commoncensor:

The concept of privilege needs to be rebranded. It’s easy to misunderstand, the word has negative connotations, and regardless of definition, it implies that a privileged person is somehow undeserving of the way society treats them.

In many cases, the advantages that certain groups have should be the benchmark for how everyone in society ought to be treated, not a target for shaming. Using the word “privilege” in discourse only serves to divert focus away from the disprivileged, and make the privileged defensive.

Instead of focusing on unfair advantages, we should be focusing on unfair disadvantages.

We should be focusing on what disadvantaged people need, not what advantaged people already have.

Instead of calling it white privilege to do something like wear cornrows without backlash, we should call it black disprivilege (or minority disprivilege, or a completely different word, or whatever; I’m no good at coming up with terms). Focus on the people who are disadvantaged, not the people who are advantaged. The whole point should be to draw attention to marginalised and disadvantaged groups, not to stick the advantaged group under a spotlight.

I feel like the current discourse is causing people of all groups to channel energy into hating privileged people, rather than helping disprivileged / underprivileged people attain the same rights and social benefits.

We shouldn’t be tearing people down. We should be raising people up.