If there’s a bit about the concept of privilege that can be hard to grasp, it’s that it doesn’t mean your life has been easy – just that your life hasn’t been made harder by the circumstances you were born into.
If you’re still a bit unclear on what that might mean, here are 17 things many of us don’t think of as privileges, but that people without them say definitely are.
17. We take it for granted.
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.
16. My heart just sunk.
Not being drafted into a high casualty war as soon as you are old enough to fight.
15. Not living in fear for your life.
The sky not dropping bombs on you.
14. The words on your passport.
Easy ability to travel internationally. The right passport will take you places.
I was watching some guys YouTube video on this. I think he was Syrian, or Lebanese. He was traveling with some international friends who all had french passports, but he’s the one who got stopped and scrutinized.
He was like “if I were going to fake a passport, why would I fake one from my sh*%ty country? I’d fake a french one!”
13. Relatively easy.
If your life is so good that your biggest problems are minor inconveniences, you don’t appreciate just how easy you’ve got it.
12. Existing without pain.
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).
11. A decent diet.
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.
10. Education.
Free K-12 education and literacy in general.
.Edit: 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).
9. Just choices.
The real privilege the West has is that we have choice in what to eat. So companies have engineered the “western diet” to sell, not to feed.
Thousands of humanity’s brightest minds are working tirelessly to exploit every vestigial process in our lizard brains to make sure we come back to whatever one of the big 10 food companies can produce at the highest possible profit.
8. If your parents have money.
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.
7. Basic human rights.
It’s funny reading things like “basic education, drinking water, shelter, etc.” Like these are basic human rights, but our world is so messed up that they feel like privileges to people who understand how little other people have.
While being grateful for what you have and realizing that others have far less is extremely compassionate, I worry that if we start to consider them “privileges” it can be that much easier for more selfish people to not care when others go without.
Driving is a privilege (in the USA at least), freedom of movement is a right. And I could care less if some dumb fuck loses his license, but that same person still has the right to travel through public transit or walking. That’s a real distinction between right and privilege, not “Do I have the privilege of eating tonight?”
6. It makes everything so hard.
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.
As a person who’s sister suffers from schizophrenia, I can vouch for this. It’s hard on their family and it’s even more worse for the person who suffers from it. I will not wish this upon even my worst enemy and their* family.
Every human deserves mental peace.
5. Where you were born.
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.
4. It’s a leg up.
Being conventionally attractive.
Even outside of dating it gives so many advantages. People are more welcoming to attractive people.
People are more willing to include and reach out to attractive people.
People are more willing to hire attractive people.
3. Your genetics.
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.
2. It seems like no big deal, but…
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.
1. In-home appliances.
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.
It’s honestly so sad to think of people, especially kids, who live without access to what we consider the basics.
What else do you think belongs on this list? Let us know in the comments!
