[aaronem]

> But if I call myself "privileged" in this instance then all of a sudden people would be whining about social justice warriors or something like that

No one has ever managed successfully to divorce the concept of privilege from the implication of blame, so saying that someone has privilege (or, worse in this context, is privileged), is tantamount to saying that they're a bad person and they should feel bad. Is it any wonder there's pushback?

Whether privilege and blame should be so inextricably linked is a separate discussion, and one I've seen from time to time in progressive circles. But, to people who aren't deeply enough immersed in such circles to be familiar with all the theory around the concept, that's how it comes across.

[glesica]

I guess I've never really associated privilege and blame. Maybe other people do, I can't speak for anyone but myself. I do, however, think that blame is appropriate when a person refuses to admit that privilege exists.

For example, the way I see it, I can't help that I'm white, it isn't my fault, I didn't do anything to "earn" my white privilege. However, if I refuse to at least acknowledge that I have privilege, then that is my fault, for that I would deserve blame.

[superuser2]

>is tantamount to saying that they're a bad person and they should feel bad

What makes you (hypothetically) a bad person is having privilege and supporting policy which benefits the privileged at the expense of the unprivileged. The blame is assigned not for being a member of a privileged class, but for forming and acting on political opinions (including acceptance of the status quo) based on that privilege.

People who use privilege as an argument aren't asking you to be ashamed of being white, they're asking you to be ashamed of being conservative.

[theorique]

People who use privilege as an argument aren't asking you to be ashamed of being white, they're asking you to be ashamed of being conservative.

Well that's a big problem too.

It's essentially erasing the experience and stories of an entire swath of the political spectrum, and shaming people for their political orientation.