I just watched this video entitled “Bill Maher on White ‘Privilege’,” in which Maher says that he doesn’t like the word “privilege” in this context, that he prefers “advantage.” Asked to explain his preference, he seemed to struggle a bit. I’d like to take a stab at clarifying the distinction for him. Of course I don’t represent Maher, so if you have a problem with this, it’s on me, not him.
The word “privilege” has a “silver spoon” connotation — you are being given special treatment. People are affording you some unusual treatment or opportunity, or exempting you from some hurdle or punishment that is generally suffered in this situation. And you are being given this special treatment not because you deserve it, but because of something unrelated that — for no good reason — grants you the privilege.
If your parents are donors to a university and you get accepted despite your mediocre grades, that’s privilege. You don’t deserve it — you’re getting it because of your parents’ money. If being beautiful gets you out of a speeding ticket, that’s privilege. You should get a ticket, but you don’t.
But if you’re getting the treatment considered normal in a situation, that’s not privilege. Even if there are others around who, for whatever reason, would get worse treatment.
Consider height. Tall people earn higher salaries, are more likely to be managers, are more likely to be elected to political office. And tall men have a disproportionate amount of success in dating. Is this because height makes you a better CEO or president, or a better husband? No. Talk about privilege!
OK, but what about the 5’9″ or 5’10” guys — are they privileged? They’re pretty average, and are not getting the special opportunities that the over-6′ crowd are getting. But they clearly are better off than the 5’5″ guys — a lot of women are turning up their noses at those short guys, and they aren’t getting as many promotions at work, etc. Those short guys got disproportionately picked on in school and passed over time and time again.
If you are a 5’9″ male, have you expressed your shame at your “tall privilege” for not suffering the shit that the short guys suffered? No, of course not. You have an advantage over them, for sure. But privilege? Nah. Nobody would use the word that way. Nobody feels ashamed of being average height just because there are short people in the world. Normal treatment is not privilege, even if some people don’t get it. Special treatment that is not deserved — that is privilege.
By the way, in my class in high school there was one black kid; he was tall and on the basketball team. He could often be found making out with a hot white cheerleader who wouldn’t give the time of day to the short white guys at the school. If you had given him the choice between being a tall black kid or a short white kid, he would most assuredly have stuck with tall and black. Having dark skin is by no means the only way of being disadvantaged in this world.
If you are being mistreated because of the color of your skin, that’s a problem, and I’m unhappy about it. But the fact that some white guy is not similarly mistreated doesn’t mean he is privileged. It means he is being treated reasonably and you are not. He’s not getting something undeserved. It does not advance race relations to talk about the difference as though he were born with a silver spoon in his mouth. It does not bring us closer to a solution to insist that he feel ashamed of his “privilege.”
The real problem here is the racist jackass who is treating you poorly, not the bystander who is being treated reasonably. Instead of trying to make the bystander feel guilty about not being mistreated, ask him to be angry that you were.
Stray Thoughts 