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Originally Posted by Toy Soldier
I think she's right that he finds his privilege "hard", but on balance I think that's actually quite a large part of the problem when seeking to recognise and address privilege.
It's not a sliding scale... you can accept and be aware of the privileges you have whilst also being aware of areas that you don't have privilege and I think she illustrates that quite well by pointing out that she IS aware of her own relative privilege. It can be something that's difficult to see when you don't "feel" particularly privileged, I suppose, or can see the areas where actually your own life is harder than other people - some of whom you supposedly have privilege over.
e.g. it's a tough ask to ask a financially struggling white bloke to recognise that he has white privilege over a wealthy black man, and male privilege over a wealthy white woman, whilst at the same time BOTH of those people have wealth privilege over him... but that is indeed how it works, and these privileges come into play in different ways.
Wealthy Sue doesn't ever have to worry about how she's going to pay for a household repair but Burly Jack is in a panic about a leak in his roof - she has privilege.
Burly Jack can walk down a dark street at midnight feeling totally relaxed and confident whereas Wealthy Sue holds tight to her keys because she's being intimidated by a group of drunk lads - he has privilege.
It's not a sweeping thing that applies across the board, it's entirely situational and that's what people struggle to understand I think.
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I agree with some of your terms in relation to black and white men but that's it, privilege in this context that YAB refers to relate's to a whole life lived experience, not just privilege on the basis of physical strength or financial stability. Those privileges are situational rather than fundamental.