The Privilege of Looking Away

It’s often somewhat uncomfortable to come to terms with privilege, especially if there are ways that you’re underprivileged. 

So you might want to look away from something that makes you feel uncomfortable, like poverty in India, or the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, or the femicide of a young, white woman that’s gained national attention or all of the missing Native women who have gone without that recognition.

I get it. 

We have bills to pay, work to do, friends to see, and Netflix to binge, and we don’t want to get stuck in a constant spiral of helplessness and tragedy.  

But just recognize that the ability to look away – to ignore something that so viscerally affects and impacts others is privilege at its core. You can look away while others cannot.  

Privilege isn’t something you should be ashamed of. But it is something you need to acknowledge.

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