Some people are born into families where they have to walk miles just to get water. All I have to do is turn on a faucet. That's privilege. I think privilege is when some people have some things and other people don't have things. I feel privilege is something that you don't even really have control over.
I think it'd be silly for me to say I don't have a fair amount of privilege, considering like the country I live in, the job I get to do, and the college I was allowed to go to. I suppose being a white male will help me end up somewhere towards the front, but I'll take a few steps back from being gay. I don't think I'll make it to the front.
I think I'll maybe be in the middle. That's just a gut feeling I have. If your parents worked nights and weekends to support your family, take one step back.
If you can show affection for your romantic partner in public without fear of ridicule or violence, take one step forward. If you were embarrassed about your clothes or house while growing up, take one step back. If you have ever been diagnosed as having a physical or mental illness or disability, take one step back.
If you've ever been bullied or made fun of based on something you can't change, take one step back. If you get time off for your religious holidays, take one step forward. If you came from a supportive family environment, if you can see a doctor whenever you feel the need, if you're able to move through the world without fear of sexual assault, if you took out loans for your education, if there were more than 50 books in your house right now, so these are your final positions. I think it felt kind of strange for everyone. It's a hard thing to discuss or even reflect on.
It was very awkward. I think when you can represent it so visually like this and so immediately, it definitely takes on a new form. I think we were like all joking around in the beginning. It was pretty light-hearted.
And as soon as the questions started coming in, the mood shifted immediately and we all kind of, it was just silent. Just looking back and seeing like a bunch of people behind you is not a good feeling. It's like weird how you want to like...
Hold on to explaining a certain privilege like oh, but that's not actually me because like I had to work really hard for that So it's it's weird to like take a step forward when you feel like you're taking a step forward with someone else But you wear a lot of the baggage of like how those things were hard It was like more emotional than I thought it would be it reminded me of when They talk about slavery and high school and you feel like angry for a few days But then you just realize like this is how it is for me. It was Kind of frustrating almost to look back and see how much further some people were behind me and realizing that you know a lot of that stuff no amount of hard work or even legislation can make up that gap. It's interesting being an Asian American because you kind of you're not really sure where you fall on the spectrum of privilege. I know that for me one of the reasons I ended up so far back was that there are questions around safety as an African American as a woman as a gay woman.
There are just so many different ways that I don't feel safe. I feel like I just learned to be grateful for what you have. You know, we're in such a huge society where it's always complaining about what you don't have.
It just shows you that for some families, like each family, you're meant to do better. My grandparents did good, my parents did good, and I'll do even better. I do think if you're not aware of privilege, you should do this exercise, but it's more complicated.
Thank you