Oh You and Your Damn Privilege!

We all remember our college years, and that one very bright but slightly eccentric member of the class that could be very entertaining, but also annoying by spouting obscure ideas. For me it was a guy who called himself Alec de Tokeville, who kept a joint behind his ear and walked about misquoting Aristotle, with a little Groucho Marx mixed in. (someone told me not long ago he was some big wheel in the Buffalo Bills organization now). Today it seems the campus of higher learning are overflowing with young people with bent and twisted views of society and the world around them. This is about one such young man who is unfortunately caught up in the present fad of preaching to us about "Privilege"  

I found his essay by accident on an on-line magazine called 'The Odyssey On Line'. What made me take notice was he was a student at the University of New Orleans, a place I came to know well from doing work for their library's audio archive in the past. 

Along with the standard "White Privilege, Male Privilege and Heterosexual Privilege etc., young Darius takes the his whole 'Privilege' essay thing a few steps further:

Citizens of the US

"Even with all of the inequalities in our society US citizens are a privileged group - check that privilege. As unfortunate as the fact is, human civil rights and freedom of choice are a privilege that many people don't have in foreign countries. We often feel entitled to invite ourselves to other countries without a problem or hesitation whenever we are upset with our government yet want to close the door on foreigners seeking refuge. Check your privilege! We should use our voices, our constitutional rights to change things in this country for the betterment of its citizens and those who seek our support rather than to scream and run away whenever we personally aren't satisfied but yet stay silent, otherwise.

P.S. I don't ever hear anyone complain about this, but why is it that citizens of the US are the only people commonly referenced as “American” when there are 34 other countries that are territories of the Americas?"

As someone who in the past has personally apologized to the country on behalf of the people of the Great State of Louisiana for foisting such nutty natives on the nation as James Carville, Ellen DeGeneres, Huey P. Newton, Richard Simmons and Britney Spears, hopefully I won't have to again for this young man. And I pray someday he comes to realize much blood was shed for those 'Privileges' of  'Civil Rights and Freedom of Choice' and he goes on to become a lawyer for GM or something and never to be heard of again. 

But I really got a good chuckle when I got to this paragraph:

Right-handed people

"I didn't realize for a while that nearly everything is structured for convenient use by right handed people, from school supplies to the structure of houses. Check your privilege. Don't try to silence a left-handed person who complains about scissors hurting their hand or how uncomfortable school desks are to sit in, or the struggle of having dirty hands from writing in pencil. This may seem petty (especially to the rest of the issues listed) but the world is made for right handed people."

Now as a life long left-handed person myself, this brilliant young man has awakened me to the facts of just how underprivileged and oppressed by society I am!  You and your 'Right-Handed Door Knobs' and Screw Drivers made for Right-Handed people!

Therefore, in respect for you humble hostess, I expect my email inbox to be overflowing with heartfelt statements of acceptance and confirmation of the readers act of Checking of Your Privilege from all you righties out there. I'll let you know if I decide to except your words as truthful, if I ever get past all my entitlements.

Thank You MJA for the Linkage