13-Jan-2014, 02:58 PM
(This post was last modified: 13-Jan-2014, 03:03 PM by Anish Nair.)
In a country like India, where blatant oppression of identities is pretty common, talking about privilege can be very controversial. This is so because any discussion on the topic entails a debate on the interrelation of identity and oppression, and the question of "who are the oppressed?" at which point emotions run high. The fact that most out there hardly are aware and also pretty uncomfortable about privilege doesn't make the task of making a case against oppression and bigotry any easier. For instance, a common retort in a discussion on the caste system or affirmative action is "Not all upper caste Hindus are rich", "we don't get any benefits on the basis of our caste" or "I didn't inherit anything from my ancestors. How come I have caste privilege?". This article on Occupy Wall Street explains how hard it is to explain white privilege to poor whites . It is equally difficult to explain caste privilege to a poor caste Hindu male or a middle class caste Hindu male working hard to climb the social ladder. Every discussion with such people leads to an impasse, after which all prospects of civilised and informed arguments get killed.
So I feel it is pretty important for this forum to have a comprehensive FAQ detailing privilege of every kind, along with intersectionality.
I'm attaching a pdf copy of Margaret 'Peggy' McIntosh's article Unpacking The Knapsack Of White Privilege, which is a classic reference used by sociologists and social scientists for a basic understanding of how privilege works. It also available here: http://people.westminstercollege.edu/fac...vilege.pdf
P.S.: Inspired by the link posted on Nirmukta's FB group I feel this forum urgently needs both a genuine discussion on the theories of Privilege and Intersectionality and abovementioned FAQ. We can, as suggested by Arvind Iyer, coopt this (http://nirmukta.net/Thread-Listening-to-...06#pid4006) and this (http://nirmukta.net/Thread-Building-a-FA...ive-Action) for a more detailed and holistic FAQ thread, which I tentatively titled 'FAQ On How To Be a Decent Human Being'
So I feel it is pretty important for this forum to have a comprehensive FAQ detailing privilege of every kind, along with intersectionality.
I'm attaching a pdf copy of Margaret 'Peggy' McIntosh's article Unpacking The Knapsack Of White Privilege, which is a classic reference used by sociologists and social scientists for a basic understanding of how privilege works. It also available here: http://people.westminstercollege.edu/fac...vilege.pdf
P.S.: Inspired by the link posted on Nirmukta's FB group
