@thatmattattack
sidebar credit to kseniia
matt. nineteen. history enthusiast dating an absolutely brilliant boy. sc. full time fanboy, part time charmer. intp. slytherin. jewish.
♥ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♠

 

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privilege and why it matters

• because it’s not about you to begin with; it’s about the people who are oppressed and i’m not even saying you personally mean to oppress them even, i’m just saying being oppressed for your race or gender expression/identity/feelings and sexuality and class and education level and disability is a real thing and it’s not just coming from the inside out
• because privilege isn’t a bad word and it’s not something that people are trying to use against you. it doesn’t mean you are a bad person. i repeat: it doesn’t mean you are a bad person. being oppressive and being a bad person are not the same thing. 
• because when you are cisgender, when you are white, when you are able bodied, when you are a college graduate, when you aren’t going pay check to pay check, when you speak english, when you are male, when you are straight, when you are Christian, you have privilege that other people don’t have. it means you get more opportunities. it means the likelihood of you being murdered or assaulted for being yourself are vastly lower than it is for people who aren’t you. it means you weren’t raping that girl, she was asking for it. it means you won’t be smashed to pieces by the cops or shot at because your car “looks” like the one a most wanted man was last seen driving off with. it means that your sexuality and gender will never be questioned. it means your world is a safe space in terms of what you are privileged with. 
• privilege matters because the oppressed say it does
• end of