Clearly, I am Privileged (and probably you too)

My status and station in life.

I thought of it mostly as gift, grace, surprise, and maybe even achievement (through a lot of happenstance to be sure).

But privilege?

Ouch. I want to object, to that accusing tone….

Yet it is so much in the air that I feel culpable: I belong to the majority race in my country, I am a graduate, I drive, and so forth…

But am I? I guess I am.

But why does it automatically make me responsible for oppression and violence?

I may not seek to do others harm, but as I embrace the reality that I have some privilege, I come to see that just because of the socio-economic space I occupy, I may have caused hurt to others. My entire way of life, if it predicates on someone else working in poor conditions or props up unsustainable chains, is a form of violence and oppression.

Our interconnectedness is a very sobering reality.

In my daily interactions, there have certainly been times when I have been a snob and been completely insensitive to someone else’s reality.

Yes, my way of life is undoubtedly middle-class (lower). I, therefore, use more resources than my poorer peers for sure. I am also more informed, aware, and…