You know, there is such a thing as privilege -- if Paris Hilton started out in my family and behaved the way she has, she'd be in skid row by now (of course, nobody in my family behaves like that -- and one reason is that we know we'd pay for it. Having a middle class family can do only so much for a person.)
However, all this means is that the very rich can do certain things and not end up destitute or in prison. There aren't very many of the "very rich" out there. Privilege isn't keeping poor people poor, it's keeping rich people rich. Wealth isn't a zero-sum game - we're not in a society where wealth is based on gold and there's only a limited amount of it. There is plenty more space for more rich people in this society.
So it would help poor people not a bit to talk about privilege, unless it's to point out that the reason that other people can abuse drugs and alcohol, have affairs with several people, have out-of-wedlock children, do no work, get no education, etc. and not suffer any material consequences is because they're rich (and have somebody else managing their money... somebody elses who are not total crooks). Trying on the morals of the privileged class is deadly for those who don't have their material resources to soften a fall.
There have been people who come to America poor, people who aren't white and don't even speak English, and who have provided a better future for themselves and their children. Some came to America as refugees from Vietnam, for example, after/during the Vietnam War. Their "privilege" is that they work really hard, save up their money, and make their kids take education seriously -- but if any of them did what I said above, they'd be in trouble just as much as any other poor person.
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Date: 2005-09-10 08:52 am (UTC)However, all this means is that the very rich can do certain things and not end up destitute or in prison. There aren't very many of the "very rich" out there. Privilege isn't keeping poor people poor, it's keeping rich people rich. Wealth isn't a zero-sum game - we're not in a society where wealth is based on gold and there's only a limited amount of it. There is plenty more space for more rich people in this society.
So it would help poor people not a bit to talk about privilege, unless it's to point out that the reason that other people can abuse drugs and alcohol, have affairs with several people, have out-of-wedlock children, do no work, get no education, etc. and not suffer any material consequences is because they're rich (and have somebody else managing their money... somebody elses who are not total crooks). Trying on the morals of the privileged class is deadly for those who don't have their material resources to soften a fall.
There have been people who come to America poor, people who aren't white and don't even speak English, and who have provided a better future for themselves and their children. Some came to America as refugees from Vietnam, for example, after/during the Vietnam War. Their "privilege" is that they work really hard, save up their money, and make their kids take education seriously -- but if any of them did what I said above, they'd be in trouble just as much as any other poor person.