Today my graduation attire arrived in an oversized white cardboard box. Inside that very box, stared at me the ultimate privilege: proof that very soon I am to complete my terminal degree. That reality overtook me for a few minutes. I realized that due to years of hard work, I earned the privileged status of PhD. At first, self-doubting thoughts encapsulated me: “I don’t belong” and “I can’t do this” and that mean voice that has been present since I was a child, nagged at me once more. However, proof was delivered on my doorstep to silence, for now, all the negative self-talk. “I am here. I have arrived. I am privileged. My dissertation is done. I can do this. I am privileged”, was what I told myself instead.
Today’s package brought me back to a conversation I recently had with a stranger. She shared with me, her notion that ‘white privilege’ should actually be labeled as ‘white advantage’. She elaborated that the term ‘privilege’ is confusing because many people associate privilege as something earned; as opposed to ‘advantage’, something that is given to us. We then grew her notion of racial ‘advantage’ to include gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, etc. Together, we came to the conclusion that those of us experiencing any form of disadvantage feel attacked, leading to fragmentation and further disenfranchisement of marginalized groups in society. I admitted that my main concern since the election of President Trump, is fear that women’s reproductive rights will be rolled back. She shared her greatest worry is that same sex marriage will be overturned. We then discussed how more than likely, immigrants’ fears center on deportation, and diverge from our own priorities. Proof, to us that we live in a nation divided, by advantages and disadvantages; that we live in a crumbling society. Our conversation then became solution-focused, two strangers resolved to unite because of our differences or “disadvantages”, and not despite of them. Two strangers, agreeing to continue sharing our message with others. As I sit here on my wooden floor, I can’t help but to think, "what would happen if we all did unite just because". What would the world look like if we existed without conflict? Why can’t we make a modern day utopia? We have an abundance of resources at our disposal. We as a human race, have flown to the moon and back. We speak to people all over the world, with the soft touch of a screen. We have biomedical technology that allows people with failing organs to live with plastic transplants. We, humans, have done the unimaginable. That is to imagine what is impossible, and then make it possible. However, when it comes to erasing the divides that separate us, we fail over and over again. Historically, we have always existed in conflict; disadvantaging some for the sake of power, land, greed, etc. has left damaging divides. If we can earn privileges by being good and working hard, can we not harness that same energy into playing fair? Does anyone ever really when, if they start the game with an unfair advantage? Are some of us privileged or are we simply advantaged?
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