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7:53am April 11, 2014

andromedalogic:

i think a lot of people don’t realize that ‘privilege’ as it’s used in a sociological context is a really hard concept to understand. you know, the difference between ‘being privileged in a certain way’ and ‘having nothing wrong with your life’. i still have to untangle those two concepts in my head, and i’ve known the basics of this language for about three years.

and many people on tumblr will hurl ‘privileged’ as an insult even when it’s inaccurate, i.e. ‘you can’t understand this concept so you must be privileged,’ and then they’ll turn around and yell that privilege isn’t an insult. ok, so why are you using it as one? it’s impossible not to get confused. especially when the ‘social justice’ rhetoric slides into that place where the more oppressed you are, the more morally pure you are. (most people who espouse this idea deny it, and are vehement that oppression isn’t a special fun thing to have, but the way they conduct arguments contradicts this.)

EVEN IF the concepts of ‘privilege’ and ‘oppression’ were not being bandied about in a climate of bullying and social cliquishness, they would be difficult to understand. having visceral experience of a thing does NOT necessarily mean that you will readily understand that thing when it is described in highly detached, academic language. i’m a disabled person who can barely understand the word ‘ableism’. it’s hard. it’s hard because these concepts do NOT map directly to most people’s lived experience of the world. stories and concrete examples can demonstrate realities like ‘oppression’, but just saying the word ‘oppression’ repeatedly cannot. if you want someone to understand you, rather than just cower in confusion and fear, you have to be ready to explain things in different ways.

The bolded parts are something that I’ve been struggling to get across for a really long time now.  Just because you say something can’t possibly be how it’s happening, doesn’t mean it’s not how it’s happening.

Notes:
  1. shotglassheart reblogged this from dianascompact
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  6. dianascompact reblogged this from neednothavehappenedtobetrue
  7. unnecessaryligatures reblogged this from andromedalogic and added:
    Also why representation in media and literature and storytelling in general is extremely important.
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  16. nanahayashi reblogged this from alljustletters and added:
    #SIGNAL BOOST#no honestly signal boost the shit out of this#you can’t continuously tell people to educate themselvesand...