At the risk of sounding stupid, does "check your privilege" mean "Check to see if you have privilege" or "check" as in "coat check" as in leave it outside?

I've wondered for years but never dared ask for fear of looking stupid. But since I don't actually know any of you I don't mind looking dumb here.

> At the risk of sounding stupid, does "check your
> privilege" mean "Check to see if you have
> privilege" or "check" as in "coat check" as in
> leave it outside?

More like checking into a hotel.

"Check your privilege" intersectionally speaking means "check how many intersections you have and if you don't have enough, shut up".

So, in regards to white women, you have at least one intersection (woman). You may have more if you are disabled. So, you can talk down to straight white men, but no one else. You can talk down to straight black men if you're disabled.

The peak intersectionality would be a transgendered blasian who is also a Muslim and gay. I'll leave it to smarter people to square that particular cipher.

Good question, NicoleK. Good answer, IRA.

Thanks.

Tamara Reid needs to check her spelling.

Tamara Reid needs to check her spelling. ~ Lori Miller at November 5, 2018 7:35 AM

You obviously lack "pedagogical understanding," Lori.

If you were a Student Engagement Ambassador, like Tamara, you might be woke enough to have "pedagogical understanding."

You're right--I can only understand things in plain English, which means I can't understand the wacky religion of post-modern thought or even a lot of pre-modern gobbledygook.

"check your priv" means that on certain topics you simply have no right to have an opinion. For example, if you notice that being in a gang does not do much for your financial prospects, but you are white, shut up. If you have any insights about women's issues, but are male, shut up. This particularly goes if your observations are criticisms. The flawed logic is that if you are not disabled/gay/minority/female, then you have no idea what they are going through and any comments you might have are from the point of view of the oppressor who caused all their problems in the first place. This logic is about 5% true: sure we can never fully know another's personal experience. However, we all have access to our eyes and ears and data as well as the power of empathy. While I may never fully know what someone in a wheelchair goes through, I can guess to a large extent correctly. I have certainly observed plenty of women so I am not ignorant of how they behave. Furthermore this logic assumes "oppression" that is never demonstrated. I did not cause the person to be in a wheelchair and gay people are scarcely "oppressed" in today's culture (esp for those who don't look so gay).

If anyone says "check your privilege" to me, I'll pull the waistband on my pants forward a couple inches, glance down, and reply "Yup, still there."

Check my "privilege"?

Check your "cranial insphincterization"!

I actually ran into an explanation of what this white privilege stuff is. Most of it was simply walking around assuming you would find the world soft, polite, prosperous, and generally safe, comfortable and convenient.

What they called "privilege" is what I would call "inheritance", the collective social wealth and stability that generations of my forebears worked, fought, planned, sweated, bled, and sometimes died to build so their children would have a better world.

They did pretty good work and I am grateful for it. If all these random strangers want some for themselves they are welcome to go out and earn it, same as anybody else.

Whenever somebody confonts me about "privilege", I ask them, "Have you registered for the draft?"

Sputtering ensues.

Responsibility pays for rights, and unless you can demonstrate that you're making those payments, you're simply not being a citizen - you're just a consumer and a commodity.