re: When did you first become aware of your privilege?

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Exactly! It sucks that I wasn't born in the seventh ward to a single mom with no money. It would have been so much easier to get into college.

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I honestly hope you don't believe this.

(no message)

It hit me for the first time when I had to drop out of high school and work full time to afford anything that I needed or wanted. It hit me when I struggled to finish high school on my own in a home schooling program. It hit me really hard when I realized that I couldn't afford to go to college. I had to use my privilege to join the military. While serving I experienced a life altering privilege injury. Now I feel privilege pain every day of my life. Can't wait to see what my privilege brings me next. If your post is not pure sarcasm, please eliminate yourself.

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This is not entirely true. There is more class mobility in the United States than anywhere else in the world.

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Kinda an irrelevant point though. I’m not saying another country is better, and just because it’s more common here doesn’t mean it’s as easy as people make it sound.

It takes more than just a good idea and/or hard work to become super successful. It starts with where you were born and what family you were born into. There is no argument against the notion that someone born into a 2 parent household will have a better probability of success than a 1 parent household and it only increases with things like a higher household income.

It is far more difficult to pull yourself out of a low income, 1 parent household “by your bootstraps.”

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So a poor, Down's Syndrome kid in Appalachia is better off than a healthy child born to a rich family in Pakistan?

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The irony of using an example of a rich kid being more privileged than a poor kid to try to argue the opposite.

I realized I had it better than others when my parents started fostering children after my brother died. When a kid came to my house and was happy he had a bed, it made an impact.

I'm not sure if that's privilege or a testament to my parents planning, work ethic and willingness to help others. My Dad grew up in a 4 room house without indoor plumbing. My parents lived in the housing projects when they got married. Then they bought a mobile home. Then they rented a home and by the time I was born they owned a home.

I've definitely had a better life than others because my parents worked, saved and planned. I'm sure it was easier on them to do that because they were white, in the 1960's and in Alabama.

I don't feel guilty about any of that. I've never had an internal debate about it. No shame. I do give about 15% of my income to worthy charities, but that's just because I like helping others. I do foster kids now because that's what my family feels led to do. I volunteer about 30 hours/month at a free clinic. But, I don't do any of that because I feel privileged. I do it because it's the right thing to do.

Sounds like if i acknowledge it then my stimulus check goes down. I'm gonna hold off until the check clears.

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Perhaps you should hit the preview button before you post.

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I'll be sure to dumb my posts down to your level from now on

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About 17 years ago when I almost lost my job after helping set a record number of minority "participation" in the field I was working.

I was informed then by a person of color that there was no way a "blue eyed white boy" could have put up those numbers.

When I provided the data, I was called a racist, and had to attend Sensitivity Training, which was taught by a leftist white moron from a place that was 98% white.

Neat how that works, isn't it?

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Did you leave out the part where you called someone the n word? Because I don’t believe this story as written here.