I don’t really look that different from a lot of people, most of the people I’ve met don’t even think I’m Polish at first. Things can change a little when they hear my surname or hear where I’ve been on vacation (to family). Sometimes I do have a feeling that some kind of discrimination is in play, job applications being the biggest one. We have a lot of Poles in The Netherlands now, I don’t really have contact with them except when I work with them. Dutch media gave the impression of them being heavy drinkers, let me be the exemption from this as I abstain from alcohol. The behaviours of some of the companies they work for here reminds of some kind of slavery. These companies invite them in because they’re cheap, work fast and don’t complain. And I believe that this kind of behaviour makes my outlook for a job much more grim. This is a big reason why I’d like to travel and perhaps work in different countries.

Right now I feel much closer to my family than I used to, as I managed to get a good grasp of the language. Besides this, I guess they’ve kids who are pretty different as well. Kids who grow up with social media, computers and video games, I guess that made them accept who I am.

So, I’m one of those who listens to different perspectives. I believe history is a good thing for this, as everyone can pick up a book about a different country or a person such as Gandhi or Nelson Mandela. Believe me, read those darn books. They’ll open your world.

I am looking for more information about the origins of the philosophy of privilege and it’s justification as a socio-political concept. For the political left it seems part and parcel of the concept of equality, and ultimately serves the goal of a socialist/communist society. Psychologically I’m not sure it is entirely healthy to think of yourself as inseparable from your parents, your origins, your skin color, or sexual identity, or that your work, merits, and achievements would be diminished or in some cases irrelevant as a result of these cultural identifiers, or how useful it is to discuss identity when evaluating professional work.

While I do believe that the current cultural paradigm should be deconstructed and re-designed, that is based on the Christian Salvation ideology, in my mind the original source of encoded racism, and this is a much more radical idea that would have much more difficulty gaining traction if discussing “privilege” weren’t just a feel-good way of white men patting themselves on the back for acknowledging the lack of representation for minorities.

Like you, I’m a white dude, mid forties. I live in the Midwest. I grew up in Canada, but that gets dismissed here as not really a foreign country. I have recognized since living in the US, that my life is becoming more of an echo chamber and I don’t like it. While it will be work to improve, you’ve given me a great wake up. I would love to have a friend like your Morpheus. I’ll keep working on it.

Keep up the good work. Thanks for posting.

It is not useful to feel shame for having privilege, but it’s useful to be aware of the privileges we have. It allows us to see other peoples perspective with more clarity.

I’m a big believer in the power of gratitude. The key to ‘seeing the other movie’ is to realize the other movie exists, and to become less attached to your own movie. I will put that show on my list, although I don’t watch much TV these days so it may take me a while.

Maybe if people stopped being defensive about it they could finally see that other movie.

Speaking of other movies, I would recommend you (literally) watch “The Naked Truth” on Netflix, episode #9 “Trumpland”
If you do, please share your thoughts.