Privilege from the inside. Part 1 of a multi-part series.

It seems like you can't turn on a radio or TV, or open a browser or social media feed, or even (goodness not that) open a newspaper or magazine without stumbling on a discussion about privilege. Most of the discussion these days seems to center around white privilege, and specifically white male privilege in the United States. Okay, so let's talk about it.

Spoiler Alert:
I'll spare you the suspense if you are wondering where I stand on this. My answer is "Yes" pretty much across the board.
Yes, I believe that privilege exists in our culture.
Yes, I believe that racial privilege exists.
Yes, I believe that gender privilege exists.
The list goes on and on. Economic privilege is real. Gender identity privilege is real. Educational privilege is real. Physical appearance (size, attractiveness, skin tone, hair color, hair quantity [and lack thereof], body art, visible disabilities) privilege/denial of privilege is real.
Yes, I believe that white male privilege in the United States is real and ongoing (and in the present political climate getting worse not better).
Yes, I believe that as a middle-aged white male I have been the beneficiary of this privilege most of my life.
And finally:
Yes, it took me a very (very) long time to figure this out and to truly understand that I grew up with huge advantages that I was never aware were advantages.
It took me even longer to try to give voice to my understanding.

Second Spoiler Alert:
No, I don't have a solution. I'm not sure that I have even part of a solution. As a culture we seem to be stuck in the starting gate on having a conversation about the very existence of privilege let alone discussing what to do about it. So even though awareness isn't nearly enough it is a necessary first step that appears to be a problem for a great many people.

I have some totally unscientific, unsupported theories, based on my own experience, as to why awareness is such a hard step. Rather than trying to tell anyone else why they should take that step I think I will share a bunch of semi-random anecdotes that when taken together may provide a glimpse in to the long and convoluted path that led to me getting a clue.

I'm not going to try to do this all at once because I am convinced that the result would be utterly unreadable. I'm thinking this probably needs to be split in to at least three of four parts along the lines of

1. This post.
2. In which Darrin is told that everything that is wrong with the world is his fault and how he reacts.
3. In which Darrin becomes more aware of social injustice but remains smugly confident that he is one of the good guys.
4. In which Darrin decides to improve his life and is totally unsurprised when doors fall open in front of him.
5. In which Darrin casually jokes about something good in his life so often that he finally realizes that it is really something special and light begins to dawn.
6. In which Darrin starts to re-examine everything he thought he believed regarding social justice, racial and gender equality and the whole concept of privilege.
7. In which Darrin realizes that the existence of racial and gender privilege is so obvious and so ubiquitous that he is dumbstruck and ashamed that it took him so long to clue in.
8. In which Darrin spends years accumulating more anecdotal evidence before finally trying to speak out.

Hmmmm. That appears to be more than three or four entries. Hopefully, some of those can be combined because I really don't want this to take seven more posts to finish.

To Be Continued...

privilege

[priv-uh-lij, priv-lij]

noun

1. a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most:
2. a special right, immunity, or exemption granted to persons in authority or office to free them from certain obligations or liabilities:
3. a grant to an individual, corporation, etc., of a special right or immunity, under certain conditions.
4. the principle or condition of enjoying special rights or immunities.