Marginalized

Mayor Pete (one of the fellows running for president) said that being gay helps him to understand what black folks go through.  I'm not gonna weigh in on him, his policies, or any of that.  I just want to talk about this specific error in his thinking.

Yes, being marginalized will give you some idea of what others experience.  I've spend my whole life on and off Welfare and now I'm on SSDI.  So I understand about people judging and about getting the stink-eye.  But I can't really understand being black because - simple fact - I'm white.  Each marginalized group has their own struggles.

I understand what it's like to have a store detective follow me around, but not because of my skin color.  I've gotten snide comments for my choice of partner, but not because it was another gal.  A person of color who has been fortunate enough to have never drawn benefits isn't going to understand the shame of whipping out that Food Stamp card. 

Mayor Pete wasn't lying.  Being marginalized, in any manner, does help us to understand each other.  To a point.  He's a rich white boy, so obviously he's not going to get what the poor, the people of color, or the women specifically deal with.  That doesn't make him evil.  It doesn't make any of us evil.  Just human.  And that's okay.