Privilege or Consequence?
An Uncomfortable Question Worth Asking
Privilege or Consequence?
An Uncomfortable Question Worth Asking
Written by a human, for humans, always.
I want to start off by saying that privilege does exist.
I’m not trying to deny its existence...
To a degree.
But I was reading an article earlier today where someone was describing their own “privilege” over different types of people...
But what they were describing was not really privilege...
Rather, it was a list of consequences.
Now, when I say “consequences”, you should not confuse it with “condemnation”.
There are choices we can make in life...
And every action can have a consequence...
Which may be positive.
Let me give you an example that came from this article.
This individual said that they did not have children, and that made them “privileged” over people who did have children.
I fundamentally disagree with this concept.
Most people choose to have kids...
Directly or indirectly, by choosing to engage in intercourse.
That is a choice.
When you make that choice...
There is a potential consequence of having a child.
When you choose to be a parent...
As most people who have children do...
There are responsibilities that are included as a part of that choice.
That choice to be a parent is one of the greatest choices one can make, with one of the most fulfilling types of relationships possible.
Making that choice does not make you “less privileged”, and to frame it in that way, I believe, is frankly insulting.
Now...
Can the consequences of one choice make it more difficult to make other choices?
Absolutely.
If you eat junk food all day, every day, there is a significant likelihood that you will develop some form of chronic disease...
And the consequences of those choices may fundamentally limit what you can do in your life.
These choices and consequences have nothing to do with privilege...
But so many people are so quick to label them as “privilege”.
This is the problem with that...
In psychology, they call it...
Learned helplessness.
When you begin to believe that you are inherently unable to do things...
Not as a matter of choice...
But as a matter of factors that are outside your control...
You begin to feel powerless and unable to do anything for yourself...
Even if it is within your capabilities...
Or could become within your capabilities by making different choices.
This is the uncomfortable question...
Are many of the things we label truly results of privilege that exists in the world?
Or...
Are they consequences of the actions we take and continue to take in life?
See...
Many people do not want to accept that they have more power over their lives than they realize.
They would rather blame outside forces than accept that their actions have predictable consequences.
Again, I’m not saying that privilege does not exist.
It does.
But so many people look at this as a black and white issue...
Either there is only privilege, or their is only consequences.
Neither is true.
Yes, privilege can exist...
Especially if we look at community levels and higher.
But we can also say, in the same breath...
That some of the privilege that exist is a consequence of the choices that are made within those communities and at higher levels...
And...
If individuals made different choices...
Took ownership for those choices...
They could have completely different outcomes...
Especially if communities worked together toward those outcomes.
Or...
Individuals could also make choices...
Tough choices...
To make changes in their lives to put themselves in different environments to create better outcomes for themselves...
To have positive consequences in their lives.
One thing that I have seen in life...
Is that there are many people who believe that they are victims of systems that do not exist in reality...
And they make choices which keep them where they do not want to be...
While, in all reality...
They had the ability to make simple choices, within their reach, which would have completely changed their lives.
Now, obviously, there is a much bigger conversation to be had that will not fit within the confines of this small article.
But it is an uncomfortable question that is worth asking in all of our lives.
Is it privilege or consequence?
Is what we see truly outside of our control?
Or are there choices that we can make to improve fate?
To Your Sageship,
Cody
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