firecat

I agree with what the following post says about privilege.

http://community.livejournal.com/debunkingwhite/794697.html

The post does not explain how it all works, it just explains the general shape of it.

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From: (Anonymous)

I'm physically disabled -- not invisibly so, but not always very obviously, either, so that sometimes to other people it can look like I WON'T do something when in fact it's more that I CAN'T.

Sometimes I get tired of the occasional sigh of impatience because I can't go somewhere or do something (making planning harder), or the assumption some people have made that my disability issue means I can't or don't want to have sex, or the occasional assumption that because I walk funny, I'm stupid or incompetent, people being all weird about the fact that I have to say "maybe" to most social invitations, or any one of a million other assumptions that people make on a daily basis about me that I can't ignore and can't escape.

Many people are great about being "sensitive" until they'll in a hurry or my disability is suddenly inconvenient. It's understandable that people might feel or wonder or do such things, but I get tired of feeling as if I have to shut my mouth about the phenomenon, thus my anonymity here. Some of my friends feel quite comfortable talking with each other in front of me about a different lack of privilege that they share and I don't. Occasionally the irony is deafening.

One of the things that people seem to focus on, when you're disabled, is "how well you cope" and "how strong you are", "managing despite all the obstacles" etc. etc. ad nauseum. (And if someone pulls out the fucking spoon theory, one of the most abused analogies ever, I'm going to scream, grab a fork, and start jabbing wildly. Or shove a spoon up someone's ass. Seriously, yammer blithely about utensils all you like, if you had to use the spoon theory to get it, you actually don't. I know you mean well and you're trying, but shaddup, ok?)

So yeah, the part about no privilege being more important than any other one really hits home for me.

P.S. Goodness, I'm an angry gimp, aren't I? :>