Privilege


     Over the last few years I've regularly encountered the idea of privilege, and it didn't sit well with me.  I've been told that I'm privileged because I'm white, straight, and middle-class. I'm not severely overweight, I'm a Christian and I'm married.  I struggled with being confronted by these ideas because I know that they're true - but I don't FEEL privileged.  I wake up every day in pain and I've only had two non-migraine days in the last three months.  I am dismissed by the medical community. When I take care of myself by resting or using mobility aids I am looked down on by able-bodied people.  I struggle to find compassion for myself and be able to make the choices to take care of myself because I don't feel that I deserve it. And then I am told that I am privileged.  

    Before today this felt like such a dis.  It felt like my struggles were being minimized and overlooked.  It felt like I was being told that I was a bad person because I had something others didn't.  As I was doing research for this post however, I came across this article: What Privilege Really Means (And Doesn't Mean) – To Clear Up Your Doubts Once and For All - Everyday Feminism (disclaimer: this is the only article I've read from this site and I am not supporting or recommending the whole site). In it, I heard a different perspective, one that said that I need to acknowledge that I am treated differently because of my life circumstances, but I don't need to feel guilty or ashamed of it.  I didn't do anything wrong to be in the place that I am, and there's nothing I can do change it either.  That said, if I do not recognize the privilege I experience or have compassion for those that don't, then I am abusing this privilege and truly doing something wrong. It is my responsibility to advocate for those that do not have the same privileges I do.  The old adage, "Life's not fair," is true, but that doesn't mean we should choose to settle for injustice. 

Here's the thing:  I am privileged.  Yes, I struggle to find a doctor that takes me seriously and is able to help me, but I have access to doctors that most don't.  Yes I am in pain, but I have a husband that supports me financially, physically, and emotionally and so many don't.  I am privileged AND I am not.  

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