Check your privelege
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This actually does explain a lot. You know how teenagers, mindless, melodramatic pieces of shit that they are, tend to over exaggerate their problems and then suffer mental turmoil due to those exaggerations? Well "you're speaking from a place of privilege" is the formalized version of "GAWD, MOM! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE." Just a little less histrionic. Alternatively, while it's not a judgment of how difficult your life has been, it is an admission that the person doesn't value an outsider's perspective (which in almost any other occasion is a valuable thing, consultants make good money providing those) because it's not enforcing their worldview and will thus be dismissed.
A personal anecdote (sorry for blogging) dating back to before "place of privilege" was a thing: A (gay) friend was beside himself (on Facebook) about the recent closure of a local LGBT publication. He insisted it was horrible and hurtful to the LGBT community to lose such an irreplaceable institution. I told him "no institution is irreplaceable" and made the mistake of hoping he could fill in the blanks. As a result I got scolded for being straight and not understanding the situation. Then a queer friend of his suggested they look into putting together a zine and working from there. He was open to the idea. Because, hey, I was an outsider, and so me insinuating he fix the problem himself was bigoted while someone in the same community doing the same (although being more direct) is helpful.
You offered a solution which doesn’t help their cause. My friend’s girlfriend once complained that the schools didn’t teach enough Mexican American history. I told her she could go to the library and research and then post on facebook about different people. She thanked me as if I said something brilliant but I’m just a dude of average intelligence at best and that just seemed a logical solution
Nah dude, based on the discussion we had about math the other day you're in the top 30%. If you weren't algebra let alone trig and calculus would have been impossible for you. I think you underestimate just how stupid someone with "average intelligence" is.
Greatly appreciated. Same to you.
I think most people who are above average don't interact with people who are below average/average on a day to day basis.
I do, unfortunately, and it hurts.
Far too many people (to ape the topic) "speak from a position of privilege" about intellect.
Saying "they have a 2-digit IQ" is tantamount to saying someone is clinically retarded in many circles... But ~50% of the population has a 2-digit IQ. It is averaged on 100, as a function. Considering the above-mean-intelligence tend to be insular or extremely successful, compared to the below-mean-intelligence, chances are the majority of people you encounter on the street, in public areas, etc, are 2-digit-IQ unless you live in a particularly intelligent spot.
EDIT: But if you're selecting for a social group, even an online social group, chances are you'll long-term lean towards one of similar intelligence to your own (either shifting communities, or raising/lowering your own thinking to match theirs). So in a way, complimenting others here on their smarts is a bit of self-bolstering.
Exactly. I remember as a teen whining about how hard my life is and my dad laughed and said I had no idea what a tough life was. Looking back he was 100% correct.