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35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Social IssuesFEB 16, 2021

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them

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Whether we like it or not, we’re all privileged. In different ways. In different amounts. But we’ve all got some type of advantage over others. And sometimes… sometimes we don’t even realize we’re privileged. No, not in the classic way you’ve probably read about on the internet! Some privileges don’t actually sound like privileges so some folks don’t realize that’s what they are. In other words, they’re ‘invisible.’
Redditor Woo_loo asked their fellow online users to name a privilege that most people don’t realize is a privilege and their thread went viral. From pointing out that feeling safe in your own home is something a lot of us take for granted to having the ability to read or even a bed to sleep in, some of these responses hit home hard with the simple fact that we take so many wonderful things for granted.
Have a read through some of the best responses that redditors have answered with and upvote the ones you agree with 100%. And be sure to read on for Bored Panda’s interview with the original poster of the thread, redditor Woo_loo themselves.

#1

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Not knowing what war actually is like
277points

#2

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Living without constant physical pain. The idea that most people just exist without nonspecific pain is baffling to me.
263points

#3

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Feeling safe in your own home. Not worrying about rats, mice, roaches, bed bugs, bricks being thrown through windows, violence outside, break ins.
250points

Woo_loo’s thread got 12k upvotes on the r/AskReddit community, over 7k responses, as well as a whopping 92% upvote rate. What’s more, the redditor got 58 medals for their efforts in bringing such an important and intriguing discussion to the forefront.

Redditor Woo_loo was very open with Bored Panda about what inspired them to create the thread and the fact that they didn’t expect their submission to “blow up like this” on the net.

#4

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Affordable healthcare.
236points

#5

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Being able to hold the hand of your partner in public without harassment or the fear of something bad happening to you.
219points

#6

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Waking up and just being able to see. What’s that like? No glasses, no contacts. Just wow.
218points

Woo_loo explained to us that what inspired them to turn to r/AskReddit with their question was their line of thinking about all of the things that we have but we’re not constantly aware of.

“I was thinking about how people always say that we should be grateful for things like clean water and education so I wanted to know what else we were taking for granted that isn’t talked about,” they said.

#7

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Being able to walk alone, especially at night, without any worry at all.
214points

#8

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Having a bed. When I was ages 8-11, my siblings and I had to sleep on the floor because we lived in a tiny one-bedroom apartment.
I remember turning twelve and finally getting to sleep in my own bed after three years of not having one. It was euphoria.
208points

#9

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Having an emotionally mature parent.
206points

In the redditor’s opinion, all of us, no matter how rich or poor, happy or miserable, all of us have something to be grateful for. However, Woo_loo pointed out to Bored Panda that they don’t expect that anyone’s constantly thinking about their privileges and how much they appreciate them. Imagine how exhausting it would be to always be grateful for hundreds of small wonders, every hour of every day. There wouldn’t be any time for living and making great experiences.

#10

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Sleeping through the night
204points

#11

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Being in countries where you are able to speak insults to, openly criticise or question authority without going to jail
196points

#12

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Fresh water from the tap. Imagine living in rural Africa. Or Flint, Michigan.
193points

One of the things that Woo_loo believes (especially after reading through all of the plentiful responses that their question received on Reddit) is that we’ve all got a responsibility to help those in need and those in a worse position than ours. In short, the redditor is a humanitarian with a very honest desire to lend others a helping hand.

#13

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Having pets. So many people discard them like they're playthings over the most mundane reasons.
191points

#14

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
A hot shower every day
188points

#15

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Being healthy instead of disabled and chronically ill.
186points

“We should try to help people acquire the privileges that we take for granted and be a lot more aware of it. Not everyone has the same chances in life but we can make it as fair as possible,” the redditor opened up to Bored Panda, alluding to the idea that we’ve all got to do our best to ensure that society lives by the principle of equality of opportunity.

#16

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Having a family that loves you. I grew up in a pretty loving family. It was somewhat dysfunctional, to be sure, but my mother loves me as does my sister. So did my grandparents. We were always a close family and we helped each other when possible. We were always supportive too.
I went to school with people whose parents couldn't have [cared] less about them. I mean straight up, just didn't give a [damn] if their kids lived or died. If your parents actively tried to keep you off drugs and off the streets and were emotionally supportive and not abusive, count your blessings.
177points

#17

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Honestly, Memory.
When Alzheimers hits, your brain is basically dead. That disease is heartbreaking for every party involved
176points

#18

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Being conventionally beautiful
It gets you more than dates. It influences prison sentences; attractive people are less likely to get convicted, and more likely to get lighter sentences when they are convicted.
Job interviews, assessments of intelligence and academic performance are all biased to favour good looking people. They are also more likely to benefit from kindess from strangers
174points

If you’re not familiar with equality of opportunity as a concept, it’s all about making sure that everyone’s able to compete for social status, as maintaining high social mobility. Or, in other words, it’s all about looking at people’s merits, efforts, and skills, not the social position they were born in. To sound all pop-culture for a moment, I’ll say that equality of opportunity is the rags-to-riches myth that the American Dream is built on.

#19

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Being able to read.
171points

#20

35 “Invisible” Privileges That Most People Don't Notice Because They Have Them
Having friends.
165points
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