If the size fits:
(Living in a white-centered world)
Imagine being born in a city that caters to specific needs.
It is primarily designed for people who are size 2 and the other sizes spend their lives fighting for change or fighting to fit in.
1. From the day you are born, it is assumed that you will fit into size 2. You attend school and the benches in the classroom are made for you. If you're bigger than that you are relegated to the back of the classroom where there are a few benches that can accommodate you and others who are your size. Because the majority of people are not size 2, the benches at the back are full and you find yourself sitting uncomfortably for your entire school career.
2: You go out and buy clothing and most stores in the city cater to people who are size 2. After visiting almost all the clothing stores, you find one that sells clothes that fit you. Unfortunately, the store doesn't have a big variety and you're compelled to choose ill-fitting clothes and because it's not "common," it is made from a material whose quality is questionable.
3. You want to buy a car and most car dealers sell small cars you can't get into. You spend days looking for a car that you can fit into and the only ones you eventually find are used and not mechanically sound.
4. You scour the employment section looking for work and as you look at the ads most companies' criteria are that you need to be size 2 to work there. You're qualified for the positions advertised except one. You can't apply though because furniture, doors, passages, and toilets are not designed to accommodate you. Disheartened, you wonder if you will ever find work. After months of looking you see an ad that offers employment for all sizes so you apply. The problem is that so many people who aren't sized 2 also applied and the chances of you being selected are slim.
5. You enter a bank wanting a home loan. To qualify for the loan and to get the best rates, you must be size 2 because the banks have decided that people who are not that size are not entitled to receive favourable rates. There is an option to finance your home that has much higher interest rates and from sheer desperation, you accept it because you need a home.
6. Your car breaks down and for a month you need to use public transport to get around. The busses and taxis are primarily equipped for people that are size 2 only.
You wonder why the city you live in does nothing to cater to those who aren't sized 2. You look around and realize that the majority of people need schooling, businesses, banking institutions, bars, restaurants, etc need to revise their criteria as most people living there are not size 2.
What do you do once this is discovered? Do you continue to be oblivious to what's happening or lobby for change to accommodate all sizes?
It infuriates you when you learn that years ago this city you live in catered for all sizes until a few people who were size 2 decided to change everything.
This is an analogy of white privilege and has nothing to do with "fat shaming," but is written to illustrate how the world is designed to cater to the needs of a minority people and how difficult and frustrating it becomes when you "don't fit in," to the standard set by a select few.
If you are "size 2" it requires you to look around you and understand that the "city" you live in doesn't offer all its residents the same thing.
White privilege is not wealth privilege!
White privilege means that you can go anywhere, do anything, etc and you will discover that the world accommodates and welcomes you because of the colour of your skin. That the world has been designed to cater to your needs and even if you are poor that your poverty is not a result of your skin colour.
"If you want to make changes in the world, you're going to have to be there day after day doing the boring, straightforward work of getting a couple of people interested and building a slightly bigger organization and carrying out the next move and suffering frustration and finally getting somewhere. That's how the world changes."
- Noam Chomsky
