If a child grew up in poverty and you did not, how is it you can't recognize that privilege exists in the world?

[Anonymous]

Children who grew up in poverty did not have a choice to be born into that situation. Most likely, they were lacking in resources and lived in "survival mode" where things like having electricity, clothing, access to a doctor, and things like regular meals are "luxuries."

There are some who feel that privilege doesn't exist and is just an excuse used by others for their shortcomings, but what has a child to do with that? How is a child supposed to earn a better living, or get a better education...something that someone perhaps middle class + has far more access too just by virtue of being born in their financial circumstances?

How can one actually believe privilege doesn't exist?

[exitseven]

I dated a girl who came from a very affluent family. She lived in a very affluent town and all her friends came from rich families. They all went to expensive colleges and their parents paid for it all, drove nice cars, went on nice vacations, had sailboats. I had to go to a shitty commuter school and struggled to make tuition every single semester. I drove a beat up Chevy that did not like to start when it was cold out.
These kids just assumed that everyone had the advantages they had. They did not understand what it was like to have to struggle through life/

[LaFemmeFatale_1]

Privilege might exist but that doesn’t mean you should just give up and think - “I was born in poverty, I can do nothing to change it. I didn’t choose to live this way.” and blame all fault of your pitiful life to your parents.

I was born in a poor family, it might not have been very obvious for others, as I was too proud to act as if I had anything less than others, but sometimes we only had bread to eat whole day.

I was ashamed to live such a poor life. I could never invite my friends home, because I never had my own room and there were 12 of us and our extended family living in one small apartment.

But I am saying this out loudly now. No more ashamed of where I come from, you know why? I dragged my butt out of that situation. At the age of 20 I was a Vice President of an organization, where I managed my peers, some of whom were the children of millionaires and very successful people in my country.

I am proud of myself, knowing that the clothes I had was given by my older cousins, the food I ate was absolutely the bare minimum and I was malnutritioned the whole childhood because of that, I broke a nose in childhood pretty badly and had to live with it because my parents didn’t have a penny to take me to a doctor, but I don’t feel pity for myself! No way.

And I don’t need anyone’s pity either.

I feel happy I had a past like this. It makes each one of my future and current successes so much more noteworthy. It is so inspirational to know that you can change your fate, regardless of what kind of circumstances you were born into. It is also inspirational to know that the money my parents had for whole month while raising me, I make that in half an hour.

I don’t blame them. They did the best they knew. It was a hard time after the ruining of Soviet Union, Georgia was a mess.

They have my huge respect and love because regardless of all the hardships they managed to raise me into the person I am today and I like to think that I am pretty cool.

[Anonymous]

It blows my mind how people don’t think privilege exists. Some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouths and live lives that are so good they are blinded to those who are struggling or are in poor situations. It’s either a belief that comes from a lack of exposure, or lack of empathy or just pure naivety.

[Gummy_Cluster]

No one believes it doesn't exist. You just fell into the trap.

[notwoke]

i grew up poor and that drove me to try hard and now I'm rich. I'm glad I grew up "without" but I did have loving (but poor) parents who nurtured me and forced me to focus on education. Most of the wealthier kids I went to school with have not done as well as I have due to "less pressure". Privilege is having two parents that aren't idiots and are tough on you. This bullshit you speak of is a head fake excuse and another way to try to blame racism when none exists so we don't have to face "the painful truth"

[ChefPapiChulo]

LOL WHAT? The OP didn’t even mention racism.

[notwoke]

@ChefPapiChulo the privilege argument is always tied to justification of more outragsous ideas to give blacks some kind of free ride

[ChefPapiChulo]

you are on drugs.

[richardcory]

Its possible for someone to know a problem exists without having experienced it themselves. But its true that some people who grew up affluent don't understand the issues of poverty.

The opposite direction is also true. Someone who has lived in poverty may have a very distorted vision of wealth. I grew up fairly poor and my family had a very inaccurate idea of wealth and power. They thought wealth came from having some sort of "angle". They also didn't recognize the difference between fancy car wealth, biz-jet wealth and buy-a-senator wealth. Those are very different things.

[Johnny4473]

1. Because most "woke" groups privilege as an association with guilt.
2. My parents were damn poor, my mom studied using pencils and pages found in lost and found. My dad worled in a tea stall. Now we are economically good, but doesn't mean we are guilty we worked damn hard to get where we are.

3. What exactly are you supposed to do about your "privilege "? Am i supposed to go back to living below the poverty line? No?

[Anonymous]

When you're a Republican these days, in the USA, you believe that if you're born into poverty, you somehow deserved it. I can't speak for the rest of the world, but I can observe their behavior and it's fucking despicable, for the most part. Obviously, not every individual Republican is like that, but it's certainly a characteristic of those in party leadership positions.

[Gummy_Cluster]

I'm a conservative Republican, living on a shoestring budget. I've been working since I was 10 years old. I would never call myself poor, because I feel lucky to have a roof over my head. Cry me a river, you liberal anon crybaby.

[Opinion Owner]

@Gummy_Cluster I'm glad you have a roof over your head. Lot's of folks don't. I'm fortunate enough that I don't have to prioritize money, but I'm not rich either, nor am I crying. I'm just telling you facts about how the leadership of the Republican Party views poor people. They don't really give a shit if you're R or D. If you're poor, your only use to them is to vote them in.

Been working since you were ten - because you had to right? Just like 75% of the people in the USA have had to. Would you like a medal, or a chest to pin it on? Maybe both? Republican policies won't do SHIT to help you, they just make the rich more wealthy. You're not on their radar unless you make $200k or more.

But the sad part is how you ignorantly deflect to this: " liberal anon crybaby" . You simply prove you don't understand the meaning of liberal. You also seem too blind to understand this:
When you're POOR or LOW INCOME, your personal political affiliation doesn't mean shit because poor is poor, no matter WHO is in office.

Oh, and the reason I went anon is because the poster is anon. That's my method.

[Gummy_Cluster]

I agree with you about going anon when the poster is anon. But don't blame one political party for what the establishment wants. The only reason Trump was hated, was because he wasn't establishment. When Trump was running the first time, he created 600 jobs by just picking up the phone. Bernie criticized him for the number only being 600. What kind of a loser would you have to be, to criticize a guy for creating 600 jobs? How many jobs has Bernie created? Zero?

Jo Jo the moronic clown has let in 5 million illegals, and many are in 5 star hotels. So spare me your anti-Republican crap. How is flooding the market with illegals going to help your cause of caring about poor Americans?

[Opinion Owner]

@Gummy_Cluster You HAVE to be kidding me. You really HAVE to be, because this comment is so naive it's unbelievable: " The only reason Trump was hated, was because he wasn't establishment."
Trump was not a life time politician, but he was AS ESTABLISHMENT as you can possibly get. LOL
Did you know he was once a Democrat? Not once, but twice. LOL He jumped parties when it suited him. He contributed to Dems, he contributed to Repubs. I realized this happened before you were born, but you don't know anything about him except a few talking points.

Trump is despised for a list that's so long it takes pages on the internet. But of all the shit he's done, the WORST thing is right in front of your eyes, and you refuse -- absolutely refuse - to see it. Trump has put himself above the law. He mocks the Constitution and the rule of Law, claiming he is the only true freedom while doing it. He does this NOT because he has a grand plan, but because his narcissism rules his actions, and all of those acts are congruent with authoritarianism.

Try and stick to the subject at hand, which was poverty - NOT illegals, not immigration, not Biden, not even Trump. You're a foolish girl for only 23, re-spewing Fox talking points and misinformation AS IF you've ever researched a single thing you say? You can very easily be the next MTG or Huckleberry Sanders if you're not careful.
When Trump was running the first time, he created 600 jobs by just picking up the phone.

[Opinion Owner]

and which 600 jobs would that be?

[Gummy_Cluster]

Sorry I bothered. No, I had no idea that Trump was a Dem and went to Hillary and Bill's wedding. Thanks for sharing. Good bye.

[Opinion Owner]

@Gummy_Cluster The lesson here is to know wtf you're talking about before you open the flap trap. I didn't "share" anything that isn't public knowledge or history.

[Gummy_Cluster]

Coward. LOL Frightened little mouse that won't come out from hiding.

[Opinion Owner]

@Gummy_Cluster You know what it means to assume, perhaps? I go anon when the poster is anon. That's my policy. Like it or hate it, I don't care. At least I know my information, which is more than I can say for you.

[Gummy_Cluster]

Click the three dots and change your anon to non-anon. It ain't hard to do. Heck, even a chicken could do it.

[Opinion Owner]

@Gummy_Cluster I would consider that if it were your question, but it's not. On top of which, I don't really want to continue talking to you as your focus is on "who I am" rather than YOU having a clue about your subject matter. You've already proven your willingness to speak without knowledge, make irrelevant points (your reference to Bernie), or offer ridiculously stupid opinions that are debunked the moment they leave your lips - ("The only reason Trump was hated, was because he wasn't establishment.").

So you'll just have to accept that I'm but one of many on here who knows what a truly sick asshat Trump is, and what an incompetent President he was, and that arguing with Trumptards like yourself, is a total waste of my time.

[gorydetails]

You have a 96% chance of getting into the middle class if you graduate high school, wait until you are married and at least 21 to have children, and work full time.

[Dargil]

That, Karen, is an unsupported assumption.