affronts on individual liberty. I recognize that these liberties are rare, and that they are the fountainhead from which the advantages of being born in America flow.
We must preserve those liberties at all costs and against all enemies regardless of the danger and in spite of any inconvenience or slander.
The light of another's candle diminishes your none.
decimate - to kill one tenth. Do it ten times it reduces the group in question 100 - 90 - 81 - 72 - 66 - 57 - 51 - 45 - 40 and one more 36.
assuming no replacements.
On the other hand if you are into PC it could mean almost anything..
Good post jetmec.
The single white straight Christian male is certainly being 'decimated' at the moment. :/
not my worry at that point.
The world of today is quite different from the world of the 1960s. Just about anyone who will comport themselves with proper decorum, using properly the rich lingual heritage afforded us in the USA, and willing to put forth a modicum of effort can succeed quite well, notwithstanding race, or ethnicity.
However, If you walk in looking like a gang-banger, and speaking like a foul-mouthed longshoreman, and acting like a slovenly sloth, don't expect to be awarded the privilege of those who put forth the effort to succeed.
You are only a victim if you allow yourself to be a victim. If race is the determining factor, how did Ben Carson get to where he is today?
Nothing more renegable than than a veteran.
There is nobody more discriminated against than that.
So when I hear about "white-privilege" I laugh a bit to myself and remind myself that the greatest danger faced by Americans is not Al-CIA-Duh, or ISIS, or ISIL, or Ali Babba and his 40 Thieves. No, our greatest threat, that which will wind up destroying our country and the human race in its entirety is, STUPIDITY.
Hunker Down "Gulch". You are surrounded by it.
THAT goes in the Democrats column of who to blame squarely. They hate veterans...and I despise them....
I paid blood and they sat on their fat asses. pun intended.
1. The privilege of life. I live.
2. The privilege of thought. Life is nothing without thought.
3. The privilege to exercise thought or work. Life without the freedom to express my thought is not a privilege.
4. The privilege to see my work's value traded to others without government interference.
5. The privilege to share my ideas with others.
Here are a few of the privileges I don't have:
1. The privilege of depriving others of their wealth by coercion.
2. The privilege of telling others they must believe what I do.
3. The privilege of restricting what others can say or believe.
4. The privilege of restricting or controlling how another person can offer the value of their work to another.
world are made by those who are making the absolute MOST
of all they have at their disposal -- talent, resources, luck --
as you say, David. . it is not done by those who make the LEAST
of their talent, resources and luck! . your life is what
you make of it, and only those who make the most
of it have profits with which to help others whom they
love to share their walk through life with -- family,
friends, compatriots, veterans, bums with clean-
collared shirts on trains. . the more you profit, the
more you can love. . Go Make A Profit, Y'All. -- j
.
Altruism is not the proper word nor wrong if it is arrived at objectively and by our own free will. i'm thinking of rands definition of greed...that which we want the most will only come if we give the most and give with the expectation of both pleasing the recipient but of receiving same from the recipient..
It is not 'giving back' that most odious of phrases. it is an expression of the joy of having free will.and expecting even more besides a feel good red bull jolt that soon dies and requires two more...
That is how I apologize as for the proper spot that is no longer among the living i sentenced it to death by ignoring.
.
Emotions, as Ayn Rand says, are fast approximators. In the anatomy of the human heart, there is a matrix of interconnected nerve cells, constituting a brain in and of itself. Emotions such as anxiety can deliver rapid and accurate warnings of internal contradiction.
That said, however, emotions can be just as vulnerable as intellect regarding their ability to produce errors, as a result of false premises.
Example: Feeling fear when looking to start your own business, versus feeling happiness taking a secure but moderately paid job in a large company. This emotion can be based on family conditioning around work and money. Others would feel emotions of joy and freedom starting their own business, versus feeling suffocated and depressed taking the secure job.
No matter the cards dealt be Jokers or Aces. But history shows that those dealt jokers have created more than those dealt aces.
Perhaps those dealt jokers are privileged by their own determination, perseverance and ultimate successes.
Big time.
Do I feel guilty? Hell no. To the degree that some people are not being treated with the same respect and courtesy as a "white male", they deserve better treatment. Pulling me over unnecessarily for 'equality' or not giving me a second cup of coffee does nothing for them.
All people deserve to be treated with respect and courtesy.
Also consider the recent case of the Oscar nominees. It's a well accepted fact that TV, Movies and media in general is aimed at target demographics most likely to buy the product. Are you more than likely to attract a profit with a film or TV show targeted to 87% of the country or 13% of the country? Of course it's not that simple to cut, but you get my point. As one who works in Advertising, I see this delineation every single day. Companies are focused on targeting people who have cash to spend and they are not interested in researching ways to screw over minorities. They do however spend a lot of money trying to figure out how to get minorities to buy their products but even then the spend is proportional to the economic power of the market segment.
So while some will observe a "privilege" being exercised, more often than not (institutionally speaking), they are just ignorant of larger currents at play.
Those rich people you hate so much macroscopically kept you from living in squalor, malaria, famine and struggle.
That word, 'mansplain', is the quickest route to my blocklist!
I guess that's why creation was created that way.