What are your thoughts on "Privilege"?

[JAJT]

People absolutely start off with different advantages and disadvantages in life.
That's not even a debate.
It's just fact.

Some are poor, some are minorities, some have alcoholic parents, some have parents that will disown them if they don't follow a set path, some are homeless, some are born into wealthy families, some win lotteries, some have their parents steal from them - and a million other things.

I don't consider any of this to be a valid reason why you "can't" excel in life.
It's called playing the hand you are dealt.

Now, those advantages and disadvantages have HUGE impacts if you set life to auto-pilot (as most do). I don't care if you are rich or poor, majority or minority - if you set your life on autopilot you don't have much of a leg to stand on when it comes to the excuse game.

Everyone is given 24 hours in a day and free will.
That's more than enough for a dedicated individual trying to improve their life.

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

My parents are Polish. They grew up in communism, and saved up for years so that they could buy a plane ticket to America with $100 and a suitcase. Once they got here, they were relegated to the worst jobs - factory work and cleaning while Americans made fun of them cracking Polish jokes and calling them dumb dirty polacks.

My grandparents survived a literal genocide. Around 6 Million of their fellow countrymen - friends, family, and the like - were killed.

My great grandparents lived in occupied territory where education was discouraged. The intellectuals were killed off, and those that weren't had to live in hiding in France, London, wherever they could be accepted.

Growing up, my mom would feed us sandwiches with honey because we couldn't afford much. My clothes and toys came as hand me downs from families for whom my mom worked as a cleaning lady.

You could say that I came from a disprivileged background.

... but not once. Not once did my parents give me any excuses. Not once did they tell me that I couldn't amount to something. Not once did they say that they were "underprivileged" and that the system was stacked against them.

Instead, they put their head down, worked hard, and came into a very comfortable middle class life.

If I were to tell my parents that I can't amount to something because I'm "disprivileged", then they'd probably tell me to shut the F*ck up and to get to work.

All of us are handed different cards in life. Some better than others. But end of the day, those are your cards and you have to play them. If on the other hand you put the cards down and start complaining, then you've lost before the game even began. And if you get great cards and burn them, then you're a F*cking idiot for not winning as many chips as you can and handing them out to those in need.

 

[jon.a]

This won't end well.

 

[ApparentHorizon]

“If you are born poor its not your mistake, But if you die poor its your mistake.” ― Bill Gates

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[SteveO]

Okay. I was poor growing up. My mom was on welfare, dad was gone. The only money I had was from shit jobs. Cleaning horse stables was a shit job. Delivering papers at 4:00 am was a shit job.

I chose not to be a victim. Pleasure did not come from what my parents gave me. My siblings and I found our own ways to be happy. All of us have been successful in our own ways.

I got my first apartment on $1.85 per hour plus some overtime. There was no way to pay for a car repair, dining out, movies, cable tv on the wages. I paid my rent on time, worked hard, and fixed my own car.

There was no help from the outside.

Life was fun though. We did things that did not take a lot of money like picnics, bbq's, hikes in the mountains, lots of parties, etc.

I would have been one of the under privileged that did not graduate high school.

If there were people that had a head start on me.... I did not see or care about them. The focus was on what needed to be done.

There is free education if you are a minority should you chose this path. You may start out steps behind but don't need to stay there. Hard work and perseverance will carry you forward in most cases.

Victimhood is the real disadvantage.

 

[jon.a]

I refuse to let some a**hole make me feel bad for being a 61 y/o, married, educated, semi-retired white guy.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[G-Man]

Privilege is a concept invented by people so stupid they had to go to grad school to figure out that life isn't fair.

Also, reps to @JAJT @AgainstAllOdds @SteveO ... and @jon.a , even though he's not entitled

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Lionhearted]

My view of "privilege" is the same as my view of "victimhood". It's a coping tool used by those who REFUSE to accept ownership for their lives. It's much easier to complain and do nothing than it is to take ownership and actually change their lot in life.

 

[Kak]

Internal vs external locust of control.

People who spend time thinking about how their life isn’t fair don’t spend time changing their life.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Almantas]

I think if you’re born in America, you should be considered “privileged”.

I think...if you're born, you should be considered privileged.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Chromozone]

My dad moved to the UK in the 70's with a one way ticket and £13 of life savings. He worked hard and built a good life.

I'll never forget when I was in my teens one day, our gardener was being indirectly hostile towards my dad, saying something along the lines of "damn foreigners taking our jobs!". My dad replied without any hesitation; "If I was still in India, I'd still be a doctor and you'd still be mowing peoples lawns.".

Some people just don't see the opportunity all around them - it's like trying to describe water to a fish.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[biophase]

I don't believe in the word privileged, but I do believe that we all don't start at the same place.

There are always differences.

In high school I lived 6 miles from my school, so it took 45 minutes to get home by bus. My friend lived 4 blocks from the school. He was able to start his after school job at 3pm, while I started at 4pm. He got an extra 3 hours of pay per week. So he made an extra $10 per week. This is a very thin example, but it shows how minute differences can tip results in favor for someone. But this is a short term difference. If we were comparing how much we had at the end of a month, he would win. However, if we were comparing how much we had at the end of 4 years, who knows?

In the video example, imagine if the race was for 10 miles. Then none of the kids in front had any real advantage because a 50 foot head start doesn't matter in a 10 mile race.

So while we may all start in different spots at age 12, it doesn't really translate to where we end up at age 50.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Almantas]

My parents are Polish. They grew up in communism, and saved up for years so that they could buy a plane ticket to America with $100 and a suitcase. Once they got here, they were relegated to the worst jobs - factory work and cleaning while Americans made fun of them cracking Polish jokes and calling them dumb dirty polacks.

My grandparents survived a literal genocide. Around 6 Million of their fellow countrymen - friends, family, and the like - were killed.

My great grandparents lived in occupied territory where education was discouraged. The intellectuals were killed off, and those that weren't had to live in hiding in France, London, wherever they could be accepted.

Growing up, my mom would feed us sandwiches with honey because we couldn't afford much. My clothes and toys came as hand me downs from families for whom my mom worked as a cleaning lady.

You could say that I came from a disprivileged background.

... but not once. Not once did my parents give me any excuses. Not once did they tell me that I couldn't amount to something. Not once did they say that they were "underprivileged" and that the system was stacked against them.

Instead, they put their head down, worked hard, and came into a very comfortable middle class life.

If I were to tell my parents that I can't amount to something because I'm "disprivileged", then they'd probably tell me to shut the F*ck up and to get to work.

All of us are handed different cards in life. Some better than others. But end of the day, those are your cards and you have to play them. If on the other hand you put the cards down and start complaining, then you've lost before the game even began. And if you get great cards and burn them, then you're a F*cking idiot for not winning as many chips as you can and handing them out to those in need.

Thanks for your honesty and transparency.

I'm Lithuanian - so we can pretty much relate to each other.

I was a flower growing in a very rough patch.

I was raised by a single mother who has been hustling all her life so I can have a full belly and stuff to wear.

We couldn't afford kindergarten fees and I was growing up alone. Locked up in a 2 bedroom apartment by myself, waiting when my mother comes back from work. It was pretty much a jail sentence. Did I feel underprivileged? Hell no! I was glad I had a mother who always kissed me before I jump into a warm, clean bed...I knew there're kids who have no mothers and live on the streets - I knew them very personally.

From the very young age I realised that you don't need money to feel privileged and have good manners.

 

[Captain Jack]

My parents are Polish. They grew up in communism, and saved up for years so that they could buy a plane ticket to America with $100 and a suitcase. Once they got here, they were relegated to the worst jobs - factory work and cleaning while Americans made fun of them cracking Polish jokes and calling them dumb dirty polacks.

My grandparents survived a literal genocide. Around 6 Million of their fellow countrymen - friends, family, and the like - were killed.

My great grandparents lived in occupied territory where education was discouraged. The intellectuals were killed off, and those that weren't had to live in hiding in France, London, wherever they could be accepted.

Growing up, my mom would feed us sandwiches with honey because we couldn't afford much. My clothes and toys came as hand me downs from families for whom my mom worked as a cleaning lady.

You could say that I came from a disprivileged background.

... but not once. Not once did my parents give me any excuses. Not once did they tell me that I couldn't amount to something. Not once did they say that they were "underprivileged" and that the system was stacked against them.

Instead, they put their head down, worked hard, and came into a very comfortable middle class life.

If I were to tell my parents that I can't amount to something because I'm "disprivileged", then they'd probably tell me to shut the F*ck up and to get to work.

All of us are handed different cards in life. Some better than others. But end of the day, those are your cards and you have to play them. If on the other hand you put the cards down and start complaining, then you've lost before the game even began. And if you get great cards and burn them, then you're a F*cking idiot for not winning as many chips as you can and handing them out to those in need.

Props. Piggybacking on this, my grandmother was also Polish. She came over here as an infant and lived in poverty in the 1920s. I actually found documented written proof detailing the squalor that she lived in as a child. Her father was not fond of working and her mother died when she was a teenager at the beginning of the Great Depression. She often had to steal food for her and her family (being that she was one of the oldest) just so her younger siblings could eat.

She literally had no safety net at all. This was before welfare and food stamps.

So what did she do? Cry about her lack of privilege? Nope! She moved to NYC at the age of 15 and began working as a nanny for a rich family. She took beauty classes at night and opened up her own business. At the age of 25, she bought her father's home in cash and saved it from going into foreclosure.

I had a great childhood and I attribute that 100% to her.

We live in a time where it's extremely easy to be successful, way easier than ever before. To be frank, if someone is not successful, they are likely either lazy or stupid, or both. Absolutely no excuse for it.

 

[TonyStark]

I think if you’re born in America, you should be considered “privileged”.

 

[Almantas]

People absolutely start off with different advantages and disadvantages in life.
That's not even a debate.
It's just fact.

Some are poor, some are minorities, some have alcoholic parents, some have parents that will disown them if they don't follow a set path, some are homeless, some are born into wealthy families, some win lotteries, some have their parents steal from them - and a million other things.

I don't consider any of this to be a valid reason why you "can't" excel in life.
It's called playing the hand you are dealt.

Now, those advantages and disadvantages have HUGE impacts if you set life to auto-pilot (as most do). I don't care if you are rich or poor, majority or minority - if you set your life on autopilot you don't have much of a leg to stand on when it comes to the excuse game.

Everyone is given 24 hours in a day and free will.
That's more than enough for a dedicated individual trying to improve their life.

Case closed. Amen.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[jon.a]

Fixed...

And I dare anyone to call my Navy retirement or disability pay an ENTITLEMENT!

oops sorry, not really relevant

 

[jsk29]

My girlfriends coworkers were watching this video the other day, talking about how GREAT of a demonstration it is that some people are just "better off" than others.

I'm curious how some of you view the idea of "privilege"

GREAT demonstration of how dramatic music and a motivational speaker can hinder critical thinking.

My take:
- Speaker represents the gatekeepers of society
- The crowd represents the scripted

The unscripted don't stand around listening to guys like this spout out subjective ideas about privilege (while yelling out orders).

They ignore un-actionable babble and blaze their own path forward.

Also, LOL @3:00 "I guarantee some of these black dudes would smoke all of you".

What does that potentially reveal about his belief in "athletic privilege"?

I would say the greatest privilege is TIME privilege. Lucky to be alive in 2017 rather than 1817!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

The only privilege that exists in the world is the privilege of being born in a semi-free society. That's every American.

As long as there are libraries, internet access, and learning opportunities at zero access cost, every American is privileged.

Of course, some will have bigger advantages based on our parents, available education, and genetics.

So we all (Americans) do have some degree of "privilege" but it is mostly defined within the confines of circumstances and geography.

Had I been born in Sudan, I highly doubt I'd be living the life I have now.

Unfortunately "privilege" today is now within the province of grievance hustlers wearing the latest line of oversized problem glasses.

They make their living convincing able bodied individuals into believing their victimhood for the purpose of profit and political capital. Lifelong victims make lifelong customers, either in the form of votes, clicks, or audience.

People can't find a J O B

Funny, they complain about not finding jobs, but are first to whip out the bullhorn to call businesses evil while taxing them into insolvency.

It's the logical equivalent of crucifying mothers, but then complaining there are no babies.

This won't end well.

Nice to see that it has been relatively tame. The fact is, the people here aren't victims and aren't buying the BS the grievance hustlers are selling.

 

[Almantas]

Sorry for spamming, but I'll squeeze another line that may open some 'underprivileged' minds:

Everything can be taken from you, but one thing - to choose your attitude in any set of circumstances.

 

[SteveO]

I refuse to let some a**hole make me feel bad for being a 61 y/o, married, educated, semi-retired, PRIVILEDGED white guy.

Fixed...

 

[FiftySeven]

As this video rolled on, I had a vaguely uneasy feeling, rising to a crescendo with the final insult:

“If you didn’t learn anything from this activity, you’re a fool”.


I AM a fool … and proud of it.

I come from a long line of fools.

In 1634, my great-great-great-etc grandfather John boarded a wooden ship bound for Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The Hercules was an 88-foot, 200-ton cork bouncing around the North Atlantic as the hurricane season approached. The odds of reaching Portsmouth were probably little more than 50%. Who would make a trip like that? A fool. Perhaps an Unscripted ™ ® fool. What was awaiting in North America? Only he knew. At the time, there were approximately only 5,000 europeans in North America. Would he find a bride? Fortunately for me, he did. John boarded that vessel so that 320 years later, I could be born a free man.

I owe my life … to a fool. A courageous fool.

A few generations later, another great-grandfather served in the American Revolution. When the time came to TAKE ACTION and decide whether the Colonies would continue as subjects or step up to the plate, that great-grandfather risked being shot in war, risked being executed or hanged for treason, so that a new country could arise: a country in which people were citizens, not subjects. A country based on citizen participation in government, a country based on free choice: a country in which people could decide to achieve as much, OR AS LITTLE, as they desired. When the Colonies became free, the population was approximately 2.5 million. About 50,000 American lives were lost giving birth to a country which became a living laboratory of freedom, democracy and capitalism. A more perfect Union? Read on.

Four score and 7 years later, the country “dedicated to the proposition that all men were created equal" slaughtered between 500,000 and 750,000 of its own citizens – brother against brother – deciding whether ALL men would truly be free. At the time, the U.S. population was about 32 million. About 2% of the population voted with their lives in that “election”. “Privilege” strikes again.

So you would think that my family, having the “first mover” advantage, would have parlayed that into a fabulous, “privileged” fortune – after all, my family was 2-of-5,000 at the IPO of the world’s most successful country.

My paternal grandfather started a few businesses, had a farm and died a widowed pauper. His sons, my Dad and his brother, served in WWII. They both came home with lifelong ailments, although not major ones. They were the lucky ones. They made it home in one piece. Dad’s cousin died in the South Pacific; nobody knows where. An uncle had breakdowns due to what he saw in Europe. How many Americans suffered and died, how many Allied soldiers suffered and died, to fight the evils of a force-fed “Script” and the promised utopia of National Socialism?

Were these people “privileged”? Yes, but not in the way depicted in the video. They were privileged to fight and die for a free mankind. They were citizen-soldiers who dropped their plows and picked up their muskets when duty called.

When Dad and his brother came home after the war, I don’t recall that they got a ticker-tape parade. They went back to the farm. When the farm failed, we exercised our “privilege” by living in our car. Five people and a potty-chair living in a two-door car. I went to school with holes in the knees of my blue jeans before it was fashionable. I guess I had the “privilege” of being a trend-setter.

Though all that, Dad never took a handout, never went on public assistance, never collected a day’s unemployment. I never went to bed with my stomach growling. That is MY real “Privilege”. I saw my Dad, my grand-dads and my uncles come in from a hard day’s work in the fields, sweat dripping off their faces, clapping the field dust off their pant legs with their caps. If the tractor broke down, they fixed it. If the car broke down, they fixed it. If it needed built, they built it. They built their lives; they built our great country. All the while, backed by the women who cooked their meals, mended their clothes and bore their children without complaint.

That’s what privilege is: building something greater than you.

Yes, I, FiftySeven, was privileged to see the work ethic of The Greatest Generation. I modeled it. I worked hard, married, had kids, made money, lost money, divorced, lost most of what I had worked for all my life. Then, like Job, got twice as much back. It’s been a roller coaster, but that’s life; just get back on the horse and ride.

My kids are my privilege. They’ve grown and are productive members of society, providing service and value to their fellow man.

What’s the ultimate privilege? Life.

Use it or waste it yammering about someone else’s “privilege”...


“Take 2 steps forward if you never had to worry about having your cell phone shut off”

Never had to worry about this - every cell phone I’ve ever had came conveniently connected to a J.O.B.


“Take 2 steps forward if you never had to help your parents with the bills”

Well, my parents didn’t buy a lot of junk they didn’t need on credit. I guess they learned by living through the Depression. My parents grew up in the Depression: and so did I. I helped build the house I grew up in. I mowed the grass. Guess that counts.


“Take 2 steps forward if you never had to worry about where your next meal was going to come from”

I’ll take two steps forward here. Marriage is a tough row to hoe. My Mum & Dad made the commitment, stayed together, raised a garden, butchered hogs, canned food. I didn’t have to worry – they worried for me. They made the best choices they knew how. I write this on a Saturday evening knowing that I’ll get up at 5 AM Sunday and put in a 12-hour day. Does anybody think I’m worried about my next meal?


“Take 2 steps forward if you had access to private education”

Suffered through a public education. Paid for it myself at a Dirty Job that paid $2.02/hr. Mike Rowe’s got nothing on me. Worked hard. Gave my KIDS a crack at private education.


I’m a hard-workin’ redneck farm boy. I’ve given $100k to charities, most of which served people overseas. That was my privilege.

Am I Privileged? H3ll, yes! My ancestors, my neighbors, my country AND I have EARNED this privilege!

Privileged? The harder I work the more privileged I become.

My opinion of this video? Joseph Goebbels is alive and well.

The author may “take 2 steps” into North Korea, Cuba or any other everyone-is-equal utopian fantasy country.



From the Privileged,

‘57

 

[scottmsul]

A big problem I see with this video, which is also very implicit, is everyone competing for a single prize. It's like the fixed pie fallacy in economics. Just because I started 20 steps ahead of you, doesn't mean when I get to the finish, your opportunity is gone. I get a hundred dollars because I created new wealth, and you can create new wealth too. There's a prize waiting at the finish for all of us.

(This also makes those more "privileged" seem like the "bad guys" - but anyone who produces new wealth is a good guy!)

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kak]

If we want to talk about policy privilege, the so called minorities own it. I wasn’t offered wellfare when I lost money hand over fist for a year trying to build my first company... Nope I had to eat it. Not that I would have wanted it, but it would be nice if the liberals didn’t constantly try to get rid of loss carry forwards. I have yet to be offered a Historically Underutilized Business status and get the business associated with that requirement. I also am barred from ever conducting business where a Woman Owned Business is a requirement. I definitely can’t set up a casino on an Indian reservation... Why because I am a white male. My only privilege is that I didn’t get coddled by the government. The rampant coddling is actually an egregious disservice to the “minority” communities.

I was at a charity auction the other night talking to a friend of mine... He owns several burger joints in poorer areas of rural Texas. I asked him how business is going at the new restaraunts. (He had just opened 3 new ones the last time I saw him) He said he literally can’t find enough employees in the area. Why? Because of government programs out bidding him. These folks literally get paid more to voluntarily stay a SLAVE to the government than to start working their way out by making some money and learning how a business works. When there are bigger incentives to not work than to work, that is a huge problem. Who says there isn’t modern slavery? It is alive and well, democrat politicians are the plantation owners (just like they were before the civil war) and they are farming for lifelong entrapment and a lifelong voter base.

The true conservatives out there are fighting for capitalism and equal rights (not the SJW version of equal, just equal). Abolishment of these coddling policies would end the actual injustice.

 

[jon.a]

Well said.

People absolutely start off with different advantages and disadvantages in life.
That's not even a debate.
It's just fact.

Some are poor, some are minorities, some have alcoholic parents, some have parents that will disown them if they don't follow a set path, some are homeless, some are born into wealthy families, some win lotteries, some have their parents steal from them - and a million other things.

I don't consider any of this to be a valid reason why you "can't" excel in life.
It's called playing the hand you are dealt.

Now, those advantages and disadvantages have HUGE impacts if you set life to auto-pilot (as most do). I don't care if you are rich or poor, majority or minority - if you set your life on autopilot you don't have much of a leg to stand on when it comes to the excuse game.

Everyone is given 24 hours in a day and free will.
That's more than enough for a dedicated individual trying to improve their life.

 

[Deleted50669]

Though I think enough has already been said here, I will add that having been born into a welfare family, I no longer look at it as having been disadvantaged. There are some benefits to having been born on the wrong side of the tracks. It’s harder to scare me. When you grow up in a shit situation, you build the resilience muscle early. You don’t take as many things for granted once you are successful. You appreciate success more. The list goes on.

There are two sides to every coin. Those born wealthy struggle to muster the innate drive to succeed in many cases. They are already in maintenance mode. It’s dangerous to not have a purpose, or vision for something higher than where you’re at. Of course, that conversation tracks into the meaning of life, and my thumb would cramp going down that rabbit hole.

Anyway, cool thread.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Xavier X]

JAJT already hit the nail on the head, but just adding my ditto.

There's no doubt that the different circumstances we grow up in will significantly affect the road to our outcomes.

Two people are handed seeds, and one is given fertile land to grow his, while the other gets a concrete pavement.
Of course, their path to germination will be vastly different.

The guy with the concrete pavement might have to figure a way obtain some soil and grow his plant in a pot.
Or borrow a drill to break the concrete.

No doubt, a lot more of an uphill battle, but for the determined, it can be done in the long run.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Mr.Brandtastic]

This whole video is a thinly veiled complaint, "Look how much better you have it! You should feel ashamed and guilty!" No thanks.

This shows the value difference though between winners and losers. Winners look at other winners and go, "I'm going to be like him" and losers look at winners and go, "You bastard! You were entitled! Privileged! Rich parents! Easier life!"

One great example I see all the time is first generation immigrants to America versus many native born Americans I've met. First generation Americans don't gripe, they do the work, many run successful businesses and some even leverage them. Many young Americans I see are lazy and I say this as a young American. "I want a handout!" "Those rich kids have it easy!" "Where's my good job?" "College is too expensive." "Babyboomers are/were selfish and greedy, they didn't care about the world, only themselves."

The hallmark of loserdom is complaining about how good others have it.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kak]

I’m still waiting on my white privilege card to be delivered.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[TreyAllDay]

People who had it this bad are also likely to lack the development (of intelligence, creativity, focus, etc) they require from the nurturing process
Some definitely do, and I admire them, but it's such an ambiguous circumstance that I don't wish on anyone.

Yes. And I'm sure some may not agree, but I think us as entrepreneurs have a responsibility to reach out and help people who aren't as lucky, I think it's the meaning of life. That's why I admire MJ - he helped open the door for many other people who may not have come to the realisation themselves. My ultimate goal is to have enough money to fund inner city programs for children.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.