I can do what you can’t - Privilege
Whether it is money, money that enables time to do what you want. Sacrifices, things you can let go or manage to do what you want. Other people’s sacrifice for you to do as you please. Or simply living in a system that does not bother you as it bothers those less fortunate or those it deems inferior, these things are the base of what privilege is. And this day and age these things extend to one ridiculous extent. Because today privilege can mean drinking clean water, eating, managing rent, nevermind owning a home or getting rich. These are things that shouldn’t be privileges, they are human rights considering the excess of wealth and resources we have. But that is not the point of this, the whole ordeal was to set some clear definition to what privilege looks like from my point of view. Yes, it might not be comprehensive or complete, but again, that is not the point. What this hopes to do is to create an understanding, nothing more, nothing less.
To each their own, for those who can afford their own - Privilege
Socializing will bring you around people, some you might like, some you might not. But each of those people might have similar tastes, behaviors, thoughts and wills. If they were to be put on an axis, most of them will have lived similar lives around that line in the middle. This is, of course, tied to the amount of privilege a person has. Which is, of course, tied to what family you are lucky to be born in or where you are lucky or unlucky to be born. As this can vary wildly, even within the same country. Where you can be born poor in the city, but be provided with certain privileges cities bring with them. Or you can be born in a 100 people village two hours from any city without much opportunity. Or even in the same city, it might vary wildly. But, those people you meet will have a choice of what to do with their free time. Whether they are starving or do not have to think about the next month, technically speaking there’s time where you are free to do as you please, in what you can afford. So, people of course, do different things, as they derive pleasures from things you might find disgusting or do not float your boat. So, some choose to binge shows, some choose to work out, some choose to do whatever, but this is also privilege. And the fact that this also belongs to privilege, was the point, but we each choose different things to do with that time.
I chose to know, I chose to think, I chose the privilege of the written words.
As people choose to do whatever in their free time, the writer can do plenty of many things with their privilege. Some construct a world without any thought of the real world, a pure fiction without any ties to how the real world works. Some, like me, use reality to create something different to bring out different ideas and dissect the human behavior in order to turn a mirror to their silly and hurtful behavior. Some, are all in reality, writing non-fiction, getting dirty, getting the facts as close to the events as possible. So, even within the privilege of the writer there are many that choose to do many things in different ways. And we’ve arrived at the point of this. Something people do not think about or choose not to about the writer and his process. That is fine, they do not have to, it is not their job to do so. But I, as a writer, have privileges and I am here to explain those privileges as many see them as simply ego wanting to be better than others. And as disingenuous the next part might sound, it is meant to simply clarify something very simple. And if you please to think about the next part carefully, you might find that what follows is simply something a writer has to do, as it is in their job description.
This is my privilege.
As a writer, I have the privilege of sitting unbothered and research. As a writer, I have the privilege of informing myself about everything and anything at anytime and think those things through for as long as I please. As a writer, I have the privilege to take time to put those thoughts, feelings, ideas down on paper and for as long as I want. As a writer, I have the privilege, to know more than anyone should know, about things that many do not think about, read about or care about. And not that a writer will ever be an expert on any of those things, but a writer has the privilege to know a lot of things, read a lot of things. And due to the fact that a writer creates stories about anything from nothing, can lead them to inform themselves about anything, which leads them to know things. For example, there are over 40 million modern slaves, automobile manufacturers admitted last year that they are keeping the inflated prices for profit, people thought the eyes were projecting light in the past, zoologists have difficulty telling apart the male and female hyenas. And I could probably go on with random facts to give examples, but that is not the point. As this is meant only to showcase the wide variety of things you can know, with the privilege of the writer. This is a small pool, but this is already a long winded post about the privilege I and other writers have. And how the only difference between what we know and what you know, is the choices we make in what we do with our free time. You can apply every single point I made here to doctors, engineers, IT people, mechanics and all other jobs or hobbies where knowing a certain specific thing is needed. Nor is supposed to make anyone feel bad for their choices, writers to not know everything, nor does anyone else, nor maybe should you. This was simply something to show the privilege writers have in their endeavors.