It’s not true. “Privilege,” in today’s popular guilt-ridden forms, is just an illegitimate slur defaming hard work, success, good behavior and the rewards thereof. “Privilege” is what they call innocent reality when they want it to look like a nefarious agenda. “Privileged” is what they call you when they don’t have enough evidence to call you a racist, thieving oppressor, but they want you to feel like one anyway. “Privilege” is a hoax, intentionally or ignorantly conflating equality of opportunity with equality of outcome. At the same time, however, privilege is very real. Some of us have it; some of us don’t. Some of us have more of it than others. There is no sense denying it. The hidden truth, though, is that privilege is not wrong. Privilege is, in fact, fair. It is the natural outcome of effort, ability, choice and time.
The passionate “social justice warriors” tell us that “privilege” is evil and oppressive and needs to be eradicated. They say a person’s “privilege” is unfair, unearned and undeserved – but they’re wrong.
Privilege doesn’t grow on trees. When it is not personally earned, it is often inherited. A child born into an upper-class family did nothing to earn his upper-class status, but his parents did. His parents earned it for him. Parents the world over strive for little more than to give their child a better life than they had and to shelter their child from as many of life’s struggles as they possibly can by giving him a leg up every way they can manage it. What dishonor, what slander it is to call this child’s head start “unearned privilege” when his parents broke their backs to give it to him. The parents who manage this feat are due respect; their children are not due shame.
What about “white privilege”? As “racist” as the critics paint it, this privilege also is earned and deserved. The catch is, much “white privilege” has nothing to do with race, but is actually majority privilege. If you can’t find a Band-Aid in your skin color, that’s called “supply and demand.” Majority privilege means that the majority of goods and services and the majority of entertainment like literature, music and television, will be geared toward supplying the needs of the majority and satisfying the typical interests of the majority. By becoming the majority and staying the majority, the majority has earned and is logically and rightfully due the benefits of being such. This is a universal privilege, seen in countries all over the world, and there is nothing wrong with having it.
The type of privilege more often thought badly of is the “white privilege” of not being eyed as a potential shoplifter, or not being shunned by passersby crossing to the other side of the street at night, or not being noted suspiciously by police. However, this privilege is legitimate as well and can be easily understood by comparing it to what can be called “female privilege.”
We are all aware that women are less likely to commit crimes or to start fights than men are. Therefore, as is obviously logical, women are eyed less cautiously by police, vulnerable passersby, business owners and cashiers. We women benefit from the common perception we’re the more peaceable, “gentler sex.” Our collective behavior over time has...
