Making Sense of Social Privilege

White, male, Christian, privilege. Zach has it. There are road blocks he won't encounter because he is a white, male, Christian in America. The only real things that might hold him back is being raised in the lower middle class, possibly being gay (since we don't know about his sexual orientation yet) and when he's a senior citizen.



People of color have to deal with prejudice
Women have to deal with prejudice
Non-Christians have to deal with prejudice
GLBTQ people have to deal with prejudice (cisgender means strait by the way)
Poor and lower middle class people have to deal with prejudice
Senior citizens have to deal with prejudice




MAN we have a lot of social prejudice in this country. I just want to ask the haters why they hate these people. Here are a couple of examples. But, there are follow-ups based on the answers. Basically, explain yourself.


"What does their (color/gender/religion/sexual orientation/income status/age) have to do with their ability to do that?"


"It sounds like you want a maid/sex slave/nanny, not a wife. What did your Mom or sister ever do to you to make you think so little of women?"




It's up to parents to teach their kids how to treat other people. Starting in infancy really. That's why we can't shake these prejudices. It's what you were taught to think. Each individual person won't question their prejudices until dealing with them personally. Like when their gay child is getting married.


Zach and I were talking today about Martin Luther King Jr. So I told him about segregation. I used a friend of his as an example.


Me: "In MLK's time, black kids had to go to a different school and use different water fountains, for example. Can you image if your friend, ______ had to do that?"


Zach: "That doesn't make any sense"


Me: "I agree. _________, is just like you. You like the same things and are both great kids. There is no reason at all to separate you."


In other posts I've mentioned my theories on where these prejudices come from. But, it boils down to this. If you don't like hate, you don't hate. Bullies like hate. Picking on someone makes them feel better about their own insecurities. Until this point, we have yet to find a solution to end the prejudice too many face.


So I have an idea. A different approach. Show prejudice to those who are prejudice of others. Being on the receiving end of it from a lot of angles almost all the time isn't fun. A lot of lessons aren't learned until the person in question experiences it themselves. So, force them to experience it.


But, telling the greedy bully he's a greedy bully just makes him laugh at you. Calling him a government leech doesn't work either. Because, that's what makes them richer. What hurts is their ego.


"Your parents weren't around much when you were growing up, I can tell"


As for the middle class hater? His weakness will be revealed in the words he's using when showing prejudice. If he's joking about sexually assaulting a woman, there probably aren't many women willing to sleep with him.


"I take it that's the only way you can touch a woman, if you force yourself on her."


Yes, I am vindictive. That's why we are raising Zach to be respectful. To treat others as equals. To not be prejudice. Because that empathy he has in strong supply, will serve him well.


There is no making sense of social privilege. There isn't a way to make it stop completely.......at least not a legal way. But, experience and exposure can work miracles.


Most people have at least one social privilege but experience prejudice for other things. I think we all have a prejudice. But, our prejudice is never a positive thing. Love might trump hate, but to end hate we might need to return hate.