AIBU to think that everybody should watch this? It opened my eyes

[almutasakieun]

As for where I'd be in the race, I'd probably have gotten a couple of headstarts, but by no means all.

I just thought it was interesting.

I got 4 steps.

Also seems to aim to make those who have had opportunities feel guilty - why one earth should you applogise for that!?
You don’t have to apologise for opportunities but you should acknowledge you’ve have them and as a result life has been easier for you.
So many people don’t acknowledge the luck as well as the hard work that made them succeed.
No ones saying the people with opportunities don’t deserve success or don’t work hard just that people without opportunities will have to work harder to get to the same place.
Making things more equal doesn’t mean the privileged get less.

I find that a hard watch because the kids at the back look uncomfortable and one is seen jogging away. Did they sign up knowing they’d be called out?

The shouting man's voice was so grating I could hardly listen to it. I thought it was very unfair to the children left behind, to such an extent that if it wasn't a set-up it was just unbelievable cruelty. But I think it was all scripted, using actors, the careful shots of young boy wiping his forehead in embarrassment etc.. Would they really stand at the back having a camera roving around them while all the other children moved forward?

And what I took away from the video was that everyone who had responsible parents was being made to feel guilty, like there was something wrong with it. That's how it should be!

Reeking of emotional manipulation.

It's a conversation starter for people who don't get it.

And I agree there could have been more categories but that's not the point, is it, to be fully inclusive of every variable. The point is to visually illustrate why some people are disadvantaged in ways that might not be obvious - hence not asking males to step forwards.

I took 2 steps forward because I was put in a private school but for me that was a hindrance

I think a state school would have flagged up my dyslexia. As it was I took nothing away from my experiences there apart from a lot of stress and a stomach ulcer or 6.

It didn't mention how growing up in and out of the care system. Or having to live with someone with mental illness might be a disadvantage

These are the things that affect me even today

Why are people so uncomfortable to have their advantages pointed out to them?
Do you really think it’s better to wander about in ignorance of how other people might struggle?
Don’t you think self awareness is better than complacency?

I don't think it is as cut and dried that white males have a privilege.
Some maybe but for white working class boys it is a definite disadvantage.

It's very uncomfortable viewing not because it calls out privilege but because it does so at the expense of those without.

Humiliating and unpleasant.

I think it is a brilliant video.

But I find it interesting that already people on this thread are saying it is more complex and therefore in a way dismissing the point.

Obviously it isn't that simple. Obviously life is more complicated. One guy doing one activity with a group of kids is not going to be perfect. It is a starting point to get the students (and those of us watching) to realise that we have unrecognised prejudice and privilege.

I would love this activity to be done in every secondary school, then follow with discussion.

And for those saying - why singel parents? etc. It is based on statistics, which show that over a whole population being raised by a single parent puts you at a disadvantage in terms of academic results etc. Not true on a case by case basis, but true over the whole poulation. Much like schools using FSM as a means of identifying need in a school in UK

I just watched it, I’d have taken just one step. It really hit me hard and I’ve just had a proper sob, but I will be showing it to my kids who could take all but one step forward.

I would love this activity to be done in every secondary school, then follow with discussion

Definitely not, for those who stayed on the line to set them apart so obviously amongst their peers, especially teens would be crushing for most teens.
It is a great example of privilege.
I come from a working class area, A local lad went onto Trinity college to do drama, it was a big deal, he has highlighted lots of issues. In one interview he said he felt so special getting to Trinity then UCD, he was most shocked how it wasn't even an achievement but a choice for most of his new friends a in all college. It was the first time he has experienced how hard it is to make it for your average joe in a working class community, most family's couldn't afford the books alone.

gamerwidow
Why are people so uncomfortable to have their advantages pointed out to them?

I'm not uncomfortable. I just think that it's trying to emotionally manipulate people into feeling guilty for having parents who behaved as parents should. While that might work for some, for others it just makes them think "Why am I being blamed for the fact that those children's parents let them down? How is that my fault?". It seems so clever, but is absolutely cack-handed in every way - singling out the children at the back, probably making them feel that they can't do anything about their preordained position at the bottom of the heap.

That’s the thing though. No one is blaming anyone you’re projecting.

It's over-simplistic and too geared towards the education system in the USA to make sense in the UK. E.g. in the UK 'having access to a private education' isn't the only way you can gain an advantage in schooling - having parents who can move to the catchment area of a highly-regarded state school will also confer a significant advantage.

Ive always disliked these things. Many of the events that have happened to me that I have got the most out of are the kinds of things that people like this consider a disadvantage. Yes these are difficulties but they do not preclude privilege. Privilege is a mindset. Some people have privilege because of the multitude of adbatanges they have had meant that they grew up with self confidence and resilience but many people learned that lesson the hard way too. Encouraging people think of privilege in these terms is harmful. It encourages people to feel like their success or failure is not their doing, that they are at the mercy of the events they experience. But they’re not. No one is powerless in the face of adversity unless they fail to respond. Privilege lies in ones response not the events that prompt it.

having parents who behaved as parents should.
Yes it really isn't that simple.
No you should not feel guilty, but you should not feel you are better than those with less, as I had better parents hardly my fault.
I think that is the point. People with more think they're better than those with less.
It is trying to teach awareness and empathy, not to make those with better opportunity feel guilty. That is my perception of it.

Even on MN people argue and make excuses against the point being made in this video. The main one seemingly “don’t talk about it it’s embarassing even for the disadvantaged ones”. I’m a single parent of two disabled children with a father who pays and does nothing. It felt pretty good to see how hard it can be to be from a single parent family getting a mention. I’m not embarrassed.

That holds true in the US too. Perhaps more so as there’s much less wriggle room between catchments for American standard schools. The catchment exist. Big year that year? School just have to cope even if the neighbouring catchment is low on numbers. If you want to go to a school outside of the catchment you have to demonstrate why your assigned school isn’t appropriate and other school is. I’ve heard of it been approved for wheelchair access and for students who already excel in something like music. There’s no choice, or even illusion of choice in the American system if you don’t go private.

With respect OP. That video is bollocks. The guy speaking states that the people in the race are standing in their respective positions due to outside factors and that their position isn't their fault.

Bollocks!

Maybe they couldnt pay their cell phone bill because they are unfocused and lazy and can't be bothered to get a job.

Blaming others for your own problems is just passing on responsability.

The most striking thing is actually that the fact that most of the "winners" came from families where both parents were still together.

But perpetuating this myth that you can just blame others for your position in life is not helping anybody.

I agree it is a lot more complicated than this.

Although I hardly got off the starting line If I compare myself to others who had similar upbringing or better upbringing and who would have been several steps ahead I think for some of us who were left at the back there is a determination to succeed.

I noticed a few at the back as soon as the race started overtook those that started ahead of them.

I think that determination out weighs any privilege.

Quite ironic that because there are no subtitles, Deaf and hearing impaired people can't watch it properly to understand the message 😏.

I think it is very powerful and showed my kids this the other week. I do not believe that privilege is a mindset at all. I wouldn't want real kids to do this as it would be embarrassing, but we should all think about it and acknowledge it.

Juells - so only 'responsible' parents send their kids to private school or tutor their kids?!

Half of the British Royal Family would be taking two steps back in that race because their parents are divorced.

I really don't think having divorced parents is a privilege issue. It might lead to privilege issues, such as poverty, but it isn't one in itself.

This is a much better explanation: