Ever since the election in November, with Donald Trump winning a majority of electoral college, there has been one word that is thrown around on a consistent basis: privilege. As someone who is terrible with vocabulary, I had to ask a few times what exactly is privilege and what does it mean. While the dictionary defines privilege as a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people, in simple terms, privilege means that anybody has the luxury to do anything they can and want to do.
The inspiration to think about privilege comes from another content creator on Odyssey, from Arkansas, about why she is against free tuition as a college student. As it was posted on Facebook, she mentions how college is a privilege. I was thinking about sharing this article on Facebook just because I agree with most of the points mentioned, but decided against it. I still do not understand what privilege is, the same way that people fighting this do. After having an educational discussion with a friend, I understand a little better of what privilege is.
To respond to the creator who points out that college is a privilege, yes it is a privilege. While I do have a newfound belief of working my way to get what I want, there is a difficulty with understanding for those with different circumstances. While I do believe in bettering the way education is in certain areas, there is a concern in the area of whether the reason to need a specific resource is legitimate. It is similar to Social Security; most people need to have Social Security because of certain circumstances, such as disability and mental illnesses, but there are some who have Social Security who abuse it.
If college is free, people would very likely take advantage of it. While working your way is simply a method to understand better of the reality ahead, getting everything your way means that you believe that you can get what you want. Free college isn’t the answer to providing our society with education. There needs to be more work with the resources that are needed in any and every scenario that comes to mind.
I am obviously privileged and was used to getting things my way; somehow that came to an end when I was 20 and lost everything I have had from a hurricane. Ever since that day, I learned to be grateful for what I have and understand the reality of things. It has definitely been tough to think with the mindset of having to work my way, but it is also helpful because of understanding the reality that exists outside of the places that are known to be “safe.”
Privilege is thrown around too often, and there should be much less of throwing the term around. What we do need to understand concerning the topic of privilege is the fact that there are certain circumstances, and how we should be better in providing the resources that those who cannot afford anything really need.
