Privilege and the COVID-19 Pandemic

I’ve been thinking a lot today about how this pandemic is magnifying existing privileges (and giving rise to new ones) – particularly in the United States.

I love how many of us want to share inspiring messages and provide updates about how we are passing this time with our families. But as I think about many of the messages I’ve read and images I’ve seen this Easter and Passover weekend, it’s hard not to feel like many of us (and I’m definitely including myself in this category) are bypassing many of the hardships those a few homes or zip codes away are confronting.

To be clear, possessing privilege does not mean we are immune to hardship, but it does mean we have an unearned benefit or advantage we’ve received independent of our effort. Often times it’s due to race, class, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, or education. And, in more recent days, it might also be because of our industry, geographic location, or as a result of pure chance.

And, when we are blind to this privilege or pretend it doesn’t exist, we not only have a tendency to choose our own self-interest over what will most benefit society. We also can sound tone-deaf and fall pretty to rubbing salt in the wounds of those who are having a much more severe time surviving than we are.

Here are 15 ways (in no particular order) that privilege may be protecting you, me, and those we love from the full extent of devastation we could be experiencing.

1. We are white.

Being a person of color, particularly African American or Latino, puts you at increased risk to die from COVID-19 and to struggle during the pandemic. You can read more about the disparity and racism’s role here https://www.nytimes.com/…/coronavirus-poor-black-latino.html

2. We have not lost a loved one, we don’t currently have COVID-19, and everyone we love is also healthy or managing symptoms successfully at home.

3. We/our loved ones are not immune-compromised or at high-risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

4. We/our loved ones are not currently working in roles that put us/them at risk for contracting COVID-19.

5. We’re more worried about our investments or retirement funds than we are about how we will financially survive during the pandemic.

6. We don’t need mortgage or home rental help in order to stay in our homes.

7. We qualify for business loans, unemployment, and stimulus funds. (Bonus points if we have good credit and can also open extended 0% APR credit cards or access additional loans at low-interest rates to help us get through this time.)

8. We still have income coming in (even if it’s been dramatically reduced). Or, if income has been paused, we know that when the economic climate changes, we have a job/business to go back to.

9. We have health insurance that ensures we will receive the best medical care our system can provide should we get ill.

10. We are able to practice social distancing when we do have to leave our place of residence because don’t have to get in an elevator, walk, or take public transportation to access essential services.

11. We are able to consistently access the food and supplies (i.e., face masks, hand sanitizer, cleaning products, toilet paper, etc.) we need for ourselves and our families.

12. We have outdoor space we can safely access during our quarantining. (Bonus points if that’s in our own private backyard. And quadruple points if that includes a pool and we live in a region with a warm climate right now.)

13. We live in a state where our governor is using her/his power to keep as many people home as possible.

14. We have time to feel bored, take up a new hobby, or refer to this time as one of spiritual awakening.

15. We have time to post updates on social media and debate those who see the pandemic from a different lens than us.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. And, while I enjoy many of these privileges, I definitely don’t enjoy all of them. But… I have enough of them to know I’ve still won the COVID-19 lottery.

The process of awakening to, acknowledging, and confronting our privilege is never easy, and I’m not suggesting that because this feels like a time for me to more deeply examine my privilege that anybody else needs to do the same.

But, hopefully, the next time we think about posting a pic or update about how we’re passing our time. Or, we give a 'like' (or, on the flip side, leave a nasty comment) on somebody else’s post, we can pause and think about whether we are acting from our privilege – or reminding someone else about how they lack it.