In another thread, I made reference to various ways in which I feel our society/culture privileges me in ways that it does not privilege others, and the requirement my moral code places on me to recognize that and do what I can to help balance the scales. Almost immediately after the post, the discussion was buried in a sea of accusations of "self-loathing," "guilt trips" and various other things that had absolutely nothing to do with what I was saying. No amount of trying to reset the discussion helped. So I'm going to start a fresh thread to explore this concept, with the hopes that what I am actually trying to say is heard and not, again, buried in meanings and ideas that are NOT part of what I am saying.
I do not need to "feel guilty" to acknowledge that I have been privileged in ways that I did nothing to earn. Indeed, the primary feeling I experience is thankfulness, not guilt. I also do not need to "feel guilty" because I recognize that someone else does not have access to those privileges. I didn't do anything to create that situation, so I have nothing to feel guilty about. I do not need to loathe myself to recognize I have been privileged, nor do I need to loathe myself to recognize when someone else does not have access to those privileges.
Sometimes, the "privilege" is nothing more or less than a circumstance. My parents stayed married, and I had both of them throughout my youth, and through to my mid-fifties. They were not rich, but I was never hungry, never truly lacked for any need, had my health seen to, and had a comfortable (though small) and safe home. Although I was born with two fairly serious physical defects, my parents had the contacts to deal with them medically, and the healthcare coverage (due to their jobs) to pay for it. These are forms of privilege that are "circumstances" for which I am grateful, and that gratitude is part of why I find myself wanting to find an help those who did not find themselves with those kinds of circumstantial privileges.
Then there are some kinds of privilege that are more ingrained in our culture/system/society. When we live in a culture/family that teaches "X," we assimilate "X" often without even being conscious of it. That then colors how we behave going forward, sometimes even unconsciously. These are the things we know as "implicit bias." They don't make us bad people. They make us human - stewed in the behaviors of our culture. The behaviors and attitudes transcend generations, and are notoriously difficult to work out of the culture. Several researchers at Harvard found an objective way to actually measure implicit bias. It's called Project Implicit. I referenced it in my previous posts. I won't explain it again here unless someone has questions about it.
I believe it is incumbent on me to look for every way in which imlicit bias affects our society. I want to know when it is present in a way that negatively affects me (disdvantages), and when it is present in a way that positively affects me (privileges). The evidence that these biases exist in our culture as unequivocal to me. I cannot ignore it. The evidence that it exists in racial, gender, ethinic, sexual-orientation, religious, and class-based domains is crystal clear. I know I am not free of it because I took the Project Implicit tests and valued the feedback. I know it is present in the people around me - it cannot NOT be.
For us to look for and try to correct these biases is nothing more or less than acting justly, so that all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or social class have the same possibilities, affected only by random circumstance, and not systemic bias. This is what I think. This is how I try to live. Wanting to be better than I am today is not rooted in guilt or self-loathing. I do not have to say "I am horrible and I suck" to say "I want to be better tomorrow than I am today." I do not have to wallow in guilt to say "I want our culture/society to be better tomorrow than it is today." After all, the best atheletes in the world STILL keep trying to be better on the next run/swim/game. Wanting to be better does not mean I think I am bad.
I do not need to "feel guilty" to acknowledge that I have been privileged in ways that I did nothing to earn. Indeed, the primary feeling I experience is thankfulness, not guilt. I also do not need to "feel guilty" because I recognize that someone else does not have access to those privileges. I didn't do anything to create that situation, so I have nothing to feel guilty about. I do not need to loathe myself to recognize I have been privileged, nor do I need to loathe myself to recognize when someone else does not have access to those privileges.
Sometimes, the "privilege" is nothing more or less than a circumstance. My parents stayed married, and I had both of them throughout my youth, and through to my mid-fifties. They were not rich, but I was never hungry, never truly lacked for any need, had my health seen to, and had a comfortable (though small) and safe home. Although I was born with two fairly serious physical defects, my parents had the contacts to deal with them medically, and the healthcare coverage (due to their jobs) to pay for it. These are forms of privilege that are "circumstances" for which I am grateful, and that gratitude is part of why I find myself wanting to find an help those who did not find themselves with those kinds of circumstantial privileges.
Then there are some kinds of privilege that are more ingrained in our culture/system/society. When we live in a culture/family that teaches "X," we assimilate "X" often without even being conscious of it. That then colors how we behave going forward, sometimes even unconsciously. These are the things we know as "implicit bias." They don't make us bad people. They make us human - stewed in the behaviors of our culture. The behaviors and attitudes transcend generations, and are notoriously difficult to work out of the culture. Several researchers at Harvard found an objective way to actually measure implicit bias. It's called Project Implicit. I referenced it in my previous posts. I won't explain it again here unless someone has questions about it.
I believe it is incumbent on me to look for every way in which imlicit bias affects our society. I want to know when it is present in a way that negatively affects me (disdvantages), and when it is present in a way that positively affects me (privileges). The evidence that these biases exist in our culture as unequivocal to me. I cannot ignore it. The evidence that it exists in racial, gender, ethinic, sexual-orientation, religious, and class-based domains is crystal clear. I know I am not free of it because I took the Project Implicit tests and valued the feedback. I know it is present in the people around me - it cannot NOT be.
For us to look for and try to correct these biases is nothing more or less than acting justly, so that all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or social class have the same possibilities, affected only by random circumstance, and not systemic bias. This is what I think. This is how I try to live. Wanting to be better than I am today is not rooted in guilt or self-loathing. I do not have to say "I am horrible and I suck" to say "I want to be better tomorrow than I am today." I do not have to wallow in guilt to say "I want our culture/society to be better tomorrow than it is today." After all, the best atheletes in the world STILL keep trying to be better on the next run/swim/game. Wanting to be better does not mean I think I am bad.
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