Privilege is something I had to have pointed out to me. I never really thought about it before then. I have white privilege. I have Christian privilege. I have able-bodied privilege.
There's other kinds of privilege too, of course. A lot of people have some sort of privilege.
At first, I felt bad about having privilege. It means I get things that other people don't just because I'm white, Christian, and able-bodied.
It means that buildings are set up for me more than anyone else because I'm able-bodied. It means I get my religion's holidays off work when others don't because I'm Christian. It means people don't see me differently because of my race.
I get things that I don't deserve just because of things I can't control, like my skin color and the fact that I'm able-bodied.
Feeling bad made me realize I want to make a difference. I wanted to bring others up so they could have the same privileges and they wouldn't be treated differently than me because of something neither of us could control.
So instead of feeling bad for being born with my privilege, I decided to learn more about others and their problems. I learned about problems of other races, other religions, and still am learning about them. There's always something more for me to discover.
In learning about others, I also find ways to stand up for people that don't have the same privilege as me. I learned to use my privilege to try to help others instead of using it to step over others without thinking.
I started teaching others about privilege so that people could realize not everyone has the same opportunities as them, and that if people work together to get rid of these inequalities, it is possible to make a difference.
I learned that I shouldn't feel guilty that I have privilege, but I should try to change society around me make it more inclusive to those that don't have privilege. I don't have to be part of a system that steps on others for things they can't control like their race, gender, sexuality, able-bodiedness, or class.
Privilege means that I unfairly earned access to social power because of things I can't control, but since I do have social power, I can point others to the people that need a voice and power too.
What it means to have privilege is that I have power that I didn't earn because of something I can't control. A lot of people have some sort of privilege, and we need to recognize that.
What we do with that privilege is what is important. If we have privilege, we can use it to help other people have the things we were born with instead of continuing to let society treat people differently just because of the way they were born.
Privilege isn't a source of guilt for me if those of us with it work to make everyone have the same privilege. Instead of using my privilege to benefit only me, I can use it to make the world more just and inclusive.
