Throughout the article the author stresses how privilege is connected, meaning that the privilege someone has in return means someone else has a lack of that privilege. “This means that privilege is always a problem for people who don’t have it and for people who do, because privilege is always in relation to others” (Johnson 10). The author’s goal of mentioning this concept is to increase accountability in everyone, and to get away from the notion that this issue doesn’t affect me personally. Acknowledging privilege can have a real impact, for example a company hiring more women and people of color to positions of power which can help lower some of the consequences of lack of privilege.
Another concept discussed is how privilege is ignored and avoided because it is considered “uncomfortable” to talk about . “Ignoring privilege keeps us in a state of unreality, by promoting the illusion that difference by itself is the problem”. When privilege is not talked about it only makes the issue build on itself by making it seem like less of an issue, and creating a further divide by members of different groups. When I am a teacher I believe it will be important to address how everyone has individual differences, and learn each student as an individual and understand their backgrounds to factor into how I educate them.
