The Myth of White Male Privilege

Kentucky coal miner. Image source: National Archives and Records Administration

One thing I hear a lot from people in the social justice movement is a demand that straight white men like me both acknowledge and check our privilege. These demands are based on bad thinking.

The first problem with this thinking is that (get ready for it SJWs) it enforces a socially constructed privilege binary that doesn't reflect reality. It says that there are only two conditions that a person can occupy in American society. You are either oppressed, or you're privileged. There's no middle ground for people who go through life without suffering any special oppression or enjoying any special privilege. It's one or the other.