Snowguy's better privilege index

[Ban my account ffs!]

If you are male, add one point.

If you are straight, add one point.

If you come from a rich country, add one point.

If you belong to the majority race/culture in your country, add one point.

If your household income, including support from others, is below $50,000, add zero points.  Add one point if it is between $50k and $100k.  Add one additional point for each $50k above $100k.  Non-Americans please use your currency equivalent and explain if your total is different.

A straight, white, American Christian male making $150,000/year would have 6 points.  A straight, white, American Christian male making $300,000/year would have 9 points.

[Goldwater]

5.

[TNF]

3.

Household income is less of an indicator of class than what it is you actually do for a living. There are factory workers who bring home $80K every year (on account of lots of overtime, mostly) but they're certainly not 'privileged' in politics, in media coverage, etc.

[Ban my account ffs!]

3.

Household income is less of an indicator of class than what it is you actually do for a living. There are factory workers who bring home $80K every year (on account of lots of overtime, mostly) but they're certainly not 'privileged' in politics, in media coverage, etc.

And they would get one point for it.  If you're middle class, you have some privilege.  That factory worker still has it much better than another white dude making $25,000/year.

[All Along The Watchtower]

3.

Household income is less of an indicator of class than what it is you actually do for a living. There are factory workers who bring home $80K every year (on account of lots of overtime, mostly) but they're certainly not 'privileged' in politics, in media coverage, etc.

And they would get one point for it.  If you're middle class, you have some privilege.  That factory worker still has it much better than another white dude making $25,000/year.

Meh...not that much better. They still have to work in order to survive, and let's be honest....they likely have little to no financial assets or other wealth, other than maybe their home. They are still highly dependent upon their employer.

And besides, I'm not sure that pointing out to factory workers making $80k how privileged they are compared to other working class people is helpful for anyone. Well, maybe for the factory owners.

[Boston Bread]

4

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

5 or 6. My dad sells trucks for a living, and he has a niche in his "rent a parking space" business.

[TNF]

3.

Household income is less of an indicator of class than what it is you actually do for a living. There are factory workers who bring home $80K every year (on account of lots of overtime, mostly) but they're certainly not 'privileged' in politics, in media coverage, etc.

And they would get one point for it.  If you're middle class, you have some privilege.  That factory worker still has it much better than another white dude making $25,000/year.

That's not how class works. A factory worker is not middle class no matter how much money he makes. A middle class person is someone who has some degree of responsibility for managing the work of other people, has at least partial (if not total) control over his or her work, and/or is some kind of independent professional, like a lawyer or a doctor. A factory worker does not manage other workers, he or she does not have very much (if any) control over his or her work, and is not an independent professional. He or she is working class unless he or she gets promoted to a managerial position.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Someone making $80k/year has more privilege than someone making $40k/year...period.  I suspect only people with substantially more privilege might not know the magnitude of difference between 40 and 80 thousand per year.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

"straight", white, American "male" with a household income of between 50 and 100k with no religous identity. 5 points.

[Ban my account ffs!]

3.

Household income is less of an indicator of class than what it is you actually do for a living. There are factory workers who bring home $80K every year (on account of lots of overtime, mostly) but they're certainly not 'privileged' in politics, in media coverage, etc.

And they would get one point for it.  If you're middle class, you have some privilege.  That factory worker still has it much better than another white dude making $25,000/year.

That's not how class works. A factory worker is not middle class no matter how much money he makes. A middle class person is someone who has some degree of responsibility for managing the work of other people, has at least partial (if not total) control over his or her work, and/or is some kind of independent professional, like a lawyer or a doctor. A factory worker does not manage other workers, he or she does not have very much (if any) control over his or her work, and is not an independent professional. He or she is working class unless he or she gets promoted to a managerial position.

Ill be sure to let those Cuban doctors know how much more privileged they are than Samuel Wuerzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber.

[TNF]

Someone making $80k/year has more privilege than someone making $40k/year...period.  I suspect only people with substantially more privilege might not know the magnitude of difference between 40 and 80 thousand per year.

Income is a factor in determining class position, but it is not the sole, defining factor. A factory worker making $80K per year is not a member of the same class as a lawyer or doctor making the same. The fact that both may make the same amount of money is irrelevant to the social circles that both occupy, the opportunities available to them and their children, where they live, etc.

3.

Household income is less of an indicator of class than what it is you actually do for a living. There are factory workers who bring home $80K every year (on account of lots of overtime, mostly) but they're certainly not 'privileged' in politics, in media coverage, etc.

And they would get one point for it.  If you're middle class, you have some privilege.  That factory worker still has it much better than another white dude making $25,000/year.

That's not how class works. A factory worker is not middle class no matter how much money he makes. A middle class person is someone who has some degree of responsibility for managing the work of other people, has at least partial (if not total) control over his or her work, and/or is some kind of independent professional, like a lawyer or a doctor. A factory worker does not manage other workers, he or she does not have very much (if any) control over his or her work, and is not an independent professional. He or she is working class unless he or she gets promoted to a managerial position.

Ill be sure to let those Cuban doctors know how much more privileged they are than Samuel Wuerzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber.

You can't exactly compare Cuban doctors and American plumbers because private property as an institution is limited in scope in Cuba and capitalism not the way by which Cuban society organizes production. The relationship of one person to the production process is what defines what particular class position that they occupy, not arbitrary income brackets developed by the IRS.

[Del Tachi]

8 points.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Class and income are very highly correlated so, as I said, the $80k factory worker gets one more point than a white dude working at Taco Bell.

Sure...he's not management but he's probably living a substantially similar lifestyle at this point.  When I was working in basically a factory, the managers were hardly some privileged overclass.  Now their bosses were privileged...and this index would capture that with the income scale.

[RR1997]

I am a straight, American, male of Asian-Indian ethnicity, and the religion I adhere to his Hinduism. My dad makes about $300,000 a year.

My score: 8

Not bad (insert Obama face).

[Ban my account ffs!]

I am a straight, American, male of Asian-Indian ethnicity, and the religion I adhere to his Hinduism. My dad makes about $300,000 a year.

My score: 8

Not bad (insert Obama face).

My scale captures your privilege despite you being an ethnic and religious minority.  You might get sh**t for your religion but you can call for help on your brand new iPhone.

[anvi]

5.

[Gustaf]

I'm not sure how Americans usually do these figures - is this after tax? And also since I no longer live with my parents I assume I count only my own income right?

[RR1997]

I am a straight, American, male of Asian-Indian ethnicity, and the religion I adhere to his Hinduism. My dad makes about $300,000 a year.

My score: 8

Not bad (insert Obama face).

My scale captures your privilege despite you being an ethnic and religious minority.  You might get sh**t for your religion but you can call for help on your brand new iPhone.

Actually most people I know don't really even care about my religion, but I guess you have a point when you say that I'm really privileged for an ethnic and religious minority. Indian-Americans tend to be the wealthiest ethnic group in America, so..

#brownprivilege

[bedstuy]

I don't think this whole idea makes any sense.  Particularly, race is not like class.  Class is not like sexual orientation.  Sexual orientation is not like race.  Comparing them along the same dimension via points is just blatantly stupid. 

When people talk about privilege, it's generally pretty nauseating.  It's as if we're all supposed to apologize to people who have it worse than us and stress the negative aspects of being different.  For me, I like being myself, both that myself means being a white, Apple pie eating, football watching American and a Jewish, atheist, homosexual.  Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way so saying I get a point for being different doesn't track with me.

The things that actually matter are money, health and happiness, and the status of those things for your family and friends.  So, if I made one of these lists, it would mostly be about the unfair impediments on those things. 

[traininthedistance]

It's as if we're all supposed to apologize to people who have it worse than us and stress the negative aspects of being different.

That's... uh, really not actually what it's about?

Old post, but worth repeating as it frames the issue in a way that I couldn't improve if I tried:

What's a white kid supposed to do about white privilege?  They can't not be white.  

Recognize that being white carries with it certain advantages in a historically racist society and be aware of those advantages when interacting with people in marginalized groups and listening to their opinions and viewpoints. Recognize that everyone, white or black, has certain racist assumptions ingrained in them simply by living and growing up in our society and do your best to not be racist in interactions with others.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Not make jokes like "No means yes, yes means anal." Not turn the prison rape epidemic into a punchline. Understand what consent is and make sure your partners are giving and able to give full consent before having sexual relations.

People hear terms like privilege and rape culture and think those terms are meant to punish them or force them to apologize for doing something wrong (like this Tal kid proudly refuses to). They're not, and social justice people who use the terms that way are wrong to do so. The point is to make people think about their, often subconscious, assumptions.

I'm sure that some uses of the term are counterproductive, but the concept does have merit when used judiciously.

[bedstuy]

It's as if we're all supposed to apologize to people who have it worse than us and stress the negative aspects of being different.

That's... uh, really not actually what it's about?

Old post, but worth repeating as it frames the issue in a way that I couldn't improve if I tried:

What's a white kid supposed to do about white privilege?  They can't not be white.  

Recognize that being white carries with it certain advantages in a historically racist society and be aware of those advantages when interacting with people in marginalized groups and listening to their opinions and viewpoints. Recognize that everyone, white or black, has certain racist assumptions ingrained in them simply by living and growing up in our society and do your best to not be racist in interactions with others.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Not make jokes like "No means yes, yes means anal." Not turn the prison rape epidemic into a punchline. Understand what consent is and make sure your partners are giving and able to give full consent before having sexual relations.

People hear terms like privilege and rape culture and think those terms are meant to punish them or force them to apologize for doing something wrong (like this Tal kid proudly refuses to). They're not, and social justice people who use the terms that way are wrong to do so. The point is to make people think about their, often subconscious, assumptions.

I'm sure that some uses of the term are counterproductive, but the concept does have merit when used judiciously.

If you just want to say, have empathy for other people, you won't get any disagreement from me.  That's one of the most important aspects of being a kind, good human being.  That's a better formulation in my opinion:  have empathy for other people. 

Because, it's a two way street.  I want straight people to have empathy for gay people and I want gay people to have empathy for straight people.  And, I also accept that we're all disadvantaged in ways that aren't unfair or morally wrong.  I don't get to have children as easily as you can, it's just the facts of life.  The question is whether it's fair or unfair, not whether you have things better. 

And, that's another angle on this, jealousy.  You shouldn't get bent out of shape or jealous when other people are better off in some way.  If someone is bigger and stronger than you based on genetics, that's just the way it is.  If someone works harder than you and they make more money, that's totally fine.  It's destructive to constantly compare yourself to other people and demand that you get the same results and advantages in life.  Have empathy and make things fair, fine.  But, the framework of picking apart society for subtle "privilege," I don't see the point unless there's something unfair or wrong about why that inequality or difference exists.

[The Dowager Mod]

Darn, my lack of a penis kept me from getting a 9.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

Male +1, Rich country +1, bit over $100K in family income +2


So 4 lolz

[Frodo]

Three (straight male born in a rich country).

Also, by income, is this after-tax?  In which case I am well below $50,000.00.