<p><pre><code>    I&#x27;m from an Eastern Europe and my family never was 
    rich, I had to put in a tremendous effort to even get
    into the industry. Assuming I got an easy ride simply
    because I&#x27;m white is a pretty racist statement 
</code></pre>
I was about to patiently type out another &quot;hey, you did work hard and you did earn your success - &#x27;white privilege&#x27; doesn&#x27;t mean things were handed to you easily; it means that even though your life has been hard you still got to avoid certain challenges that non-whites face&quot; response.<p>But you know what? This just isn&#x27;t working.<p>We need better language.<p>I&#x27;m a firm believer in the existence of this thing we currently call &quot;white privilege.&quot; I understand the meaning and intent of this concept and it&#x27;s 100% correct; it&#x27;s absolutely vital that we understand that <i>basic rights we take for granted</i> (for example, walking into a store and not being treated as a potential thief, or having prospective interviewers assume we&#x27;re professional&#x2F;literate&#x2F;presentable) are actually privileges that many people or color don&#x27;t have.<p>But if the people we&#x27;re trying to reach hear the term &quot;white privilege&quot; and <i>immediately</i> misunderstand the term in such spectacular ways... you know what? We&#x27;re doing it wrong.