A few thoughts about privilege
Jan. 2nd, 2008 08:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gvdubNo, I'm not going to do the whole privilege meme that's floating around, but I do have a few thoughts.
I think many people are confused by the whole concept of "privilege" because it so often tends to be spoken of in negative terms, like "the privileged few" or "child of privilege", as if it were something to be ashamed of or deny. I want to call on the part of the dictionary definition that reads "special enjoyment of a good" and remind everybody that one need not be obsessed with guarding one's own privileges or envious of the privileges of others.
One of the ways I feel privileged was to have grown up in a household where science was a regular topic of conversation. Didn't really matter what branch of science – physics, chemistry, psychology, biology – it was all fair game. My parents kept up subscriptions to Science Digest, National Geographic, Scientific American, Psychology Today, and many other magazines and we were all encouraged to read them and ask questions. If nobody had an answer to hand, somebody would take on the project of finding out.
Another privilege (and not wholly unrelated to the science thing) was to grow up in a house where religion was another topic of conversation. Being of that branch of liberal Quakerism peculiar to the Northeast, we were encouraged to learn what we could about all religious traditions. My dad was a fairly serious and studied Quaker historian and my Uncle Lewis, for all his other faults, was an able theologian and Hartford Seminary graduate, my mother, the daughter of a frontier preacher, had used Navajo myths as teaching tools when she was working on the reservation in the Late '40s and early '50s, and there were family friends ranging from Atheists to Zoroastrians (or rather Ba'ha'i) so we had the benefit of knowledgeable discourse, discussion, and debate on pretty much the full range of religious experience. Nothing was forced down our throats – we were taught to think for ourselves.
Yet another privilege was to grow up surrounded by teachers – my mom, both aunts, many members of the Friend's meeting we attended and many family friends. Having loads of adults around who were used to, and liked explaining things to kids was a treasure beyond compare.
Finally, I'd like to add the privilege of growing up in a household where diversity was celebrated. My parents had friends and acquaintances from all backgrounds and there were all welcome in our home. Growing up with friends that spanned a huge range of traditions and approaches to life was another gift to savor. Everybody was valued for who they were and what they brought to the table, and I've carried that with me my whole life, or at least tried to.
Those are the privileges of which I think I'm most proud – the ones I take out, polish, and put on display. I'm not ashamed of them and, naive and somewhat Pollyanna-esque, think that if we could all share in those privileges, this would be a much better world to live in.
I think many people are confused by the whole concept of "privilege" because it so often tends to be spoken of in negative terms, like "the privileged few" or "child of privilege", as if it were something to be ashamed of or deny. I want to call on the part of the dictionary definition that reads "special enjoyment of a good" and remind everybody that one need not be obsessed with guarding one's own privileges or envious of the privileges of others.
One of the ways I feel privileged was to have grown up in a household where science was a regular topic of conversation. Didn't really matter what branch of science – physics, chemistry, psychology, biology – it was all fair game. My parents kept up subscriptions to Science Digest, National Geographic, Scientific American, Psychology Today, and many other magazines and we were all encouraged to read them and ask questions. If nobody had an answer to hand, somebody would take on the project of finding out.
Another privilege (and not wholly unrelated to the science thing) was to grow up in a house where religion was another topic of conversation. Being of that branch of liberal Quakerism peculiar to the Northeast, we were encouraged to learn what we could about all religious traditions. My dad was a fairly serious and studied Quaker historian and my Uncle Lewis, for all his other faults, was an able theologian and Hartford Seminary graduate, my mother, the daughter of a frontier preacher, had used Navajo myths as teaching tools when she was working on the reservation in the Late '40s and early '50s, and there were family friends ranging from Atheists to Zoroastrians (or rather Ba'ha'i) so we had the benefit of knowledgeable discourse, discussion, and debate on pretty much the full range of religious experience. Nothing was forced down our throats – we were taught to think for ourselves.
Yet another privilege was to grow up surrounded by teachers – my mom, both aunts, many members of the Friend's meeting we attended and many family friends. Having loads of adults around who were used to, and liked explaining things to kids was a treasure beyond compare.
Finally, I'd like to add the privilege of growing up in a household where diversity was celebrated. My parents had friends and acquaintances from all backgrounds and there were all welcome in our home. Growing up with friends that spanned a huge range of traditions and approaches to life was another gift to savor. Everybody was valued for who they were and what they brought to the table, and I've carried that with me my whole life, or at least tried to.
Those are the privileges of which I think I'm most proud – the ones I take out, polish, and put on display. I'm not ashamed of them and, naive and somewhat Pollyanna-esque, think that if we could all share in those privileges, this would be a much better world to live in.