General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: As a white christian male I don't feel privileged by any means [View all]noamnety
(20,234 posts)If you take for granted that you are allowed to get married to someone you love, if you take it for granted that you were in the honors classes because you earned it (and more importantly others took that for granted too throughout your life), if you took it for granted that you could get to and from school without being sexually harassed, and you made it to this point in your life without being raped, that's great, and it's how life should be for everyone.
If your impression is that the internet has brought equality, and you've never had to think about choosing a gender neutral or masculine name online to avoid harassment and you've never had to shut down a blog because of threats of sexual violence, or read graphic descriptions on some stranger's blog of sexualized violence against you personally as a result of something you've posted on DU (I've had that joy), you aren't seeing the full picture.
I'm just saying there are things that are invisible to people who don't experience them.
Even in my small world, I work in a school that is very diverse and embraces that. One of our teachers recently transferred to another school in a neighboring town. He was shocked to see how open and acceptable racism and homophobia are among his students, and I was equally shocked to hear the comments his students have been making. If I don't see things myself, it's easy to believe they aren't happening anymore, at least in my community. When we aren't exposed to things, and we believe they shouldn't be happening, they become invisible to us.