The notion of privilege can be a difficult one to explain sometimes in terms that people can feel viscerally. All too often, the discussion exists at a safe distance, at least on the part of those having the privilege. (For those without whatever privilege it is, the discussion is all too real and all too close.)
John Scalzi has put into simple words that anyone can understand the feeling of what it is to be privileged. As one who walks on both sides of that line, a lot of his words resonate with me, both as things I experience and things I really need to be mindful of.
There are a few I thought he might have added (one of which I left in his comments):
Today I don't have to worry about whether the person I'm interviewing with will toss my resume in the trash because I'm over fifty.
Today I don't have to worry about whether disclosing my disability to my boss, and my need for accommodations, will materially damage my work environment.
Another highly recommended piece by Scalzi: On Being Poor. He wrote this in the immediate aftermath of Katrina, hence the last line of the piece.
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