Richard Book is Innocent (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
oxfordtweed) wrote2011-04-04 02:08 am
oxfordtweed) wrote2011-04-04 02:08 am
Entry tags:
Here's a question
One dredged up from the depths of the kinkmeme again.
There's a word I see thrown around, not just there, but everywhere on LJ: privilege.
In this particular instance, someone mentioned how they didn't notice a certain racefail in the second episode of Sherlock (I'll admit, I was too busy boggling over Sherlock's wild, nonsensical deductions and didn't even notice the racefail the first time watching it). This apparently means that the commenter is privileged, since it adheres to the idea of, 'it doesn't hurt me, so I don't care.'
Funny. That idea sounds exactly like apathy to me. And correct me if I'm wrong, but anybody can be apathetic toward anything. Fuck, I'm apathetic toward a lot of things. I don't call the cops on my screaming neighbours unless I think my screaming neighbours are going to kill me. Otherwise, I let them scream. I don't care. That's what headphones are for. I'll be honest in saying that I had a really hard time caring about Japan. The three or four people on my F-list that I know are in Japan all posted to LJ to announce their well-being, and that was good enough for me. Am I privileged, or just too damn busy worrying about my own financial well-being and the state of my cupboards to even consider donating to the Red Cross?
I'm not doubting that such a concept does exist. Our very government, for instance: I'd call them privileged. Put them all on minimum wage and make them pay for their own health insurance, and this country would change overnight.
I don't know. It just seems like one of those words that gets thrown around in this storm of hyper-political correctness. Anything you say that isn't in some way friendly or beneficial to everyone is wrong. But, do you know what? I'd rather be wrong than feel like I was pandering to something I didn't believe in anyway.
There's a word I see thrown around, not just there, but everywhere on LJ: privilege.
In this particular instance, someone mentioned how they didn't notice a certain racefail in the second episode of Sherlock (I'll admit, I was too busy boggling over Sherlock's wild, nonsensical deductions and didn't even notice the racefail the first time watching it). This apparently means that the commenter is privileged, since it adheres to the idea of, 'it doesn't hurt me, so I don't care.'
Funny. That idea sounds exactly like apathy to me. And correct me if I'm wrong, but anybody can be apathetic toward anything. Fuck, I'm apathetic toward a lot of things. I don't call the cops on my screaming neighbours unless I think my screaming neighbours are going to kill me. Otherwise, I let them scream. I don't care. That's what headphones are for. I'll be honest in saying that I had a really hard time caring about Japan. The three or four people on my F-list that I know are in Japan all posted to LJ to announce their well-being, and that was good enough for me. Am I privileged, or just too damn busy worrying about my own financial well-being and the state of my cupboards to even consider donating to the Red Cross?
I'm not doubting that such a concept does exist. Our very government, for instance: I'd call them privileged. Put them all on minimum wage and make them pay for their own health insurance, and this country would change overnight.
I don't know. It just seems like one of those words that gets thrown around in this storm of hyper-political correctness. Anything you say that isn't in some way friendly or beneficial to everyone is wrong. But, do you know what? I'd rather be wrong than feel like I was pandering to something I didn't believe in anyway.