When Privilege Goes Wrong

Sometimes it’s easy when you are struggling to make ends meet or to get access to adequate healthcare and just struggling in general to assume that others especially those often deemed privileged by our culture have it easier. After all if one is wealthy enough or beautiful by society’s standards what struggles could such folks have? Well if there is nothing else that almost 40 years on this planet has taught me is that we all have our crosses or shit to bear and sometimes with great privilege it’s harder to have common sense.

A few days ago the electronic world was abuzz about Alexandra Wallace, she is the UCLA student who was so distraught that her precious study time was being interrupted in the library at her school by Asian students upset about the happenings in Japan, that she thought it was a great idea to make a You Tube video talking shit about Asians. Frankly what she said is juvenile, racist and frankly offensive. After all as someone who could be described as a busty blonde babe, I imagine she would be quite pissed if someone referred to her a bimbo. More important though and what I felt has been lost in this story is just how much privilege Wallace has; so much so that her compassion meter is actually lacking. The reality is if Wallace was annoyed about being disturbed, why couldn’t she get off her ass and go study someplace else? Interestingly enough in her rant she mentions why can’t the Asian students get up and leave the library, well it works two ways. However privilege can blind us and in her case I would say it has.

In other news of privilege gone wrong, we have the New York City mom suing a preschool because they have ruined her four year olds chance at getting into an Ivy League school. Now I have read a few pieces that lead me to believe that perhaps the preschool in question didn’t quite do all it said it was going to do with regards to the kid’s education. While many others have been hung up on the $19,000 a year price tag, hey it’s New York! I have known enough folks who live in New York City to know that such prices tags depending on where you live on the class ladder are just how things are done. So while I would be hard pressed to pay out that kind of cheddar for a four year old, I won’t hold it against the mother.

That said, ruined her chances for an Ivy League? Ummmm, Mama the kid is 4!!! 4 not 14, but 4! Look, I know we live in crazy times, everyone wants the best for their kid but if you are so devastated that your four year olds educational opportunities are ruined for life maybe you need to sit back and think about it. Really. More and more studies are coming out telling us that if we want bright kids maybe we need to sit back and well, let the kids be kids. Ya know that play shit we used to do before we all decided to start plugging our kids into our hectic lifestyles at an even earlier age.

Seriously, it takes a bucket load of confidence and a dumpster load of privilege to declare your kids ticket to the good and privileged life is ruined by age 4. Its really privilege gone wrong.