Member-only story
Challenging the Double Standards of Privilege Deniers
Please stop making assumptions
There is a Facebook post about privilege that’s popped up on the threads of several of my friends. The post makes me angry, and I want to respond to it, but I’ve learned that it’s usually pointless to argue with someone on Facebook, especially since last year.
The post is the typical sanctimonious response of someone who denies that white privilege exists. This type of person also believes that systemic racism is not a real thing and Black Americans have the same opportunities as whites. They are buying into stereotypical assumptions based on an individual’s race or class.
I tried to research the origin of the post, and this article attributed it to Bloomingdale, Georgia, by mayor Benjamin Rozier. The post, written in June 2020 as a counterpoint to the discussion about white privilege in the wake of racial unrest after the killing of George Floyd.
I certainly can’t speak about what it is like to grow up as a minority or without privilege. But, I speak from the place of someone who grew up in a society that believed this type of post. I’m someone who had their eyes opened due to a series of events, and I’m frustrated that so many of my friends and family are still walking around oblivious to the microaggressions they commit daily.
