It shall be kept the realest of reals: Having privilege isn’t something you can usually...

08:34 15th Dec 2011

Notes: 2308

Having privilege isn’t something you can usually change, but that’s okay, because it’s not something you should be ashamed of, or feel bad about. Being told you have privilege, or that you’re privileged, isn’t an insult. It’s a reminder! The key to privilege isn’t worrying about having it, or trying to deny it, or apologize for it, or get rid of it. It’s just paying attention to it, and knowing what it means for you and the people around you. Having privilege is like having big feet. No one hates you for having big feet! They just want you to remember to be careful where you walk.

—

Sindeloke, on Privilege

“Having privilege is like having big feet. No one hates you for having big feet! They just want you to remember to be careful where you walk.”

Yes yes yes.

(via mindovermatterzine)

I don’t agree with this at all. Having privilege is not like “having big feet”. White people have privilege BECAUSE of white supremacy. Privilege is the manifestation of white supremacy. So, just accepting that, does nothing but sustain WHITE SUPREMACY. It’s not only to remind people, it’s to get them to move towards eliminating that privilege, by ELIMINATING WHITE SUPREMACY. The shit above is like saying, “you left a can of gasoline near your fireplace. But don’t move it or anything, this is just a reminder.” Yes that would sound stupid too. If you’re just gonna sit there and accept that the forces in this world deliberately limit your opportunities and movements on the planet, and suppress everything you do because of their own fear and insecurity, and then placate those forces by telling them “it’s ok don’t feel bad, just don’t forget this is happening”, then you have probably not stepped out of slave mode and you probably don’t understand the real issue. This is how I know many people on tumblr don’t get it when they just throw words around. This is a stupid fucking quote.