I've been getting these really annoying "Got Privilege" emails in my college account, and thus, they are my PET PEEVE OF THE DAY. Please see below!!!
"As a white person,
Current events do not change the way the general public sees or treats me as an individual. I can go, do, and say whatever I want without fear of ridicule, bullying, threats, or harm.
Got Privilege?"
False. You have failed to mention sub-groups within Whites. Mormons for instance, are heavily ridiculed in this country. There are white Mormons. Whenever there's a story in the media about some Mormon Polygamist getting arrested, or there's an expose on "where does the money from the Mormon church go?", Mormons tend to receive heavy criticism from the Nation. Also, I can not 'go, do and say whatever I want'. I can not walk into a bar and yell obscene things and not expect 'ridicule, bullying, threats or harm'. I can't walk into an airport and start joking about bombs when there was a 'current event' about airport security. It's not like the TSA will look me over and say 'oh, he's white, therefore we'll just let him talk about bombs'.
"As a white person,
I can shop, eat, walk, go to school, and live in most places without being discriminated against based on cultural garb, articles of clothing, or jewelry that I wear. I will never be criticized or humiliated for adhering to my own cultural or religious traditions.
Got Privilege?"
Really? If I shopped at the mall, eating a hot dog with double the mustard, and wore nothing but a trash bag, I'm pretty sure I'd be discriminated against. If I dress like a bum, I'm gonna get labeled as one. If I dress like a rich brat, I'm going to get labeled as one. If I dress like a gangster, I'm going to be labeled as White Trash. And that is such baloney, if I'm white, and Amish, and wear my traditional Amish 'garb', I'm going to get some stares, and some humiliation. If I'm a white Muslim, and I wear 'garb' related to my religion, I'm definitely going to be criticized....that is a very poor way to state your argument. A white person can be critized just as much as a black or hispanic person. If I dress like a white stereotype and eat a culturally white food, in a particularly diverse neighborhood, I'm 99% bound to get some comments. Based off your premise above, I should be able to walk in the dead of night in some of the rougher places of Boston and expect to be totally safe because I have 'privilege' and I'm white.
"As a straight person,
People do not assume that I am experienced in sex or that I even have it merely because of my sexual orientation. If I mention my straightness, the thoughts of others do not immediately go to my bedroom.
Got Privilege?"
People do that for homosexuals? What??? Oh I totally forgot!! That's naturally what I think of too when I meet a gay person. Hmm..they must have sex a lot. I definitely bet he or she is not a virgin because they're gay. I immediately imagine you in the bedroom upon meeting you. Really??? I'm not sure where you got that notion, but I'm going to go with another---FALSE---on this one. My first thought when I meet someone who is gay isn't, "oh they are definitely not a virgin...and they must have sex A LOT". For people who are actually bigoted against homosexuals, I can assure you....they don't immediately imagine said person's bedroom life.
