What is privilege?
What is it not?
Who has it and what can we do with it?
Privilege is an advantage available to a particular person or group,
And it is often unearned.
In the United States,
Despite the supposed separation of church and state,
School holidays and paying time off work was,
And still is,
Scheduled around Christian holidays.
That is Christian privilege.
Since I was born Jewish,
However,
I had to either ask for special treatment or still go to school and work because the Jewish calendar is not recognized here.
Lacking Christian privilege was perhaps my first face-to-face confrontation with an uphill climb that I have inherited through no fault of my own while the majority enjoyed unchallenged time off with their families.
The state of California recognizes Indigenous People's Day,
While many other states in the U.
S.
Still celebrate Columbus Day,
And nowhere but in the state of Hawaii does anyone know about,
Let alone observe,
King Kamehameha or Prince Kōhio Day.
When I was younger,
I thought privilege was simply a matter of majority rules,
But there are more women than men,
Yet it's still considered a man's world.
I hosted an online discussion that ignited a desire to understand how we can go beyond merely educating ourselves about systemic racism and privilege and learn to navigate talking about these issues with our family members,
Coworkers,
And friends.
A woman named Susan offered the following example of privilege for us to consider.
When she was looking for commercial space to lease so she could open a nail salon,
She rented a suite on the second floor of a walk-up building with no elevator.
Because of her able-bodied privilege,
It never occurred to her that this would be a problem until someone made an appointment for a manicure but couldn't get to the salon because it wasn't wheelchair accessible.
Susan doesn't have to be disabled to be an ally in an ongoing effort to make all buildings and commercial spaces wheelchair accessible.
Being made aware of her privilege didn't make her defensive,
It made her a better person.
We can all benefit from taking inventory of our privilege.
Even being attractive according to cultural standards is a privilege with its own perks and benefits,
Or so I hear.
Some male actors are now refusing to accept roles in movies where their female co-stars are paid less than they are.
It's a step in the right direction,
Requiring privileged men to be allies for women.
Allies are necessary for evolution and in every revolution.
People get very defensive when others point out their privilege,
But there's no need to be.
I am fully aware that I'm privileged because I can pass for white and I identify as cis male.
Those are two unearned advantages.
However,
Someone tried to shame me online for being privileged because I don't have any children or a family to support,
But that's not privilege,
That's a choice.
Luckily,
Someone who is a parent commented that parents are actually the privileged ones because they get to raise children while so many people literally cannot.
Another example of when we witness the destructive force of privilege is when a person looks at someone else's struggle and says,
Well,
That's not my problem.
Rather than being the voice for those who aren't heard,
This attitude increases the distance between us.
Privilege is not something for others to use against us,
It's something we must all understand and use as a tool to create the balance we seek.
From a Buddhist perspective,
Just being born is a privilege.
Life is a gift to which the only appropriate response is thank you.
Let's use our personal advantages to help others advance.
Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you.
It's not cake.
So contemplate the benefits you enjoy,
Whether you've earned them or not,
And use that privilege to help others.
Embracing our interconnectedness is what Buddhism is all about.
It's a practice we can all master.
In fact,
It's a privilege to have been exposed to the teachings in the first place.
