Privileges are extra bonuses some groups get, but that aren't available to everyone. Oppression is Bad Stuff systematically inflicted on some people, based on category.
They aren't two halves of a pie chart. They are different filters for understanding a situation.
The reason to understand it in terms of privileges, is that as we get closer to equality, the privileged group loses privileges, which they often believed were "rights." 100 years ago, only men got to vote in the US. Then women got to vote, and men lost complete control of government officials. 150 years ago, white people thought it was their "right" to treat black people like animals or property. (Or both.) When the slaves were freed, they lost their "rights," which were privileges.
We can struggle for equal opportunities--but that does mean a lot of opportunities that are currently reserved for white people, won't be that way in the future. We can struggle for everyone having an equal voice in the media--which means that white people will have less of a voice.
The reason to call them "privileges" is that many of them need to go away. While we can (theoretically) get everyone good health care, and enough food to eat, we can't let everyone go first in a conversation.
Re: Sorry for baiting you, but...
Oppression is Bad Stuff systematically inflicted on some people, based on category.
They aren't two halves of a pie chart. They are different filters for understanding a situation.
The reason to understand it in terms of privileges, is that as we get closer to equality, the privileged group loses privileges, which they often believed were "rights." 100 years ago, only men got to vote in the US. Then women got to vote, and men lost complete control of government officials. 150 years ago, white people thought it was their "right" to treat black people like animals or property. (Or both.) When the slaves were freed, they lost their "rights," which were privileges.
We can struggle for equal opportunities--but that does mean a lot of opportunities that are currently reserved for white people, won't be that way in the future. We can struggle for everyone having an equal voice in the media--which means that white people will have less of a voice.
The reason to call them "privileges" is that many of them need to go away. While we can (theoretically) get everyone good health care, and enough food to eat, we can't let everyone go first in a conversation.