Coming across this article at an earlier more disaffected point in my life would likely have just pushed me towards the MRA side of things and away from what the author wanted.
> And then the dog just ignores it. Because he can. That’s the privilege that comes with having fur, with being a dog in Ohio. He doesn’t have to think about it. He doesn’t have to live daily with the cold. He has no idea what he’s talking about, and he will never, ever be forced to learn. He can keep making the lizard miserable until the day they both die, and he will never suffer for it beyond the mild annoyance of her complaining. And she, meanwhile, gets to try not to freeze to death.
This paragraph in particular is just calling me out directly as a clueless white male. And the next sentence just basically says be better, believe people. I’m not sure who the audience is that this is going to land for that needs to hear it.
Privilege is of course a real thing but, the discourse around it is entirely one sided. There is feminine privilege and black privilege, but if you’re a young man you won’t ever see any discourse regarding privilege framed in that manner even if they’re plainly apparent to you. The author only brings up male lack of sexual attention to demonstrate how oblivious men are to women’s issues.
In my opinion bringing up the concept of privilege does very little to further the significantly more important underlying progressive values of empathy compassion and understanding. Telling men they’re bad and clueless isn’t the way to way to win them over to progressivism.
This isn’t just limited to the concept of privilege but is pervasive through the progressive discourse and is why it appears young men are flocking to red pill and conservatism in droves.
The struggle I have having many white male friends who express their particular struggles that I might even agree with are a problem is that 1) Many of the expressed issues are problems brought about by them that I can't do anything about. Literally. They need to get their own camp to change it 2) where #1 doesn't apply, I find that they're not willing to take part any kind of advocacy work. Even just, you know, speaking plainly that this sucks and I hate it. Why did I have to pull this knowledge of out you. The struggle of other groups is well known even if they are berated for having that struggle. 3) Often times, when #2 doesn't apply they get upset that people don't immediately fix it. And then I get to look like thr asshole who points out that other groups take a decade to accomplish one agenda item. You trying once isn't gonna cut it.
It's not that I'm not sympathetic, but it just feels like my white male friends really disregard the timeline of how these rights other groups fought for came about. That's part of the privilege of the dominant culture used to having their wants tended to in a year or two, not over a generation.
> And then the dog just ignores it. Because he can. That’s the privilege that comes with having fur, with being a dog in Ohio. He doesn’t have to think about it. He doesn’t have to live daily with the cold. He has no idea what he’s talking about, and he will never, ever be forced to learn. He can keep making the lizard miserable until the day they both die, and he will never suffer for it beyond the mild annoyance of her complaining. And she, meanwhile, gets to try not to freeze to death.
This paragraph in particular is just calling me out directly as a clueless white male. And the next sentence just basically says be better, believe people. I’m not sure who the audience is that this is going to land for that needs to hear it.
Privilege is of course a real thing but, the discourse around it is entirely one sided. There is feminine privilege and black privilege, but if you’re a young man you won’t ever see any discourse regarding privilege framed in that manner even if they’re plainly apparent to you. The author only brings up male lack of sexual attention to demonstrate how oblivious men are to women’s issues.
In my opinion bringing up the concept of privilege does very little to further the significantly more important underlying progressive values of empathy compassion and understanding. Telling men they’re bad and clueless isn’t the way to way to win them over to progressivism.
This isn’t just limited to the concept of privilege but is pervasive through the progressive discourse and is why it appears young men are flocking to red pill and conservatism in droves.