It’s the terrifying concept of advantage and disadvantage, rich and poor, academic and misguided. As a society, we never dare to utter the word that names this idea of separation, because we don’t want to villainize ourselves. We can never seem to bring it up in conversation, as it’s the one thing that keeps us up at night. We never stop to think about it for too long, because the more it sinks in the more we realize how cruel we really are. So we ignore it, and remind ourselves that others around us have a much nicer life, and we safely play the victim card. This apparent darkness, It Which Must Not Be Named, is simply called Privilege.
Instead of accepting our privilege; that we have an advantage over another race, gender, or class, we simply cage it in our minds as something we don’t think about it. If we did ponder our privilege we would realize how horrible we really are for not acknowledging how much we thrive while others suffer. Thus, we don’t accept, think, or discuss it because of the terrible pit it leaves in our stomach. But what if our privilege, It Which Must Not Be Named, could be used to benefit those without it.
Enloe Charity Ball encourages the use of privilege in a positive way to help people on the other side of the spectrum. Student Council, which organizes Charity Ball, is not just a group of students wanting to make a difference, it’s a body of teens who have recognized their privilege and chosen not to push it aside.This year all Charity Ball money will be used to create a new refuge building with necessities and programs for homeless people in Raleigh by the Raleigh Wake Partnership to End and Prevent Homelessness. It’s sickening to think that some people aren’t privileged enough to have stable housing, while we fall asleep on our cushy beds in our heated bedrooms.
This Charity Ball season I hope you will take a minute to face It Which Must Not Be Named, realize your privilege, and make a donation.
Abby Pender
Freshman Class Senator