Blind Privilege

Ableist language in the name of this site?

Jennifer Kesler — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:28:54 +0000

Three years ago, I started this site. I’d heard “blinded by privilege” in a few places, and came up with the phrase “blind privilege”. It was available as a domain, so I bought it and started blogging. Three years ago, I wasn’t very aware of able-bodied privilege, particularly in terms of specifics like ableist language. I [...]

Abuse cycles – from macrocosm to microcosm

Jennifer Kesler — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:33:01 +0000

If you observe an abuse cycle in a family – e.g., “Mom abuses her kids because her dad abused her because his mom abused him” – you’re lucky if you can trace it back more than a few generations. Which always leaves me wondering: where did it begin? And how? Did this family have one [...]

Universal health care does not mean forcing Americans to buy insurance

Jennifer Kesler — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:31:53 +0000

I generally avoid political topics, but once in a while, one of them is such a damn good example of privilege that I’m left thinking: what the fuck? All the universal health care plans being yapped about at length by various committees within Congress (I could’ve sworn the Constitution outlined a clear procedure for proposing a [...]

One privilege Christians don’t always realize they have

Jennifer Kesler — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:43:19 +0000

This is a typical conversation between a Christian and a non-believer: Christian: Abortion/homosexuality/[insert incredibly incindiary topic here] is blah blah blah. Atheist/agnotic: (smiles and nods) We smile and nod because we know Christian beliefs are respected and other beliefs are not so much, and if we say something precisely as offensive/inane in response, we will be treated as [...]

Future topics

Jennifer Kesler — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:41:24 +0000

No, I haven’t forgotten this site. I’ve been slowly making my way through a nightmare recently, and believe me, elements of what I’ve gone through will end up here, as there is a lot of privilege involved. But due to what I’ve gone through, it may be a while before I have the headspace and [...]

That positive outlook

Jennifer Kesler — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:21:35 +0000

The other day I got a fortune cookie which said: Your happiness is entertwined with your outlook on life. For the first time in my life, that sentiment did not piss me off. In the past, it always did because it blithely dismisses the fact that if you don’t have much power over your own life, your [...]

Every government is a pyramid, or why I’m an anarchist

Jennifer Kesler — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:04:56 +0000

As a child, I believed the US – and many other nations – really were intended to benefit every citizen who made an effort, and what caused them to privilege some groups over others were flaws in the system. Then around age eleven, I came to believe the systems themselves were really designed to create [...]

No, customer service workers do not have it easy

Jennifer Kesler — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:54:28 +0000

Every once in a while, one of my fellow Americans blows my mind with her assumption that customer service workers get insurance, paid sick days and paid vacation, and at least $10/hour. These assumptions are often of no consequence, but on some occasions they’re offered in justification of why no one should be trying to [...]

College has become a barrier for smart poor kids

Jennifer Kesler — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:26:31 +0000

ETA: This post is US-centric, and I should have made that clear. How much or little it applies to other countries, I can’t say. As soon as employers made college a necessity for jobs of any significant income (and even some of shockingly low income, such as “receptionist”) back in the 80s or 90s, college started [...]

The gay marriage ban should be scaring heterosexuals, too

Jennifer Kesler — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:08:29 +0000

Three states passed bans on gay marriage in the national election a few days ago. Regardless of where you fall on gay rights’ issues and the definition of marriage, this should frighten you because it is, plain and simple, the beginning of theocracy. Neo-Christian fascism. Sieg heil, Fred Phelps. I was so livid about this for [...]