Odds are that if you’re reading these words, you’re very privileged. For one, you’ve had the ability to learn how to read. And secondly, you clearly have access to modern tech and the internet. It’s easy to forget just how lucky we are—we start taking things for granted.
Reddit users started sharing all the things that they believe most people don’t realize are actually privileges. From being able to keep your home warm whenever you want to having a body that functions well and having access to clean drinking water and more.
You’ll find the biggest privileges many of us are taking for granted below, dear Pandas. Upvote the ones you agree with and, if you think there’s something missing, be sure to share it in the comments. What do you think is the biggest privilege people tend to ignore? How do you think we can become more aware of the positives in our lives? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Also, check out Bored Panda's interview with fitness expert Jack Bly about the importance of gratitude and its role in helping us recognize our privileges.
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Having a body where everything works properly.
Definitely. You have no idea how valuable and taken for granted your health is until it’s properly taken away from you (e.g. with something chronic, incurable, etc).
Having emotionally, financially stable parents that care about and support you.
My parents died when i was relatively young so I never had that really but yes, this sounds like a pretty big privilege. Especially grandparents who loves their grandkids and watch them sometimes. That sounds wonderful for the kids to have someone else to bond with and feel comfortable with! And hang out with another generation - for both of them. I think it's so beautiful when grandparents have a great bond with their grandkids.
Being vaccinated. People from underdeveloped countries like mines have people dying from preventable disease. My moms mother crossed a warzone after a devastating earthquake so my mom could get a smallpox vaccine.
Fitness expert Jack explained to Bored Panda that gratitude is vital and helps keep people grounded, no matter their financial situation, privileged or not.
"Gratitude is incredibly important, I believe. I practice it every single morning as part of my routine," he revealed to us that he practices what he preaches. This is why he recommends it to everyone.
"Having good mentors helps big time" when it comes to staying humble no matter how successful you are. "And also life usually has its way of humbling those who are too proud," Jack said.
Buying groceries without having to carefully consider prices.
Getting as much sleep as you need.
Being able to quit a job without fear of losing financial stability.
To have people around who can and will help.
Criticizing your own government.
Privacy. Lots of people don't have that.
The ability to actually be a kid when young. It's heartbreaking how many children have to grow up / are hardened before they even hit puberty.
As a teacher I never thought about how many shitty parents are out there till we started discussing families. OMG
According to Jack, one thing that can definitely help all of us become more aware of the privileges that we have in life is morning gratitude journaling.
"Write out 5-10 things you’re grateful for," he suggested. That way, you can start the morning off strong and aware of just how fortunate you are in life. A far better alternative than waking up miserable because you 'have to' go to work, right?
Having a safe place to sleep. I'm very privileged to have a safe place to live, and I understood it more since the start of the pandemic. Not having a safe, stable, comfortable home has to be hell when you are on lockdown.
Going home to a place that makes you feel safe and happy is one of the great privileges of life - and it's not a privilege that's strictly due to money. If you're well off, and go home to an imploding marriage, an abusive partner, or a dysfunctional family, you have no escape from stress and unhappiness.
Honestly living life without any form of mental illness. It’s becoming less and less common but a lot of the people that do don’t realize just how lucky they are
I've had social anxiety and depression since i was 5. Might be born with adhd as well. I cannot imagine what life is like for people without mental illness
Being able to sit in a house that is kept at a comfortable temperature all year long.
Something else that might work for you is gratitude expression. "Send a message of gratitude to someone you’re grateful for," Jack explained.
In Jack's opinion, "it's very easy nowadays" to take everything for granted. However, it all depends on your perspective. "And your perspective can be trained for gratitude." In other words, change is possible. But we have to work towards it.
The fitness expert also gave some advice that will serve anyone for decades to come. "Move your body! Figure out what you enjoy that involves movement and do it. It could be sports, hiking, walking around a mall, etc.," he urged everyone to find a form of movement they personally enjoy the most.
I'm from Venezuela and here's the things American consider normal that is a privilege here:
Having a car: I've noticed that in the US even poor people have cars, here is pretty damn expensive to have and maintain a car and there's no credit option.
Electricity every day: here power goes out a few times a week. In the US it only goes out when there's a tornado or something like that.
Sanitation: here nothing has an actual valid health certificate, unless it's imported we don't know if what we're eating or the water we're drinking is apt for consumption. Food in America has official certificates.
Having a phone: there's rarely an American without a phone but for someone who makes less than 100 bucks a month is pretty hard to get a phone so there's many people who don't have a phone here and I believe in many third world countries.
Living alone after 18: Here people can rarely afford it so they will live with their parents at older ages and it's considered normal. Sometimes if the backyard is big enough they'll just build a house themselves for when their children get married so they live there with their partner and children. Living alone at 18 or even at 20's is rather uncommon and a super privilege here.
Making fun of the president with no consequences: in the US I remember the media made fun of Donald Trump and it was ok nobody got arrested, but here if you make fun of the president on public TV or a famous YouTube channel you'll go to jail for sure, they call it "hate crimes".
Having animal services: As an animal lover I really hate that if you see animal abuse there's not a number you can call and police won't come, you have to literally take evidence and take it to court or send to a contact that works in the government, and according to the law the animal abuser just gets 48 days in jail (you can push for more but you'll probably have to bribe the judge or have a friend in the government).
Clean streets: People here are worst than animals, the streets are littered everywhere except for the rich areas. In the US the streets seem super clean in general.
Buying clothes and items often: Here we spend many years using the same clothes as it's expensive to buy all the time, but Americans will throw away a shirt or a pair of shoes they've used for a few months and say something like "it was completely destroyed already".
Having good looking houses: The houses of poor people here have black mold on the walls, the roof is asbestos or something similar, the draining system is almost rotten and the house structure is still standing by the sheer power of faith.
Eating expensive stuff: I've noticed Americans will complain a lot if they don't have certain meals but here we just eat what we can afford, for example things like honey, syrup, cheddar cheese, diet toasts, yogurt, chocolate and that kind of stuff are luxuries here.
Having sex: This one is kinda funny but it's true, since Americans have cars and often live alone it's easier for them to have sex. I've been struggling with this for a while because at home there's your mom, your grandma, your siblings, your little cousins, etc. There's literally no privacy, so people with more money are the only ones who can have sex whenever they want.
Walking outside at night: If you do that here you'll likely get robbed or even killed, after 7-8 pm the streets are deserted. In USA or any other first world country unless you're in a specifically dangerous area it'll be fine to take walks at night.
Water everyday: in certain areas here people haven't had water for weeks or even months. In the US water is expensive but at least everyone has it.
Travel papers: if you're American or European you can quite literally travel anywhere with very little effort, getting a passport and VISA here is a whole struggle you'll have to dedicate time, money and effort to get.
I could go on and on but I wouldn't finish today.
Being able to feel safe at home and know your parents or siblings won't abuse you
The previous economic crash and the current Covid-19 pandemic have widened the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Eddy Ng, the Smith Professor of Equity & Inclusion in Business at Queen’s University, explained to Bored Panda that the 2008 financial crisis restructured the economy while the pandemic has exacerbated inequality.
"We had the global financial crisis which led to many millennials who were employed being displaced. When the economy recovered, it changed structurally, and many quality jobs were lost," he said.
Hot showers. The best thing ever, which everyone takes for granted
Knowing when your next meal will be
I hope this was sarcasm, Wilvander. My pension was recently raised and my biggest thrill is that I can eat any time I feel like it. I no longer drink two glasses of water so I'll feel full after I finish a meal. I no longer put off dinner as long as I can so I won't go to bed hungry. I no longer have a cup of broth made from a bullion cube with a single packet of crackers for dinner. I've become obsessed with buying food.
I feel like a lot of people who grew up with middle/upper middle class family who pays for everything don't really realize how privileged they are. Especially people whose parents pay or help pay for college.
According to the professor, after the 2008 financial crisis, there was an emergence of precarious jobs, the gig/sharing economy, and the rise of digital labor. As a result, income and social inequalities rose for those who weren’t able to join the new economy.
The expert said that some racialized groups like Black and Brown workers can fall into a poverty trap that they’re unable to get out of. In the professor’s opinion, better financial literacy won’t solve all the issues. “You need to have the resources to, for example, access training and education," he told us.
Not being drafted into a high casualty war as soon as you are old enough to fight.
I'm not sure the US method of exploiting inequality and desperation to recruit poor people into the military is better
Having healthy children.
Imagine having kids who’ll always need to be taken care of. Imagine having to worry about what will happen when you’re dead because you know that your child will never be independent or have a normal life.
This is one of my worst fears
The Covid-19 pandemic has deepened the divide between the rich and the poor, making problems even worse for many of us.
“Workers work more hours with lower pay in order to survive. That leaves little time to accumulate the necessary resources for skill upgrades or retooling for the new economy. This is the poverty trap I alluded to," Professor Ng explained.
The sky not dropping bombs on you
It's not the sky dropping them, it's people in planes pushing a button on purpose to kill you.
Easy ability to travel internationally. The right passport will take you places.
Western countries can aquire visas once they land in my country. Applying for a visa to a western country from mine will take weeks and is usually denied.
Guaranteed next meal. Food insecurity is terrifying. I have been fortunate that coming from a poor family, I always had food. Thinking of all the kids who were out of school due to COVID that were on free and reduced meals breaks my heart.
The pain of hunger is a memory that never leaves you. Plus all the shameful moments that go with it
Toilets.
Not having glass or barbwires over every wall, not having bars over every window, leaving the door unlocked at night and most likely being fine, etc
Here in Argentina we have our personal jails while the criminals roam the streets
North of Ireland was like that in some places still is. It was horrible
ability to read
One side of my family is part of a crazy religion that doesn't educate girls past what the law requires (which is 13 in their state) and then many girls are held from school because they need "home training" more than an education. As a result, I have several relatives that can't read. They were never taught. It saddens me that one of my father's sister is now widowed and can't take care of herself or her home because she can't read, doesn't know how to bank or pay bills, etc. Her brothers have to help her. This is very common in that community and it is terrifying to me.
A happy childhood
i actually haven't had that im 15 and still as miserable as i was when i was 5
Being able to ask "what are we going to eat" and not "are we going to eat" I cannot express how greatful I am to have a fridge full of food everyday because I know that in other parts of the world some people go days without eating and sometimes have to resort to eating rotten food. It's awful to think that such terrible conditions exist. I'm just so happy to be privileged enough to have better living arrangements. I just wish other Americans could see how lucky and privileged we actually are.
“I just wish other Americans could see how lucky and privileged we actually are.” - If you say that to an American who is calling for public healthcare, or a Black American who had a loved one get shot by police, I’ll slap you silly. Even in first world countries there are big injustices, and saying “stop talking about that; other countries have it worse” only benefits the oppressors.
Sleeping until you are ready to wake up.
Some of us feel its a privilege (a desire to 'sleep in'), but when you work with or know someone who is trying to survive on 3-4 hours a day due to multiple jobs, medical reasons, or lack of shelter, it becomes much clearer.
Breathing without effort.
Scruff Mcgruff The Crime Dawg just said that 99% of the people who don'y have asthma is normal so sorry guys that 3 year old me who had troubles breathing and had to take steroids inoder to breath because ig we aren't normal people and its not a privilage to breath
If your life is so good that your biggest problems are minor inconveniences, you don’t appreciate just how easy you’ve got it.
Like the guy who called emergency services when facebook was down.
Free K-12 education and literacy in general.
K-12 meaning primary/elementary and secondary school, wherever you are from. From 5 years old to 17 or 18 years old. We call it K-12 in the Us (K meaning Kindergarten, through grade 12).
Having a healthy body. Existing without constant reminders that you're inside of a dying animal. Doesn't last forever, especially if you don't take care of yourself (I didn't).
I cannot even remember how it felt to have energy and not being in constant pain and its been only a few years that I am like this. I have all the admiration for the people who has lived with chronic pain and disabilities for years. Specially with how little awareness there is. Today I was told that 'I am not disabled' by a waitress (that did not mean bad) when I explained her that the scooter I have is for disabled people. Once I told her she insisted 'but you do not look ill' and she only let it go once I told her that 'i am on the inside". She did not mean bad but it hurts terribly because it means that on top of being discriminated for being disabled I am also judged for 'not really being ill and pretending'.
Being able to walk safely alone at night.
As a woman, I can't, which is genuinely sad that our world has hit a low this bad that females can't walk alone at night without being scared of getting followed or sexually harassed
Ignorance - being blissfully unaware of the struggles of others because those struggles aren't something you've ever even had to consider.
Having extra money to spend.
Having your parents pay and provide you with education throughout your school years
Not being bullied because of undiagnosed autistic behaviours as a young person or child.
I resonate so much with this one. I was bullied for 13 years before I was diagnosed. Sometimes I wish I’d known earlier just so that I could have stopped spending so much of my life wondering why I was so different and why other kids just thought of me as more of ‘entertainment’ than anything else. Now I know though, it’s something I really like about myself, I have a different perspective on the world and I love it.
Having internet, a phone, TV, PC, Console, etc. Almost anything tech related you could easily live without but have been made so important by companies and are classed as must haves to be able to get information or job replies or contact pretty much anyone or as an entertainment tool. In fact they're such a privilege that even typing this is a hypocrisy because it's a privilege to be able to do so.
When the pandemic first started I read several stories about children who had to go to fast food restaurants during the day to get their school work done on the tablets and things that had been sent home with them from the school for their distance learning, because they had no internet at home. Finally the school districts and the local internet companies started providing Hotspots for these kids so they can do their work at home for their distance learning
It's funny how most Westerners say "dude you can travel (internationally) cheap, and do backpacking", could be true for them but they're forgetting to look at their shiny passport.
For us third worlders, even if we can afford it and richer than these cheap backpackers, we have to prove to visa officers and immigration our net worth to afford that travelling. Heck a backpacking reason will raise a red flag to most of them.
The young people who chuck work or school to just travel with a backpack are, IMHO, very privileged. They always have fallbacks that aren't available to most, family money or parents who will give them a comfortable home when they come back, or who will help if they get into trouble overseas. Those who have no option but to support themselves can't just stop work and travel.
Central heat and air. Especially heat.
In Russia central heating is really cheap and every house has radiators installed. I shudder to think about countries like Canada, where cold can be more severe then even in Russia but the heating costs way much more.
Knowing their family history.
If you watch "Finding Your Roots" on PBS, you will understand that many people can't trace their family past WW I, or POC, mainly African descendants can only find 3 generations. It makes me appreciate that I have been able to trace my family back to my 17th grandfather. Just because I have been able to acquire this knowledge does not mean that I am proud of everyone in my family's history.
Having your own washer and dryer.
Laundromats can be sketchy sometimes--you might find bedbugs, or it can be crazy-expensive and add up over time. Communal washers and driers are an absolute pain--your clothes could get stolen.
Not everyone has about $3000 or so for a brand-spankin'-new washer and dryer for their very own place. So if you've got some, never take them for granted. Ever.
$3000 seems a bit high for basic. I'm looking right now and see that you can get a washer and dryer at Lowes for around $500 each. Not to mention you can usually find refurbished ones on Craigslist for around half that
Being able to read for fun without getting easily distracted.
Having a parent or family member drive you to school everyday rather than having to take public transport.
This was something I took for granted until I was old enough to take public transport to school on my own.
the western diet.
the impoverished people on the planet do not eat dairy or much meat. they usually don't have access to electricity, refrigerators, or much more money than covers that day of food. they do not eat chocolate or twinkies, because processed foods are more expensive than foods grown from the ground. those are value-added products, after all.
And in America, sadly, it's a privilege to be able to afford fresh vegetables. Twinkies are a lot less money per calorie than fresh produce.
The fact that someone's life is so convenient that they can worry about what is or is not a privilege, and target and harass someone else for having something, and cry [insert anything here] privilege
I had a reminder the other day of privilege that I honesty wasn't even aware of.
People were talking about EMS not responding until after police were on-scene. I mentioned that had never been the case for me, as someone who's needed EMS more than once.
It wasn't until after further conversation it occurred to me that it's because of where I live. I live in a gated, security-patrolled community. I'd taken that and that it had played a large part in how quickly EMS got to me, whether police were yet on-scene or not, for granted.
An ambulance will get to me quicker than police too. Not that I live anywhere fancy - I live in a small town in the poorest county in the UK, and the nearest hospital is 20 miles away - but the police are two towns over and the depot the ambulances are called from is just up the hill.
About to unintentionally rally a bunch of incels with this one but… being tall.
Height has been statistically proven to drastically increase your chance of someone being attracted to you, getting a raise or a new job, being respected, and many other things.
Okay so I spent a good chunk of my childhood in developing countries as did my parents:
Cops aren't bribable
Everyone is bribable, it just depends on how much you're offering.
Living in a developed country.
One person living alone on the federal minimum wage of 7.25 an hour in the US is considered global upper middle class, even when accounting for price differences. This is not to say our progress is all done - far from it - but it is important to look at just how staggering global inequality is compared to domestic inequality.
I get suspicious when Americans say this to their minimum wage workers - the Americans who say this are normally better-paid people who don’t like hearing about the minimum wage issues.
Being right-handed. I can’t tell you how much grief I’ve had with can openers, notebooks, binders, desks, and too many other things to count.
Not to mention borderline abusive teachers who will force left-handed kids to write right-handed. I'm lucky to be right handed but I've heard of a lot of left handed people experiencing this
Kitchen counters made of stone. They always get taken for granite.
US citizenship. Half the country has lost their minds.
Being a race/gender/orientation/religion/class which allows you to win every argument by simply accusing the person you're talk to of having some kind of privilege.
Wow this feels like a really bitter white guy who hates having to consider his privilege. There is no race/ gender / orientation etc that is some kind of magical argument winning card.
In do appreciate the point of the list, however I do wish in general there was less focus on "you have X, you should feel privileged", and more "X should be a basic thing everyone has access to, what can be done to help?".
This post almost feels like a contest on who has it worse...it's weird.
Having an education is easily overlooked and taken granted for. Would love to see teachers be paid more for their hard work.
Most of those things should not be seen as privileges, but as normal thing... it's not a privilege to have tap water, but a basic human rights... I'm not lucky to have two parents who love me. That should be normal. I'm not luck to have the life I have. Obviously, yes, as a middle class 40yo why guy from France, my life is way easier that most people in the world. But don't try to lower down my life becasue people have less. What I have should not be seen as privilege.
Most of hose are not privileges. Things we take for granted - sure. But a privilege is something extra, something that people don't normally have. Not starving, not being abused, not suffering from constant pain and not dying from a terminal illness are not privileges, those are the bare minimum of normal existence. Calling people privileged because they aren't living the worst possible life is rather toxic, to be honest, and has the same vibes as telling a person they have no reason to be depressed because other people have it worse.
Someone else said this but more specifically having lgbtq+ supporting parents and not having to live closeted.
I think the hardest thing is that most of the people with serious struggles in life are very, very aware of how the other half life, but the people who have everything to be grateful for have no idea how lucky they are, and don't know anything about the lives of millions of others.
Being able to move without trouble and having access to public transport without discrimination. I went for a ride with my disabilities scooter. Before that I was caged in my home 24/7 and it is insane how amazing it is to being able to 'take a walk', feel the sun or have a coffee. But now it is raining like hell and I will need to ride in the rain (which is bad for the scooter) because the belgian buses are assholes and do not allow disability scooters inside of them. Yay! I just needed to tell a dear friend of mine that I cannot go to his wedding because it is impossible for me to travel without a person to help me carry the scooter (most trains and metros have steps in Spain and Belgium). I have not told my grandma yet that I wont be able to visit until next xmas for the same reason (or until my partner has holidays and can help me). Society hates disabled people and only sees us as parasites of the system so they try to keep us as restricted as possible.
Never knowing hunger. Not kinda hungry because you skipped lunch. Not super hungry so you eat until you burst. Hungry because you're chronically malnourished. Hungry enough to try eating shoes, grass, anything to fill your belly. Hungry past the point where your bones feel hollow from vitamin deficiency, past the point where it goes from an urge to an actual pain that doesn't stop. Hungry to where hunger is all that exists. That we could feed everyone and don't is the most basic physical proof that humanity is damned and deserves it.
I hate these posts. It feels like people are competing to see who has it worse.
Is it just me or bored panda is posting a lot about hate, negativity and cringe lately?
Being allowed to use a public library even if you are of the female gender. Think I'm kidding? In 1969, the Catholic Schoolboard of the Province of Quebec in Canada decided to segregate all public schooling; boys and girls had to attend school in separate buildings. The boys' building contained the only library and I wasn't allowed in. My parents, tired of listening to me howl, declared me ''Lutheran'' and I got to enter a facility under the care of the Protestant School Board. Their schools were co-ed.
You know what's a real privilege? Having the time and 1st world life to sit around thinking of things to complain about. (yes, let the downvoting begin, because this Offends people)
"Privilege - a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group." "education is a right, not a privilege" Privileges can be, and have a right to be, taken away. People have a skewed definition.
For crying out loud, does everything positive in my life need to be seen through the lens of privilege?
I never realized how privileged I was...I honestly thought that most people had most of these things...
People don't understand the difference between one person having a "privilege" and another having a disadvantage or missing on something fundamental. It is not a privilege to get enough sleep or have a safe space to sleep. That was the norm for probably 200,000 years. That so many go without does not make those who have it privileged. It means that things are getting worse and worse for people and some are living with serious disadvantages that they shouldn't have to live with. (People should look up the definition of a word before using it.)
While I'm by no means wealthy in a financial manner, I do consider myself to be rich in having my own apartment, with its attendant privacy (which is huge to me), plenty of food to eat, despite having severe allergies to many things; I can, and have to, buy clean water---my city has told its residents not to bother to boil the water anymore because they can't make it clean enough, so we're to buy bottled water for the foreseeable future. Such things as having a car, though it's very old (still in great shape, and fully paid off), and having all the furniture I need (much of it given to me when others just didn't have room for things), having the clothes I need, and a laundry facility directly across the parking lot of my apartment complex.....all are things I'm daily grateful for, and do give thanks to God for them, and far, far more that I won't go into. I've had to work for all these things, for the most part, but I'm very thankful for that, too.
One I didn't see is having healthy parents. I saw worry for children but it's just my mom and me. I get paid to care for her but I'm getting older and more disabled myself. I'm terrified of when I can't care for myself let alone her. She won't have a carer and I won't have a carer or a pay check. I guess I mean safety for the elderly. Everyone getting timley help when needed. Help is out there but it's easy to fall through the cracks or get stuck on a waiting list for years.
This List: If you're not living your life as a decapitated head on a skateboard, YER PRIVELEGED! Eating food? cHeCk YoUr PrIvIlEgE!
Now days, and even with this article, the word "privileged" is said with a sneer. People who experienced a lot of the above got there through hard work. My father and mother went through the depression, got degrees, saved and worked hard. We had 2 cars and a home, yes. I worked my way through college and never went hungry. Yet people say I am privileged like I stepped on others to get where I am. A person with an apple is privileged over one who is starving.
Living in the US provides many privileges, things that people suggest are "basic human rights" but were actually hard-won privileges put into our Constitution that we have to continually fight to protect, even from enemies within (e..g.. Trump's effort to steal an election). And there's no such thing as "basic human rights"! Such claims represent efforts by folks to get things like food and health care for FREE, rather than EARNING them. Get to work, slackers!
A lot of the modern day norms, especially in the developed economies, are made possible through the exploitation of poorer societies. Take our smartphones for example. Rare metals being mined from one country, then shipped to another for manufacturing, creating wastes that may be shipped to another country. All those countries in the supply chain are never the ones profiting the most from, or consuming the most of, the end-product.
I'm surprised no one added Time... some people have to work all day, can't sleep, have to take care of kids, etc... if you have time to sit and watch tv or a movie or read or play videogames... if you have time that belongs entirely to you, you are very privileged
Canada has all these things like toilets and enough food and good water, electricity and people have good jobs and savings and cars
None of these are privileges... they are blessings. People need to use a dictionary before making a stupid thread.
In do appreciate the point of the list, however I do wish in general there was less focus on "you have X, you should feel privileged", and more "X should be a basic thing everyone has access to, what can be done to help?".
This post almost feels like a contest on who has it worse...it's weird.
Having an education is easily overlooked and taken granted for. Would love to see teachers be paid more for their hard work.
Most of those things should not be seen as privileges, but as normal thing... it's not a privilege to have tap water, but a basic human rights... I'm not lucky to have two parents who love me. That should be normal. I'm not luck to have the life I have. Obviously, yes, as a middle class 40yo why guy from France, my life is way easier that most people in the world. But don't try to lower down my life becasue people have less. What I have should not be seen as privilege.
Most of hose are not privileges. Things we take for granted - sure. But a privilege is something extra, something that people don't normally have. Not starving, not being abused, not suffering from constant pain and not dying from a terminal illness are not privileges, those are the bare minimum of normal existence. Calling people privileged because they aren't living the worst possible life is rather toxic, to be honest, and has the same vibes as telling a person they have no reason to be depressed because other people have it worse.
Someone else said this but more specifically having lgbtq+ supporting parents and not having to live closeted.
I think the hardest thing is that most of the people with serious struggles in life are very, very aware of how the other half life, but the people who have everything to be grateful for have no idea how lucky they are, and don't know anything about the lives of millions of others.
Being able to move without trouble and having access to public transport without discrimination. I went for a ride with my disabilities scooter. Before that I was caged in my home 24/7 and it is insane how amazing it is to being able to 'take a walk', feel the sun or have a coffee. But now it is raining like hell and I will need to ride in the rain (which is bad for the scooter) because the belgian buses are assholes and do not allow disability scooters inside of them. Yay! I just needed to tell a dear friend of mine that I cannot go to his wedding because it is impossible for me to travel without a person to help me carry the scooter (most trains and metros have steps in Spain and Belgium). I have not told my grandma yet that I wont be able to visit until next xmas for the same reason (or until my partner has holidays and can help me). Society hates disabled people and only sees us as parasites of the system so they try to keep us as restricted as possible.
Never knowing hunger. Not kinda hungry because you skipped lunch. Not super hungry so you eat until you burst. Hungry because you're chronically malnourished. Hungry enough to try eating shoes, grass, anything to fill your belly. Hungry past the point where your bones feel hollow from vitamin deficiency, past the point where it goes from an urge to an actual pain that doesn't stop. Hungry to where hunger is all that exists. That we could feed everyone and don't is the most basic physical proof that humanity is damned and deserves it.
I hate these posts. It feels like people are competing to see who has it worse.
Is it just me or bored panda is posting a lot about hate, negativity and cringe lately?
Being allowed to use a public library even if you are of the female gender. Think I'm kidding? In 1969, the Catholic Schoolboard of the Province of Quebec in Canada decided to segregate all public schooling; boys and girls had to attend school in separate buildings. The boys' building contained the only library and I wasn't allowed in. My parents, tired of listening to me howl, declared me ''Lutheran'' and I got to enter a facility under the care of the Protestant School Board. Their schools were co-ed.
You know what's a real privilege? Having the time and 1st world life to sit around thinking of things to complain about. (yes, let the downvoting begin, because this Offends people)
"Privilege - a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group." "education is a right, not a privilege" Privileges can be, and have a right to be, taken away. People have a skewed definition.
For crying out loud, does everything positive in my life need to be seen through the lens of privilege?
I never realized how privileged I was...I honestly thought that most people had most of these things...
People don't understand the difference between one person having a "privilege" and another having a disadvantage or missing on something fundamental. It is not a privilege to get enough sleep or have a safe space to sleep. That was the norm for probably 200,000 years. That so many go without does not make those who have it privileged. It means that things are getting worse and worse for people and some are living with serious disadvantages that they shouldn't have to live with. (People should look up the definition of a word before using it.)
While I'm by no means wealthy in a financial manner, I do consider myself to be rich in having my own apartment, with its attendant privacy (which is huge to me), plenty of food to eat, despite having severe allergies to many things; I can, and have to, buy clean water---my city has told its residents not to bother to boil the water anymore because they can't make it clean enough, so we're to buy bottled water for the foreseeable future. Such things as having a car, though it's very old (still in great shape, and fully paid off), and having all the furniture I need (much of it given to me when others just didn't have room for things), having the clothes I need, and a laundry facility directly across the parking lot of my apartment complex.....all are things I'm daily grateful for, and do give thanks to God for them, and far, far more that I won't go into. I've had to work for all these things, for the most part, but I'm very thankful for that, too.
One I didn't see is having healthy parents. I saw worry for children but it's just my mom and me. I get paid to care for her but I'm getting older and more disabled myself. I'm terrified of when I can't care for myself let alone her. She won't have a carer and I won't have a carer or a pay check. I guess I mean safety for the elderly. Everyone getting timley help when needed. Help is out there but it's easy to fall through the cracks or get stuck on a waiting list for years.
This List: If you're not living your life as a decapitated head on a skateboard, YER PRIVELEGED! Eating food? cHeCk YoUr PrIvIlEgE!
Now days, and even with this article, the word "privileged" is said with a sneer. People who experienced a lot of the above got there through hard work. My father and mother went through the depression, got degrees, saved and worked hard. We had 2 cars and a home, yes. I worked my way through college and never went hungry. Yet people say I am privileged like I stepped on others to get where I am. A person with an apple is privileged over one who is starving.
Living in the US provides many privileges, things that people suggest are "basic human rights" but were actually hard-won privileges put into our Constitution that we have to continually fight to protect, even from enemies within (e..g.. Trump's effort to steal an election). And there's no such thing as "basic human rights"! Such claims represent efforts by folks to get things like food and health care for FREE, rather than EARNING them. Get to work, slackers!
A lot of the modern day norms, especially in the developed economies, are made possible through the exploitation of poorer societies. Take our smartphones for example. Rare metals being mined from one country, then shipped to another for manufacturing, creating wastes that may be shipped to another country. All those countries in the supply chain are never the ones profiting the most from, or consuming the most of, the end-product.
I'm surprised no one added Time... some people have to work all day, can't sleep, have to take care of kids, etc... if you have time to sit and watch tv or a movie or read or play videogames... if you have time that belongs entirely to you, you are very privileged
Canada has all these things like toilets and enough food and good water, electricity and people have good jobs and savings and cars
None of these are privileges... they are blessings. People need to use a dictionary before making a stupid thread.
