Privilege

If someone in your life doesn’t understand (economic) privilege, show them this video.

6 Comments leave a comment below

  1. No mention of being a member of the dominant religious group, constantly spreading its “word” to everyone else. But I guess that they all have that privilege.

  2. I feel conflicted about this video because while it teaches an important lesson, it’s at the cost of the underprivileged kids in the video. They’re put on display and used as an example for the privileged kids to learn from.

  3. I did an exercise like this in college that also included religion and a few other items for gender stereotypes. It was eye-opening for many but also depressing because being aware is one part but feeling actionable to change these circumstances despite all the institutions that have put them in place is another. White men need those tools.

  4. I participated in an exercise like this at an elite private university about 15 years ago. I ended up near the back. Rather than making me feel proud of my accomplishments, it reinforced my feeling that I was an outsider and that I was only there to enrich the experiences of the privileged students around me.

  5. I agree with all said above, this video needs to stop being shown as a good example of learning about our privilege. Because yet, again, the “privileged” ones learn at the expense of those that have not had those privileges. I highly recommend exploring Dereca Blackmon’s work particularly “Beyond the Line” which explores the ability to have a flexible mindset and listen to different perspectives with openness and curiosity. Which also helps to understand our privilege from multiple angles.

    Here’s the link: https://sparqtools.org/beyondtheline-stories/normalizing-disagreement-qa-with-dereca-blackmon/

    Let’s stop teaching the best way to uncover privilege is to continue to marginalize others and bring them down. Please.

  6. Thank you for sharing this with us.