Show and Tell post 1

The whole idea of how each and every one of us is privileged in one way or another really intrigued me.  I never thought about just how many privileges I have and how I take just about all of them for granted.  In Gianpiero Petriglieri’s blog “Privilege: A User’s Guide” (located at http://blogs.hbr.org/hbsfaculty/2012/01/privilege-a-users-guide.html), he states, “I have a wonderful family and good friends.”  I never once considered having a family and friends to be a privilege, but it truly is.  Having family and friends is a precious gift that can be taken from us in an instant either by death or simply because distance severs the relationship between you and the ones you love.  There are many people in the world who are all alone.  They have no family to run to when they need help or want to celebrate a holiday or special occasion.  They have no friends to call when they need a shoulder to cry on or someone to go out and have fun with. 

Petriglieri also states, “I am healthy, educated and well-travelled.”  I also have not thought about health and education as a privilege.  It is a privilege that I was able to graduate high school and to attend this university and hopefully go on to grad school.  These opportunities will allow me to better my life in the future and provide a better home environment for my own family where my children will have the same opportunities I had.  

Also in Petriglieri’s blog, he mentions that he feels ashamed of his privileges.  There are certain instances where I realized I have been privileged in a certain way and I, too, feel ashamed because I can see how others who do not have the same privileges as me are treated unfairly.  Some of the privileges that we have are out of our control.  I cannot control that I was born a white female and therefore have certain privileges that someone not of the same race or gender as me does not have and vice versa.

Petriglieri says that we should recognize our privileges, accept its price, forget where it came from, and to use it well and wisely.  By “accept its price”, he means to recognize what it will take to make the most out of that privilege.  He explains the reason to “forget where it came from” as, “When you spend your life trying to prove that you deserved your privilege, or trying to hoard and protect it, you waste it.”  You can use privilege well by using the power it gives you to shape norms and make a change which will in turn expand the privilege to others.  From reading his blog, I have realized that I am truly blessed and privileged and I need to make the most of the opportunities given to me, as should everyone else with their own privileges.