When you’re on a run and there’s traffic around, it’s pretty easy to tell which drivers are also runners, and which aren’t.
Drivers who are runners go out of their way to make sure they don’t break your momentum. Those who aren’t get really upset about the slightest perceived inconvenience you might be placing on them.
It occurred to me today that this is also a pretty good metaphor for why so many people struggle to accept the existence of privilege.
If you’re not able to understand how important momentum is to someone who has to deal with more friction than you do, any break in your own momentum will feel like an attack on your right to go fast wherever you want to go.
I guess my point is, if you’re not willing to acknowledge that runners should have right of way, it’s probably because you’ve never gone for a run. And the same goes for your privilege.
