Quote:
Originally Posted by tarcone
Now this one is interesting. And again, I can only control how I feel, but it seems to me that this is the goal of this white privilege thing (for lack of a better word this early). I feel like Im supposed to feel bad or guilty because of my lot in life.
Empathy and awareness is one thing, but that doesnt seem to be the goal of those with the loudest voices.
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On this board at least, I'm sometimes a loud voice. I know I'm really far left at this point and can get very... "passionate" about some things. That said, guilt doesn't serve a purpose here, but understanding and awareness do. None of us here who have had this privilege our entire lives need to feel terrible for that. Making the effort to listen and learn about the experiences and struggles of those who have disadvantages - without feeling the need to go with a "not all white people" or "not all men" response that minimizes their experiences. Teaching your kids to value people for whoever they are, discouraging behavior - even if it seems harmless in a moment - that would make a woman/person of color/LGBTQ individual uncomfortable.
The short of it is that if we listen a little more, make an active effort to understand the experiences of folks who didn't get the same head start we do, we'll find a whole lot of empathy that can just make existence a little bit better for everyone. Anything past that is gravy, but man that's a great start.