I am lucky in that I have never been oppressed or had to deal with it in any manner. I can however think of several times that I have been privileged. Not necessarily privileged because of my personal class or status but because of who I was with, rather who I was working for at the time. My boss at the time was a very wealthy farmer. Not the kind of farmer that you think of normally. He only dealt with cash crops and made a great living doing so. Anyways, he was pretty well off and a lot of people know it. He was a friendly guy and never really showed off his money. One instance I can remember specifically was when he took me out to the local bar and we had lunch. When we were done he asked what we owed the bar owner said nothing it was on the house. He had gotten his lunch for free even though he could have bought lunch for everyone in the place. Another time I had to take my bosses truck to go get a part for something and I went to Weaver and got the part and I went to the checkout and the cashier said don't worry about it. It wasn't a very expensive part but still.
My boss was very well respected in the area and was very privileged. He had money but seemed to get a lot of things for free. I have been in that bar many times for lunch or on the weekends and I too personally know the bartender as he is my good buddies dad. Even that has never gotten me free lunch or even a drink. I have also been in the Weaver store and have never seen him pick up someone else's tab. I don't think either of the incidents would have happened if i had not been with my boss. Not really a big deal, but maybe there is such a thing as a free lunch.
I understand what you are talking about, and that has actually just opened my eyes to see all that stuff in my life alone. It saddens me though to think that some people do not get this, just based off of their race or sexuality, and even gender at times. This can be a plus and advantage in many peoples lives, but unfortunately for some they will never know the feeling to be privileged due to little aspects in their life they may not be able to change.
ReplyDeleteIt's unfortunate that these privileges seem to happen to those who really don't require the aid. Many people who work hard and were born into tough conditions will never get the respect that others do. Many privileges occur due to something that the individual has no control over, which is a shame as they may never experience the prestige that those in a socially designated higher class do.
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