December 31, 2020

Thoughtful Thursday: What You Need To Know About “Check Your Privilege”

Thoughtful Thursday: What You Need To Know About “Check Your Privilege”

“Check your privilege.”

It sounds so righteous, so enlightened—a verbal mic drop meant to humble the arrogant and elevate the marginalized.

But peel back the progressive veneer, and you’ll find something far less noble: a phrase that has become one of the most effective tools for shutting down debate, dismissing opposing views, and bypassing the hard work of actual persuasion.

It’s not a call to reflection—it’s intellectual surrender in three smug words. 😤🧩

Instead of engaging with someone’s argument, it’s easier to attack their identity.

Instead of rebutting a point with logic or evidence, it’s simpler to label the speaker as “privileged” and therefore unqualified to speak.

This isn’t discourse—it’s deflection.

It assumes that lived experience trumps reason, that identity invalidates ideas, and that the only “valid” perspective is one born of oppression.

But true understanding doesn’t come from silencing others—it comes from listening, even (especially) when we disagree.

“Check your privilege” doesn’t invite dialogue; it ends it.

It’s a conversation-ender disguised as a conversation-starter.

A way to claim moral high ground without having to defend your position. 🏔️🎭

Worse, it flattens human complexity.

People are more than their demographic categories.

Reducing someone to their “privilege” ignores their struggles, their insights, their humanity.

It excuses lazy thinking with the language of wokeness.

If we truly care about justice, we should argue with rigor—not rhetoric.

We should challenge ideas, not identities.

We should persuade, not police.

#ThoughtfulThursday—Next time someone tells you to “check your privilege,” ask them to check their logic instead. 🔍💡

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Cheers,
Roy
My Podcast Show Audacious Moves to A BILLION shares the specific Moves I made to achieve jaw-dropping growth in an insanely competitive internet business.

”The Audacious Unheard of Ways I Took a Startup to A BILLION IN SALES” is the latest in my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series.

• Posted 12.31.20 at 06:00 am by Roy Osing
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