But I have it whether I like it or not. And many other people have the opposite.
This lesson was hard for me to learn. As I matured in an intentionally diverse high school, I saw the effects of racial injustice all around me. I wanted nothing to do with that injustice and thought that the solution would be to reject any privilege I am afforded.
It seemed easy: just don't be racist and don't be privileged. "I can do that," my 17 year old mind thought. Then I will be doing my part to end racial and cultural inequality all around me.
I'm glad God did not let me stay at this stage for long but kept pushing me to see the broader complexities of the society we live in.
Just because I do not actively exclude people who are different from me does not mean that I don't benefit from someone else excluding them. And the worst part is that it is impossible for me not to benefit.
A fitting analogy is the degradation of the ecosystem. Simply by breathing the air, by wearing clothes, by traveling or even eating, I cause harm to the earth. Certainly, there are ways I can diminish the harm I do and ways I can be gentler on our fragile partners on the planet. But my existence is interwoven into a system that as a whole is not kind to the planet.
My teenage self would have found this thoroughly depressing: "You mean, I'm part of the problem?" Whether it's the ecosystem or racial injustice, the answer is yes.
My present day self finds this freeing not depressing. Racism and privilege are no longer qualities that other people have, not an illness I am cured of but other people are still sick with.
We are all sick.
And just as people striving for recovery from addiction find solace among others going through the same battles, we as a people can join together realizing the system is tilted strongly to favor people who look like me. Then piece by piece we can take that system apart as we listen to one another and learn.
Sounds a little like some Christian teachings I know. But we'll save that for another day.