Check Your Privilege!

[Ice Car]

Also, please explain how the mere usage of language suddenly makes me afraid of homosexuals, or think of them as less of a human being? I'll use whatever damn words I want as long as I'm not calling someone who's actually gay "a ******," or someone who has autism "a retard."

Right, so I'm going to take a risk here and tune it down a notch because I want to say something personal. I do not feel comfortable being around people who use the word ****** in any sense. If someone uses the word, a space automatically becomes unsafe, I don't know if that person would react negatively or aggressively to me if he knew my sexuality. And at any rate, it's a word that's been used against me and people like me consistently, the word might not bring up feelings of homophobia and hate for you, but it certainly does for others.

I've been taught from a young age to treat everybody the same, but I've also learned while growing up that words do not only have one meaning or method of usage.

Yes, but at the same time words do not simply lose their power and meaning when you need them to.

The internet sucis h a big place, that no matter where you make your statement, someone outside of the target of your words is going to see it, and take offense to it. That much is a given. The result from the internet being so big and having such a diverse userbase is that someone, somewhere, is going to find anything and everything on the internet offensive in some way. If I used the word "retard" in a sentence in the same way with my friends in real life, they would literally not give a shit, and I would use it because I know they do not take offense to it.

I don't use it when talking to people who are autistic though. Why? Because they take offense to it. I tailor my language to the audience I'm speaking to, and the audience I'm speaking to are not people who are mentally ill, but people who are fucking dumb as shit.

I literally don't know how much more clearly I could spell this out.

I don't care what you say to your friends in private and you know they won't get offended by it. Don't say it in fucking public.

Wow, this stuff right there. I'm always amazed how many people who "fight for justice" can't see how hateful and bigot they sound when they splurt that nonsense.
Generalizations and prejudice condenced in one hate-oozing post. How could anyone be ever offended by someone claiming he's a giant asshole just for being white.

It's extremely rare to hear anyone say that, I certainly didn't and no one in this thread said it. And I really don't care if I offend your liberal "left-wing until is affects me!" sensibilities. Try seeing things through the eyes of the oppressed for once.

[/quote]

There's a difference between saying something in public and saying it on the internet. That was the entire point of that tangent about the internet and everything being offensive to somebody.

The audience is much wider than if you used it on a case-by-case basis with people in private. Tumblr demands that people tailor their language such that nobody, anywhere, could possibly take offense. If I recall, that's why they use the words "scum," "trash," "garbage," or "baby" as insults, which are because they're insults that aren't remotely "discriminatory."

The internet gives everyone a pedestal upon which everybody who has internet access, could possibly see, so of course there are going to be people who use language that make you uncomfortable. There are no true safe spaces out there, and the internet is about as far as you can get from one. Using slurs in real life and using slurs on the internet are two completely different situations that need to be treated differently.

While I'm on this tangent, I might as well state that I don't mind people doing all of this, tumblr buzzword lingo and all, telling me how my language is "ableist," or "offensive," or what have you, if the person takes offense to it on a personal level, because they're disabled, or what have you. That's completely fine, and I'll certainly tailor my language for them, because they find it uncomfortable on a personal level, and it's easy to do this for people on a case-by-case basis. Doing this on the internet is going to restrict you from using a lot of different words or phrasing. That's why I don't bother most of the time with my general speaking patterns.

 

[Ice Car]

Well, that fucked up somehow.

Gimme a sec.

Yeah, sometimes that double posting thing happens if you click post too many times iirc, and you can't delete posts either, for some reason. I usually just blank out and apologize for accidentally double posting as that's all I can really do.

 

[soh45400]

Oh, that one? I knew someone would eventually unironically call me out on that one.

I use the word to describe people who are dumb. That's it. No underlying discriminator behavior or feelings towards people who are mentally ill. I've been friends with a lot of people are are mentally ill and they're just fine.

Please just cut the crap with this "ableist" bullshit. If I'm not calling someone who's mentally ill a "retard" then why does it matter? This is coming from someone with numerous mental disabilities by the way.

Using oppressive language against people who aren't being oppressed by it doesn't magically strip the word of its meaning or power. I'll cut the ableist bullshit when people stop being ableist, deal with it.
Want to call your friend a ******? Homophobic.
Want to call your friend a *****? Sexist.
Want to call your friend a ******? Racist.
Want to call your friend a retard? Ableist.

Oppressive words are oppressive not matter how you use them.

Ok you are being oppressive by not being a poor, hungry, disabled, orphaned, child from some war-torn country.CHECK YOUR PRIVILEGE.
You have an internet connection and a computer. CHECK YOUR PRIVILEGE
You can speak English. CHECK YOUR PRIVILEGE
You live in developed country. CHECK YOUR PRIVILEGE
you live in the 21st century. CHECK YOUR PRIVILEGE
You can afford games. CHECK YOUR PRIVILEGE
You actually have enough free time to go to this forum and pointlessly argue with complete strangers. CHECK YOUR PRIVILEGE

Why haven't you donated your computer and console? why are spending money on a internet connection instead of donating? why haven't you donated your house to a homeless person? why aren't you working at a soup kitchen neighborhood watch or or women's shelter or something for free right now instead of arguing?

You know why? Because its not your job or your concern. All you can do is do your job properly with utmost ethics, give to charity a portion of your income, vote responsibly or even participate in actual politics if you can afford it, if you see actual discrimination raise your voice against it when you know the complete actual context but to the concerned authorities instead of shouting at random people like a and if nothing happens then go listen to the Borderlands 2 intro.
No matter what happens, please try not to shout at random people they are entitled to be as offended as you.


OFF TOPIC: I am not white and am from what you would call a third world country which happens to be at the forefront of the war on terror and there are bomb blasts in my own city, my country has one of the most corrupt governments in the world and my university is considered to be in one of the more dangerous places in the city so do check your privilege.

 

[barbzilla]

I scored a 28, though I will admit that a couple of questions could be interpreted in different ways. So, that score could swing between 25 and 35. Strange thing is, I'm white, male, and straight. However I grew up (and currently am) broke (like counting pennies for gas to make it through the work week broke). I think the majority of the low score it gave me stemmed from 3 things: A: I was homeless at one point (I got off my ass begged, borrowed, and stole until I had a decent enough outfit to apply for a fair paying job), B: I had a number of gay friends in high school, which led everyone to think I was gay (and if it wasn't for my sexual interest in women, I probably would be given how I act), and C: I have a strange religion (It is a combination of the BS that was taught to me as a child and applied through scientific knowledge to make sense of what a savage mind may think of a strange occurrence, combined with the fact that I believe the earth has quite a bit of knowledge to offer us herself... so I really have no idea what to call it, but unless the person I'm speaking to has enough of a physics background, what I say sounds like idiocy and therefor worthy of scorn).

The funny thing is, I don't just my life on the material, so i don't feel under privileged. I have had some amazing experiences in my life (both good and bad) and they have taught me so much about life itself. While I obviously don't know the meaning or have any form of enlightenment, I do feel a sense of joy just coexisting.

 

[Ice Car]

I do, since i am one. But nice try, you still keep spouting assumptions about people you don't know. And then label them all as being assholes to other people just for the sake of it.
From what i could read you're either just a marvellous troll or a very hateful and unpleasant person. And since i perfer not surround my self with such people i'm going to ignore you now.

Just wanted to point out your bullshit to all the others.

I'm a bitter radical who's sick of appeasing morally superior liberals and bigoted conservatives. I try to be nice to people, but when you people refuse to listen or only listen when it's convenient, I stop caring. I don't want to yell at people, empathy and sincerity are two of the most essential things in the world to me, but at a certain point I become simply compelled to.


Okay I'm sick of quoting.

To Ice Car, there's a difference between offensive language and oppressive language. Calling someone a fuckwit is offensive, not oppressive. Calling someone a ****** on the other hand, is both. I think a generally safe way to determine whether or not a word use is acceptable is to ask yourself, "Can this word be used to oppress me?" If the answer is no, pick a different one, the words retard and ****** have perfectly acceptable substitutes that are offensive but not oppressive. Also, ableism and privilege are not tumblr's creations, they're legitimate ideas from sociology.

So... What you want us to do, is tailor our language such that nobody can be offensive, despite the fact that nobody would be offended in the conversation to begin with? Okay then.

 

[Ice Car]

So... What you want us to do, is tailor our language such that nobody can be offensive, despite the fact that nobody would be offended in the conversation to begin with? Okay then.

What? I want people to stop using oppressive language, that's it. The reason you shouldn't use oppressive language is that oppression goes against all basic human decency.

But using oppressive language to oppress is what fucking makes it oppressive! That's the basis of your entire argument, that it's oppressive or offensive, and I've been telling you that I don't use it with people who clearly wouldn't, or tell me it wouldn't, offend them!

 

[Lucifus]

I think all this "privileged quotent" is absurd because the very idea of its use is to put people into some "Victimhood olypmics" where the most suffered person gets to automatically win any argument because of skin color or particular gender. Because "checking" your privilege means never disagreeing with someone who's a bigger victim

I'm a liberal progressive and I see nonsense like this all the time, and my perspectives help me see through a lot of bullshit.

I do like the fact I can leverage mine to prove points because my sexuality which caused self-hate and depression in a strict religious school, health issues from cancer, living below the poverty line, and other things which make me less privileged all mean I can never be told to "check it" when in an argument because someone prejudicially sees a white a guy and assumes I've never had any problems compared to them, making their automatic "you're wrong, I'm right" trump card worthless.

It's very satisfying in that case, because they can't hide behind a word so easily.

Oh and I scored under 30, and the questions are obviously skewed to make "certain people" look bad.

Agreed 100%. I used to live in an environment where the victimhood olympics took place every day between a group of people. Didn't matter if it was house work, bills, claiming everyone was victimising them or using it as a weapon in a relationship. It was a toxic environment to live in day in and day out. Ive had a lot of problems over the years, been through some horribly messed up stuff but I cant use it as an excuse to not get on with life, or make people feel bad for not going through the same things as myself. Learning to circumnavigate your issues is just part of life.

 

[generals3]

To Ice Car, there's a difference between offensive language and oppressive language. Calling someone a fuckwit is offensive, not oppressive. Calling someone a ****** on the other hand, is both. I think a generally safe way to determine whether or not a word use is acceptable is to ask yourself, "Can this word be used to oppress me?" If the answer is no, pick a different one, the words retard and ****** have perfectly acceptable substitutes that are offensive but not oppressive. Also, ableism and privilege are not tumblr's creations, they're legitimate ideas from sociology.

If anyone ever gets oppressed by a word than I think there are bigger issues than the words themselves... Never have words oppressed anyone. It were actions; removing rights, killing, torture, segregation, etc. Words don't do that. Someone calling a person a ****** won't suddenly make said person (or gays) somehow lose rights.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I think the test is bullshit. Most of the people here are scoring 50/100 or lower, but I sincerely doubt most people in this website are underprivileged by any standard.

 

[KissingSunlight]

Also, since it's been lost, I'd like to repost my feelings on the test.

The concept of privilege is meant as a tool, a magnifying glass or a comb for examining how a person's social standing relates to their interpretations and actions. Why should people check their own privilege or the privilege of others? Because it helps us understand the narratives and filters through which we perceive things. Other than that, it's not a very useful tool.

The test is idiotic and a poor means for judging and determining privilege. Also, the whole race to the bottom way of dealing with privilege is, as someone said on a reddit thread about the test, "essentializing tripe" that makes you internalize your oppressed position rather than work for change.

I think the test is bullshit. Most of the people here are scoring 50/100 or lower, but I sincerely doubt most people in this website are underprivileged by any standard.

I think what this test has done is to disprove the nasty stereotype that EVERY white, heterosexual males are privileged people who are responsible for all the oppression in the world now and throughout history. Just because someone has those genetic combination doesn't make them privileged. They are in the same boat trying to get by like everyone else. To feel smug calling someone "privilege" and dismiss their opinions on social issues, because of their race, sexuality, and gender makes you the bigot. By the way, I scored 29 out 100. It confirmed what I already knew. Even though, I'm a white, heterosexual male. I am as privilege as an indentured servant.

 

[maninahat]

I'd like to point out that you automatically have 25 points just for being a straight white male who isn't ashamed of being a straight white male (many of these questions logically default to "yes" with that being true). So this quiz is pretty damn bias. So using this quiz, a $50,000/year wage white guy might score the same privilege as Ellen Degeneres..... think about that for a second.

For the record, I am not denying that I am privileged (I am, but it's not for those reasons alone), I just feel that 25% is a lot of weight to be just for being straight white and male. : \

"just for being straight white and male".

That's the entire thing though - the whole point of this quiz is to alert you to the fact that being straight, white or male can present you with significant advantages over those who aren't. The fact that you think being straight, white or male shouldn't influence the score so much, suggests that you aren't aware of these advantages.

 

[The Material Sheep]

Why is the whole thing about discrimination? There are other kinds of hardships in life. Or, maybe I gave up after ticking off like 15 boxes... but I didn't read them all, but they seemed to follow the same pattern.

I wouldn't care what people thought of me if I was the most 'unpopular' type of human being in the world. I have my hardships, you have yours. Attaching some kind of score to my life? Seems kind of, foolish.

Because that's largely what the concept of 'privilege' is about. While it is in principle just used to describe where a certain group of people have an advantage over another group, what it is usually about when someone brings up the subject, is that someone with a certain privilege may not even be aware of just what advantages this actually gives them over someone without that same advantage. This may lead them to dismiss the consequences of that advantage, and assume they are on a level playing field when they are in fact not.
However, a more direct reason for why discrimination is a big factor is that frequently it is discrimination itself that maintains and reinforces privilege. (The reason being black, or say, a muslim is a disadvantage for instance is not anything innate to being that way, but mostly because of other groups of people who have more power and influence than you do, holding your identity against you. Thus, in these kinds of situations, the discrimination involved is precisely why one group has privilege and the other does not. Frequently, to have privilege, means to be the one doing the discrimination or abuse, while to not have it, means being at risk of such abuse or discrimination. For another example, the negative consequences of being poorly educated, while having some other elements to them, also largely revolve around how others treat you as a result. Discrimination is technically still going on even if there is a perfectly valid, rational reason for, say, not wanting someone who doesn't have a driver's license to be driving a car. - There's a very obvious, very rational reason for that, but technically, it is still discrimination...)

Is that really a demonstrable privilege, or more along the lines of advantages and disadvantages.

You do realise what you've said just describes the same thing with different words, right?
Privilege = advantage, by and large.

So really, you're restating the same thing, but making it sound like it's something different.

Advantages and Disadvantages with a quality such as being a man or woman. That a quality of someone that is largely irrelevant comes with both advantages and disadvantages. Like being a man means your less likely to experience sexual violence in your life, but much more likely to experience physical violence, then a woman. The modern concept of privilege in how it's used by activists these days as I've seen seems to preclude any notion of the statistical disadvantages of various groups they like to harp on. So as to not muddy the language with absolute literal use of the words, I use advantage and disadvantages to describe various things instead of using a very literal definition of privilage. So instead of saying the very fact you are male, makes you more privileged then if your female, I'd say the very fact you are male means you have advantages and disadvantages in relation to those who are female.

 

[The Material Sheep]

To Ice Car, there's a difference between offensive language and oppressive language. Calling someone a fuckwit is offensive, not oppressive. Calling someone a ****** on the other hand, is both. I think a generally safe way to determine whether or not a word use is acceptable is to ask yourself, "Can this word be used to oppress me?" If the answer is no, pick a different one, the words retard and ****** have perfectly acceptable substitutes that are offensive but not oppressive. Also, ableism and privilege are not tumblr's creations, they're legitimate ideas from sociology.

If anyone ever gets oppressed by a word than I think there are bigger issues than the words themselves... Never have words oppressed anyone. It were actions; removing rights, killing, torture, segregation, etc. Words don't do that. Someone calling a person a ****** won't suddenly make said person (or gays) somehow lose rights.

It contributes to a culture of oppression, is all I'm saying. I'm really tired of this topic.

Contributes to a culture of oppression. How exactly? Demonstrate how some idiot saying something mean, does anything other then give you a clear indication of the type of person he is, and how you probably don't have to value his opinion anymore. At the very worst, the prevalent use of derogatory words for a group in a non comedic and directly insulting way, is a symptom of an oppressive culture, not a cause. I say a symptom, because it shows what kind of behavior is deemed acceptable by the society but is not a direct cause of any form of oppression. It might hurt your feelings, but feelings are cheap, and 100% relative to everyone on the planet. At the end of the day some idiot calling me a dyke doesn't hurt my feelings or make me feel oppressed. It gives me a chuckle, like must rude and hateful people do. Ignoring idiots, is a great skill for dealing with other human beings that everyone needs to learn.

Another thing with this whole oppressive word bs, is that it completely denies context or the way language changes. The prevalence of the word fag on 4chan, is actually a bit inspired in it's own way. The site has completely reformed the word in it's own culture for it's own means that makes fun everyone and everything they do, but in a very affectionate way. There is such thing as taking power away from a word, and as much as people like to bash on 4chan in a way it certainly has taken that power away from the word fag, at least in it's own internal culture. As an avid /tg/ and a lesbian, I've rarely had a bad experience on that site.

 

[JazzJack2]

Using oppressive language against people who aren't being oppressed by it doesn't magically strip the word of its meaning or power. I'll cut the ableist bullshit when people stop being ableist, deal with it.
Want to call your friend a ******? Homophobic.
Want to call your friend a *****? Sexist.
Want to call your friend a ******? Racist.
Want to call your friend a retard? Ableist.

So when my ex partner and I used to call each other faggots in an ironic way we were actually oppressing each other and all other gay people? And when black people call each other niggas they also oppressing people? really what a load of nonsense

Oppressive words are oppressive not matter how you use them.

Words only have the meanings they are understood to have in the given context, this absolutist view of language I.E words can be offensive regardless of context shows a failure to understand the utmost basic functions of language.