When did pointing out privilege become a personal attack?

[el_bryanto]

79. I can see this has already been debated in depth

But just to add my two cents - i'm not ssure that I agree with this passage.

The problem is, some people have this underlying, implicit belief that when the social definitions of whiteness, maleness, and straightness (to name just three good examples) are scrutinized, questioned, and criticized, they themselves are being criticized on an individual, personal basis for being white, straight, or male. In other words, these people attach their personal self-worth to the social categories that they are in.

I can say when I first heard this line of argument, which I've come to appreciate as being accurate, I reacted more as it related to me as a person rather than me as a set of racial/gender/sexual preference conditions. It's very easy to hear about White Male Privilege and assume that it means "You didn't really earn what you have. You only got that because you are white. You cheated." That's hard to take. And because White Male Privilege isn't usually open (no boss has come to me and said "I'm promoting you because you're the white guy&quot there's not a lot you can do about it, except within the realm of how you treat other people.

Which I suppose is the main point - if this generation, and the ones following, are more careful to treat women, people of color and other groups rigorously equally than the problem will eventually go away.

Bryant