As an upper class white male who is straight I pretty much fit in the non target identities for nearly every single facet of life. There is obviously nothing I did to choose whether I was or wasn't born into the family that I was born into. I feel like it is important for me to realize my privilege as I am about as privileged as a person can get. But I also feel that I shouldn't feel ashamed of my background either. I was lucky enough to be born into a great situation and I didn't take it for granted so I did all the work i needed to in order to be accepted into my dream school. I realize that having all of these benefits helped me achieve that, I also know that there are people in my same class as white males from upper class families that are straight and they don't succeed because they don't give any effort. I don't personally think anything is given nobody is handed anything in this world the difference between someone with these benefits and someone without them are just obstacles. For instance it may be harder for someone from a lower class family to pay for college so that's something I don't have to worry about necessarily but that doesn't mean that I was just "handed" my acceptance letter or my degree. I still have to work to get what I want granted it is easier and I realize that but I don't think the word "handed" should be used for people from my background.
Probably the only thing working against me, and it is only in select situations, is my age. I am the youngest of three kids in my family as well as the youngest of all my cousins. My whole life whenever with my family my opinions and thoughts on most things were not taken seriously because the older people didn't really respect them as much as the older wiser peoples opinions. I like to think of this as an advantage for my growth as a human though because one of my biggest skills in life is being able to listen to people and i believe strongly that came from being the youngest and never getting a chance to speak I was able to close my mouth and open my ears and really take in all the wisdom my family members had to offer.
Hi Matt! I agree that it is very important to recognize any privileges you may have that others may not and simply be grateful. No one had the choice of what family to be born into, and no one should feel ashamed about their family heritage or background. Although some are born into tougher situations than others, the most important thing is to make the best out of their situation if they want to succeed.
ReplyDeleteHey Matt. I can agree with you when it comes to being consider "handed" things. Although people may or may not have certain benefits that doesn't take away from the hard work. No matter ones background hard work always pays off. Like you said "there are just obstacles" and its up to the individual to overcome and achieve their own goals.
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