Politics: September 2001 Archives

One thing I really hate is when people misdefine words, or redefine them so they mean something different in the same context they were used previously.

One of these cases is "organic food." I grew up thinking all milk was organic, but someone changed the definition on me, and now I find out that apparently I've been drinking inorganic milk all my life. Yum!

But one case that really bugs me is the word "privilege". This used to mean to get some sort of extra or special consideration. Now, it means to get what you got coming to you in the first place, but someone else is denied. The common example is "white privilege," whereby I am treated like any normal human being should be treated, while others are denied that basic consideration.

But this is a bastardization of what the word means. It says that I am not entitled to what I get. That just because someone else is denied what they deserve, that I don't deserve it (and they didn't deserve it in the first place, either). And please don't think that isn't what is meant; one joker on TV this weekend (one of those local Sunday morning talk shows) said that some whites take it for granted that they can walk down the street without being harassed. Well, of course they do. This is a basic expectation in a civilized society. One should take it for granted when it exists, and be outraged when it does not.

Apparently I am supposed to feel guilty for being treated the way I am supposed to be treated. Well, I refuse to play along.

I will fight against those who don't give people the same considerations I get, just because of their race or ethnicity or religion or gender or whatever else. But I refuse, absoultely refuse, to feel shamed that I don't get penalized by my skin color. I refuse to believe that being treated like a human being is a privilege. It is not a privilege, it is a right. Just because you are being denied your rights, it doesn't mean that I am at fault, it doesn't mean I am to blame, it doesn't mean that I am getting something extra, and it doesn't mean that I will feel bad that I am treated like a normal human being.

This devalues the whole concept of equal treatment. These people are telling blacks that to be treated like a normal human being is a privilege. That it is something extra, something more than they deserve. That they are being treated the way they should be treated, and that to be treated better is more than they deserve.

They should be saying that blacks are not getting treated according to their rights as human beings, instead of saying whites are getting special privilege. But they don't do this. Why? I'd guess it is because they want to use guilt instead of truth to further their cause. I'd rather not believe it is because they want to keep minorities feeling reliant on others so they and their votes and their support can be more easily controlled.