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I’ve snagged another meme. This one is to help examine privileges/social class. The meme comes from What Privileges Do You Have?, based on an exercise about class and privilege developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University.
If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright. To participate, copy and paste…then unbold my responses to make your own. Bold the items that apply to you: 1. Father went to college 2. Father finished college 4. Mother finished college 5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor 7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home. 8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home. 12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively. 14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs.
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs 16. Went to a private high school 17. Went to summer camp 18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18 19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels 20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them 23. You and your family lived in a single-family house
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home 25. You had your own room as a child 26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18 27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course 28. Had your own TV in your room in high school
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college
30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16 32. Went on more than one cruise with your family 33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up. |
I know I’m privileged. My kids are, too, even though they sure know how much the heating bills are and we’ve never gone on a cruise. My husband, on the other hand, would say yes only to #24, and the family built that home with their own hands. Most of the questions would strike him as ludicrous.
On the other hand, they did have water buffaloes and elephants on their farm. How many of us can say the same?
What really struck me about this is that the person from whom I lifted it bolded nearly all the statements — and then argued that she wasn’t privileged.
At the very least, those of us who are privileged should appreciate it and be thankful for it. We may not be able to ensure that wealth is distributed evenly, but for us to take it so lightly that we don’t even acknowledge and value our good fortune seems pretty disrespectful.
I saw a comedian not long ago (Daniel Tosh, and what an obnoxious jerk he seems to be! Maybe it’s just his character, though) who was talking about the TV program Survivor. I don’t watch this program, but I thought that it involved people being put into a deserted wilderness. Apparently, it is actually about people being put in inhabited places — places where people are already living — and then folks watch them having to manage to survive. I find this bizarre. Maybe there’s more to it. If not, then it is a testament to how spoiled and unappreciative we are.
Try out the meme, and marvel at your good fortune!
I wasn’t feeling very privileged after filing my taxes. But lastnite after Pattie and I placed our ritualized orders for soup and a sandwich deals and only having 3 dollars left I pondered at what we could get for dessert. There was this wonderful bag of cookies all different shapes, flavours and colours sitting near the register and I picked it up and said, look at these Pattie arn’t they awsome looking. She dreweled and with her Lucy red painted lips mouthed the words I know I saw those and turned to go find a table. I sat them down not seeing a price and thought these got to be more than 3 bucks. Then I picked them up again peering at all the cookie goodness so cleverly displayed in the cellophane bag they were in. Then boldly asked how much are these? The manager was ringing us out and said were getting ready to close so we need to get rid of them so please take them there on us. It was like his mouth was moving but I wasn’t quite sure what he had said so I said, WHAT! He laughed and said were getting ready to close in 20 minutes so go ahead and take them and enjoy. Well, after thanking him and acting like I had just won the MEGGA MILLIONS COOKIE LOTTERY, I picked up that bag of beautiful cookies and carted them back to our table feeling VERY, VERY thankful and PRIVILEGED : )
Wow – if she bolded nearly every one, then I would say “yes, she’s privileged.” I bolded 12 out of 34. That’s about 30%. So, I wonder if that means I am “privileged” according to this test. In some ways, yes, I am privileged. I have two Masters degrees (and the debt to prove it – giggle), I identify as White, and I currently live middle class (although I’m not sure what that means anymore). However, in some ways I am not. I am a woman and I grew up in a lower socioeconomic status household, which carries a lot of junk with it, too (trying to fit-in in a college environment was VERY HARD for me). Yes, I am privileged, overall. I have a roof over my head, my husband has a good paying job, and we own (well, sorta) our own home. But we don’t have much in retirement (IRA? What’s that? Giggle). I think it’s kinda relative.
RYC: I’m at 97267 and 97222 (I’m blogging for my spouse, too).
@CanadianNational – You and he live in two different zipcodes? Not that it’s my business, but if there’s a good story behind it…