racismschool:

Examples of what white privilege deniers THINK it means to be told to “Check Your Privilege.”

• Apologize for being white
• Believe white is bad or wrong
• Be ashamed of being white
• Feel guilty for being white

Examples of what people ACTUALLY mean when they say “Check Your…

This is written about white privilege and racism, but you can - and should - apply it equally to any other kind of privilege and ism. And fyi, privilege and -ism are NOT the same. Privilege is something that EVERY member of the majority has by virtue of being that majority and the PRIVILEGE (in other words, benefit) of not having to experience the difficulties of the relevant oppressed group. For example, if you are straight, you have the privilege of automatically having full legal rights with the life partner of your choice. That doesn’t make you bad or homophobic, but it is privilege. And being on one side or the other in the privilege/oppression dichotomy GIVES YOU NO RIGHTS in any other category. A gay white man doesn’t get to tell a black lesbian “he knows as well/better” than she does on anything EXCEPT the experience of being homosexual, and even then only if it doesn’t intersect with being a woman of color, about which he may follow the guidelines here …or he has crossed the line to being sexist, racist, or both.

TL;DR -

PRIVILEGE = BELONGING TO THE NON OPPRESSED GROUP = NOT A VALUE JUDGMENT

-ISM = BEING AN ASSHOLE BECAUSE OF YOUR PRIVILEGE, OR TAKING THE SIDE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE = YOU SUCK