After four years at the University of Wisconsin and 18 years before that as a child of two American parents, I?ve heard the word ?privilege? with a steady degree of regularity. Its use starts as a warning like, ?Having your toy is a privilege, not a right,? and in an academic setting evolves something much more indicting; for example: ?You are the embodiment of white privilege.? The mere use of the word makes most people chafe and immediately begin to defend themselves from a perceived assault on their character or their own group identity.
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