It is amazing how much conversation is generated by the concept of privilege – both from those who want to know more about it (thank you!) and those who vehemently deny that they have ever had a modicum of it in their lives.
My favorite example of the latter was the 26-year-old CFO of a $240 million company who demanded that I acknowledge that he worked for everything he has and has never been given anything.
The company? I can’t tell you the name, but it was founded by his grandfather and his mother was the CEO. So if you’re still not sure what extreme privilege looks like, it was him turning red and screaming at me that he had none.
But what about everyday privilege, that so many of us experience and still can’t grasp?
In a recent conversation, I came up with an analogy that might just be perfect.
Imagine a baseball league where a few of the teams get five strikes before a batter is out and the rest only get three strikes. And all the teams play each other.
Clearly the teams whose batters get five strikes are going to do much better.
They will have far fewer strike-outs, 67% more chances to hit the ball, racking up home runs and RBIs, and the opposing pitchers will get tired out more quickly, having to throw so many more pitches to each batter.
This 5-strike advantage will not only lead to these teams winning more games, but winning teams generally have more (and more loyal) fans. Their players will be bigger stars with better stats. They’ll hold more records. Top players will want to play for the teams where they can score more runs and earn more money from endorsements.
And no one will acknowledge publicly that all of this success is almost entirely because they have a huge advantage.
So, the 5-strike teams get wealthier.
• They build bigger stadiums.
• They pay higher salaries.
• They get better television contracts.
And every time the 5-strike vs 3-strike conversation happens, they say, “Sure, it’s a small advantage, but even without that, we’d still be the champions because we work so hard and practice so much and have so much more natural talent.”
They will never fully admit just how big a difference this rule disparity makes in their favor.
Then, a new commissioner comes along and says, “We are all going to follow the three-strikes rule.”
The advantaged teams will scream and moan.
They will use all of their wealth and power to try to stop this change.
They will insist that the change in the rules is discriminating against them, since clearly they are the better players, otherwise they wouldn’t win all the championships.
They will refer to the new rule as “lowering standards” just to help out weaker teams.
And when the change stands, and everyone has to play by the same rules, is there instantaneous equality?
NO!!!
How could there be?
The five-strike teams were able to use their advantage to build wealth, recruit better players, build bigger stadiums, get richer media contracts. That does not go away overnight. In fact, it might take generations of teams before some semblance of equity is achieved.
And what about those players who joined the former 5-strike teams years after the rule change? They still reap the benefits of being on a team that has more money, a bigger stadium, a wealthier media deal. Are they going to acknowledge that lingering effects of the 5-strike advantage still benefit them?
Probably not.
In fact, they are the ones most likely to claim that something has been taken from them.
Something they feel entitled to.
They can’t put their fingers on it, but they just know that life used to be a lot better for the others who wore their same jerseys, and now they have to work so much harder to get to the same levels of success, so clearly it’s unfair to them!
And Heaven help any of the old 3-strike teams who want the stats to be adjusted, the amassed wealth to be re-allocated, the stadiums and TV deals to be shared, or some salary cap that stops the formerly advantaged teams from perpetuating the inequality.
After all, they should just pull themselves up by their bootstraps and play better ball.
That’s the real solution.
Am I right?
This post originally appeared in Valerie Alexander’s Happiness & Inclusion newsletter. If you want to receive this twice-monthly email, go to SpeakHappiness.com/Inclusion to sign up, where you can also download the free workbook, Five Policies That Outsmart Bias in Your Company.
If you’re interested in having Valerie Alexander speak at your organization or conference on Workforce Happiness, Outsmarting Bias, or the Advancement of Women, reach out through the Speaker Page on this site.
