I was told once to “check my privilege.”
It did not endear me to the other person’s perspective. As an old, gay, disabled, man of both white and Mexican descent, I know discrimination and have been subjected to in one form or another. For example, I vividly recall having rocks thrown at me with the words “white boy go home.”
I say this with love and the hope of bridging perspectives - racism is not a whites only issue and telling people to check their privilege only perpetuates the problem. To assert that someone is imbued with a characteristic of any kind based solely on their shared demographic with others is the very definition of racism - regardless of the characteristic and regardless of the demographic. We are each and every one of us individuals with both our own privileges and challenges and we need to see each other in that manner.
But what I do know? I am only half-privileged.