Brave Privileged Person Speaks Out Against Anti-Privilege Privilege
Privilege: you know you have it. But... but why must you feel guilty about it? Is it not a fact that the true monsters are not the privileged people, but the people who make the privileged people feel bad about being privileged? We must defeat Anti-Priv Priv, for the sake of justice!
This is the brave message put forward by one Kate Menendez, privileged person, on Thought Catalog today, in a brave post that is bravely titled, "Being Privileged Is Not a Choice, So Stop Hating Me For It."
Brave? Perhaps. But bravery is required in order for a privileged person to finally raise her voice and declare, bravely: Hey, Poorer People, Get the Fuck Off My Case, Will You, Okay?
I’m sick of feeling self-conscious every time someone brings up the burden of student loans. I dread being asked what I plan to do after graduation about paying them back. Sometimes I lie. Sometimes I make up a line about praying I find a great job or can pay off my loans by working for the government.
But I’m sick of lying. I’m sick of feeling ashamed for being privileged.
The shame. The burden. The existential torment, of not having student loans. It's a feeling to which only the privileged can truly relate. So stop trying to act like you know Kate Menendez' pain—you don't. And frankly, she has had enough of it.
I’m tired of justifying my address and the backlash I receive when I tell people I am a student and live in a high-rise apartment. I’m tired of the looks my doorman gives me when he hands me my package (of work clothes) delivered from J.Crew.
So stop making me feel like I’ve done something wrong.
Maybe your doorman likes Banana Republic better? I dunno.
Priv rights!