Why is a privilege check so terrible?

Re: “Prattle about privilege should be thrown on the pop-culture junk pile,” Naomi Lakritz, Opinion, April 18.

Naomi Lakritz writes about overhearing one young woman say to another: “I got privilege checked today.” Can I ask with sincere curiosity, why was this so terrible? What exactly did your neighbour “check?” Did you ask them more about it? Why did you feel defensive? Why are you still talking about it, long after it happened?

Those populations that have historically been treated as insignificant (marginalized), subject to unfair rules (oppressed), or excluded from their community or society (ostracized) are finding their voice. We white people are struggling to listen to and acknowledge their truth.

Why? Being privilege checked isn’t necessarily about you. It may be about institutional or societal barriers to equity that we need to consider and address collectively.

It is also important to separate the conversation about privilege from the issue of assessing the “tragediness” of the Humboldt Broncos accident.

Nora Loreto’s comment was not about creating a tragedy ranking scale. It was about her sadness and frustration that she, and many other Canadians, cannot wholeheartedly embrace the shared grief around the incident that was channelled in such an overwhelmingly supportive way.

Because she does not feel all are treated as children like our own. Instead of attacking Loreto, shouldn’t we try to listen and start a conversation with her instead? Kristina Watkins, Calgary