I've found myself in a bit of a difficult situation.
My best friend has been living with us for a few months because she doesn't have anywhere else to go. I agreed to let her stay here and even urged my mom and her partner to allow it, because I didn't want her to end up somewhere dangerous or not have a roof over her head.
It's now almost August, and, as one can probably imagine, sometimes I need a little space and alone time. As an introvert, the ability to have my own space has been extremely important to me. I usually have a rough time adjusting from being in school to being back at home, and the adjustment has been even harder lately because of the fact that I don't have my own space. I allow the fact that I don't have my own room to sometimes effect my mood and behavior, but I had to stop and think about it for a second when a voice popped in my head...
"And how many people in the world do you think have actually access to their own room?"
Then I thought of different people's stories I had heard about sharing one room with seven family members, and suddenly I had nothing to complain about.
Because I grew up middle class (although now things have changed and gotten a bit harder), I have a hard time seeing things any other way. I am entitled to my own room, to living comfortably, to being able to pay for things when I need them, etc. I rarely stop to think about other people's experiences in terms of these types of things, because I don't have to.
The same could be said for those who have white privilege, heterosexual privilege, male privilege, class privilege, ability privilege, and so on.
Talking about our privilege doesn't mean that we have to feel guilty about it. How can we feel guilty about something that we were born with? The problem arises when we are not aware of it or we deny it, because then it becomes impossible to change.
A lot of the times people who belong to one or more minority groups assume that they have no privilege. As an African-American, queer woman, I belong to three, but I still carry privilege every day. I have it when I can walk up the stairs instead of using the elevator, when I can be sure that I won't go hungry, and when I have the ability to have my own space.
Glimpses of it are everywhere, but can you see them?
Can I?
No comments:
Post a Comment