When did pointing out privilege become a personal attack?

[Kalidurga]

39. THEY "earned" everything they have, without any kind of preferential treatment....

The problem is they think they have earned everything. But, most likely a privileged person was raised in a middle class or more home. Never had to worry about getting enough to eat or having clothing or getting school supplies. This is probably a white heterosexual male who didn't have to work his way through college, because he either got scholarships or his parents paid. Or he didn't have to bolt from home so student loans were sufficient to live on while going to school. So, getting a degree was more of a given than a heroic effort. Or it could be a white heterosexual woman who realizes she will need an education if she doesn't want to become dependent on other people for her financial well being. She isn't quite as privileged as her male counterpart, but she is very attractive and knows how to use that to open doors, even though she has the education and talent but it doesn't hurt to have a nice face and be in shape and good fashion sense.

On the other hand anyone not born into a family that can support them from cradle to getting through college is going to have a hard time. It doesn't really matter if they are male or female. But, in any situation it is harder if you are a woman especially if you end up pregnant and decide to keep the baby if you haven't finished college. Then even if you do finish college it's still very difficult to get established from going from nothing to having enough to start a family. So, being poor basically means not having kids until you are in your 30's if you want to make sure you are stable first. So there is that biological privilege that has rarely been addressed. Yet a lot of people get on their high horse and denounce people that have kids before they are stable never mind that might not come until their early 30's at the soonest.

What must be really scary is for people who look like they are privileged and they pass for it for most of their life. But, they are in the closet on some issue. They might be a gay football player. Or they might be an atheist and they realize that they will lose some people in their network if they come out. Or she might be a lesbian and she realizes on some level she will lose the "protection" of the patriarchy if she is comes out. I am sure there are lot of other scenarios where people hide who they are because they are aware that being different may have an economic price tag, not to mention a social one.

I don't think anyone is unaware of privilege. Some might not connect the dots. But, the movie The Family Stone, Meredith explains it pretty well at an uncomfortable dinner experience. The conversation was about being gay and how it's harder to be gay than straight. She had a point about privilege. Of course she was seen as being a bigot for pointing that out. I think she was a bigot, but for other reasons than that. But, I digress. You could play this game at home would it be easier to be gay or straight? Is it easier to be male or female? Is it easier to be black or white? How much harder is it to be handicapped than able bodied? The list could go on and on, but in each case you can see how a person's privilege could build up and how another's could drop to the point that their challenges may prove to be overwhelming. But, don't tell that to the straight white males, it might hurt their feelings.