The Privilege Walk Quiz Part 4 of 5

The Privilege Walk Quiz 

Part 4 of 5

One more week to go! Today? We're taking on an additional seven questions from the quiz. Explain your answers if you wish, but do keep track of your points, as we'll share the overall total at the end of next week.

How the quiz works: it's quite simple: for the purposes of these posts, to avoid confusion, we'll be adding or subtracting points, rather than steps. Again... be sure to keep track of your points week to week so you can calculate your total at the end of the 35 questions.

Let's pick up where we left off... with question #22.

22/ If you had a job during your high school and college years, minus one point. If not, plus one.

I did. In high school, not only did I help out at the dry cleaners, I also: worked as a cook at the Tastee Freeze, was a babysitter, baled hay and picked rocks, and was an announcer at the Owatonna County Free Fair, where I would do little radio shows talking about the days calendar. 

In college, the first time, I worked at the Country Kitchen as a cook, played various mascots at the local mall (The Easter Bunny, Stubtoe The Elf), appeared in local television commercials for the mall and JCPenney, and was part of the CORE team which built sets and designed lighting for the various local theatre and dance companies which used the college theatre. 

The second time I went to college, I worked at a video store in Minneapolis, and that was true when I went to school for Radio and Television Broadcasting. 

And the third time I went to college (third time was the charm), I was working for a foundation at a hospital in the Twin Cities. 

When you throw in all the theatre I was cramming in there? 

I was a busy, busy boy!

-1 

 
23/ If you feel comfortable walking home alone at night plus one point. If not, minus one.

I live in North Minneapolis. I don't walk at night. I used to. I used to run, also. But that all stopped after I was brutally mugged in 1999. Then I would only run during daylight hours and that stopped after I got mugged a second time. 

Now, I don't go out running unless it's midday and The Boyfriend is with me.

No, we don't live in terror. 

We have a fenced yard, tons of motion detector lights which light up our yard like a football field, and a state of the art security system. I've also determined where, in the event of a home invasion, I would hide. 

This summer? Things have gotten much worse. Gang activity has skyrocketed and people (including children) are being killed for no reason whatsoever. This has been ramping up since the death of George Floyd.  And since our City Council is currently being run by idealistic idiots without one iota of common sense and no idea how to run a city, our police force has been devastated, as in, there simply aren't enough of them - which has given anyone with a gun license to kill at will. 

Something tells me I will not be spending my retirement years in the city of Minneapolis.

-1 

 
24/ If you have ever traveled outside of the country you live in, plus one point. If not, minus one.

Yes. And I plan to do it again soon. This only happened two years ago! First I tested the waters by going with my work wife to Cancun and then spent three weeks in Europe with The Boyfriend, my youngest sister and her dear hubby. We did Amsterdam, Berlin, Vienna and Rome. 

Next up: Paris. And what else we are still trying to decide. Possibly Barcelona. Possibly London and somewhere in Scotland and/or Ireland. 

Also: In February 2021, my two youngest sisters and I are supposed to go to an all-inclusive resort in Cancun. .

But... Covid. So?

+1

 
25/ If you have ever felt like there was not adequate or accurate representation of your racial group, sexual orientation group, gender group, and/or disability group in the media, minus one point. If you felt you have been adequately and accurately represented, plus one. 

One second while I drag out my soapbox. 

Is it getting better? Yes. 

Is it really? No.

For every Will (who is portrayed by a straight man)? There are dozens of 'Just Jacks' (who, yay, is portrayed by a gay man but does he have to be just that Jack?). For every Jesse Tyler Ferguson there are dozens and dozens of Eric Stonestreets. I'm tired of the caricatures. And I am tired of straight actors thinking it's okay to 'play' gay. We don't allow actors to appear in black face any longer... when do we get to retire gay wrist?

I feel like I could rag for hours about Eric Stonestreet's portrayal of Cameron Pritchard on Modern Family (and have.) It is one of the most offensive bits of gay wrist ever witnessed. As for Will and Grace? It didn't work the second time around because as a society we've all had an opportunity wake up a bit more. It wasn't funny or charming. It was offensive.

And I'm also through with the straight female lead's gay best friend routine. We all weren't put on this earth to help make straight women 'fabulous' or to serve as their shoulder to cry on. It's a tired formula. 

Gay needs to be represented as something more than pretty or handsome. It needs to be something more than butch or fem. We're not just gym bunnies. We're not simply fashion queens. 

But you know what we are? A bunch of very talented people. And there's enough of us that we don't need straight people standing in our place any longer. 

So it needs to stop. 

No more gay wrist. 

I draw the line. 

And no more offensive stereotypes. We don't all live in fabulous apartments and we aren't all drug addicts and we aren't all party people. It's time for the entertainment industry's perceptions of what it means to be gay to evolve a little further. Here's an idea... when it comes to gay characters? Get creative! I think we're outgrowing the need for characters whose sole purpose is to be 'gay' or play 'the gay.' 

(So does that mean that gay actors can't play heterosexual roles?) (Good question. Lemme think about it.)

And let's not simply focus on television and movies. 

How about the news? Yes, let's all celebrate Pete and Chasten becoming fathers. And yes, the Hollywood A-gays are really fascinating and fun stuff. But what about all the black transgender women who are being murdered in this country? Where are their stories? Yes, I realize they are not pretty, white, young blonde women - but are those the only deaths we care about? Are those the only ones who go missing that are worth sending out search parties and deserving of media coverage? 

"Well... gee. Life's not fair. And there's just not enough time to cover every story."

What utter bullshit. 

It's time we all start seeing ourselves. There are tons of outlets now. We all need to be found in there someplace.

And its time for something as offensive as Modern Family to be pulled from syndication. We don't run The Amos 'N Andy Show any longer, so why should we have to suffer Modern Family's outrageous stereotyping?

(Gets off soapbox. Scraping sound heard as it is dragged offstage right.)

-1

26/ If you feel confident that your parents would be able to financially help/support you if you were going through a financial hardship, plus one point. If not, minus one.

When I came back from L.A., I was very fortunate. I was able to keep my health insurance. After running through my savings and selling everything I could, I ended up on disability while I recovered. 

My folks were able to provide temporary shelter, but there's no way they could have paid my medical expenses at that time. 

And now? Well, such a thing could simply never happen in my life. That's why I am so consumed with remaining healthy. 

I don't have a safe place to land. 

If I found myself in a situation similar to the one I faced in 1997? I'd lose everything. So, just as I do all I can to stay healthy, I have also done everything I can to ensure that there is never a financial hardship.

At my age? I can't afford to be stupid.

-1

 

27/ If you have ever been bullied or made fun of based on something that you can’t change, minus one point. No? Plus one point.

(Gives side-eye.)

-1

 
28/ If there were more than 50 books in your house growing up, plus one point. If not? Minus one.

Yay. There were. 

They were not great books, but they were books. I adored my mother's hardcover edition of Valley Of The Dolls. And there was this weird sex book that appeared at one point. It was all about the history of sex. I think my Mom thought that way we would never have to have 'the talk.' (And we never did!)

Plus, I used to routinely buy Scholastica books at school. During a certain time period whatever money I managed to have, I spent it on those books. And I would  hide out at our small town library in the summers and the school ones whenever possible, so I always had access to books. 

I remember reading all of Kurt Vonnegut at an age when I had no idea what they were about. 

+1

(Running Tally: -11)

--- ---

And that's it for this week. Next week, we'll finish this up and take a look at our final scores. 

Now it's your turn. Leave your answers in the comments section. Share as much or as little as you please.

Something tells me there were a number of us with a lot of minuses today. 

Interesting, huh? 

And no, this is not a pity party. This is just taking an honest look at our very imperfect world. All the subjects these questions touch on? That is the stuff that has shaped each one of us, built us. I have a feeling that if you are still trying to figure out why you are the way you are? Starting with these questions and answering them honestly might be a good place to start. 

And this is not a case of playing the blame game. No pointing fingers necessary. Our lot in life? It is what it is.

I'll address this all a bit more next week.

Until then...

Thanks for reading... and participating!