What is Privilege?

What does privilege mean to you?
Inspired by a BuzzFeed video, VTV volunteer Issa Ammari put together this activity for Vanier students.

[Samuels]

I'm black and gay and the buzzfeed privilege test said that I'm quite privileged and I got a good score.

[billsimms]

So stuff like this is why I hear so many young people striving to be part of a marginalized group or trying to claim they are oppressed? This is very toxic and benefits no one. Who thinks of nonsense like this?

[MikeHermo]

This video is proof that we are all subject to unequal examples of privilege that may not be perfectly in line with our skin colour. Yet we hear about nothing other than skin colour from the media.

[carson]

wow who knew being able to find olive hair products was privilege

[sgracem]

I think the problem with this is that it focuses on identity politics. Instead of asking a wide variety of the questions that give people REAL privileges they ask questions aimed towards specific, generalized groups that are focused on in the media. There are a lot of privileges in the world that have nothing to do with these specific groups and if you do not come up with questions that are not specifically aimed towards a certain range of people there is no way that this is accurate.

[timarnold]

It is a privilege to have lived in a time that news media was relatively objective and free of cultural and political bias. It is a privilege that my impoverished upbringing, helped me to be compassionate to the less fortunate, and understand the value of hard work. It is a privilege that I leaned at 12 years old that teaching a person to catch fish is better than being compelled to hand them some of my fish every day.

It is a privilege to have the ability to turn this tripe off at will and not be physically forced to endure this emotive drivel.

[chapatucupcake]

if they ended up in the position they were, it is because of their own culture, religion, community, how they were raised and if their parents gave them a good education at home.

[vnar]

Another tittle for this video : How to separate a country from within.

[gnibs]

When I watch this video, I see it illustrates the same thing that many of the privilege videos illustrate. What you are promoting is divisive. Focusing on any and every thing that I have faced in life that someone else may not have, isolates me, and/or everyone. This is illustrated in this exercise by how at the beginning, the members of the group were that, a GROUP; together, with each other holding each others' hands. But as we beat on everything that one person had to suffer and another person didn't have to suffer...it only isolated EVERYONE. They started out holding hands, but your divisive focus drove them so far apart they physically could not hold hands anymore. That very result shows how this kind of mindset and focus benefits no one. It just further isolates everyone.

[michaelcitrenbaum]

The problem I have with the privilege ladder by demographic is that any of the groups can have significant issues:
I.e. white men have the highest suicide rate
-I don’t think telling an entire group they’re privileged does nothing for society and does nothing for those with a rough life.
With that said I’m not gonna blindly say that certain groups make more money or have subtle advantages (that I dont think matter that much)

[che]

The questions are bias and BS. For example "If you ever had to change your mannerisms to gain credibility, take a step back." Umm, YES, we all expect a minimal degree of polite mannerism to take others seriously. What a joke!!!

[Nelson_]

People get so triggered in the comment section with this type of social experiments. Please, see it as way for individuals to realize their own privilege and to empathize with the struggles and challenges that others may face for things that you probably don't.

[jennifercorbett]

What is privilege?
Something that went away years ago.

[becky_see]

such a powerful video!! Thank you so much for posting!!

[fischerpilne]

1:35 to 1:39 - Those few seconds capture the essence of this video.

[auntiebunnyshow]

It’s knowing enuf to be gracious to all your fellow creatures

[wedgemahalo]

The residents are indeed running the insane asylum.

[etta]

according to this, Michelle Obama would be at the back, and a homeless white man at the front

Update: The way I was 13 and dumb as bricks when I wrote this comment. I'm legit so embarrassed. Black lives matter.

[trainosaurousrex]

Seems to me that some of these guys don’t understand the difference between rights and privileges

[dedaoff]

"Inspired by a BuzzFeed vide" ... well, I'm glad I read the description before clicking Play.