[clug] Open Source Software's Dirty Little Secret

[Sam Couter]

Jacinta Richardson <jarich at perltraining.com.au> wrote:
> PS:  Daniel mentioned some privileges.  Understanding the privileges you have
> can be quite confronting, but I have certainly found the following links to be
> helpful:
> 
> * White privilege:
> http://womenscreativecollective.org/blog/2009/01/white-privilege-unpacking-the-invisible-knapsack/
> 
> * Male privilege:
> http://www.amptoons.com/blog/the-male-privilege-checklist/
> 
> * Heterosexual privilege
> http://www.cs.earlham.edu/%7Ehyrax/personal/files/student_res/straightprivilege.htm

The preamble in those links talk about whites/males/straights having
privileges because blacks/women/homosexuals are discriminated against,
and therefore whites/males/straights are better off in comparison. But
then I see the lists of supposed privileges, and when I read them I
don't think most of them are privileges at all because they are pretty
basic human rights that everybody should expect.

It makes me sad and a bit angry that some classes of people still have to
face the kind of discrimination in those lists, but I don't see that I,
a member of all three privileged classes, have anything to lose by
eliminating such discrimination. Your freedom to exercise your basic
human rights doesn't infringe my right to exercise mine. I guess I
disagree with this idea of privilege as I've seen it so far (just those
three links).

I don't see a zero-sum game when it comes to privilege and ending these
kinds of discrimination. Am I doing it wrong?
-- 
Sam Couter         |  mailto:sam at couter.id.au
OpenPGP fingerprint:  A46B 9BB5 3148 7BEA 1F05  5BD5 8530 03AE DE89 C75C
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