I think of my brother: white, late 40s. But this wouldn’t apply to him because he has an intellectual disability. He’d be told to go to the back of the line, with perhaps a nasty word or two thrown in, because they know he won’t fight back. So is it “white” privilege?

But it does apply to *upper middle class” people, often white, but sometimes not. In the mostly-Chinese neighbourhood I used to live in, the middle-class Chinese men regularly got way better service than me because of my race, gender, and age. (That’s just a random first-hand example, to show I’m not making this up.)

Speaking to the people who cut into line, they wouldn’t call it privilege. They’d point out the poor user experience of having to stand in line to do something that should be self-serve, and roll their eyes at the people standing in line like sheep when they should be calling out the business. They’d call it “taking initiative”, which is something that North American culture values. So when some people “take initiative”, it’s good. But when others take it, it’s privilege?

Don’t get me wrong — I am fully aware of white privilege as a thing, and notice it in the various places it lives. But in this article, it’s sloppy reasoning, and that negates the argument. It’s not about white men, it’s about privileged people who learn that it’s OK to exhibit this behaviour that you see as antisocial [a term in the UK for unacceptable social behaviour outside the family home], but they’d see as a cut above the norm. That’s *social* privilege and isn’t confined to white men.

For example, “breaking the rules” is something glorified in popular culture, in business, and in the arts. (Just finished reading about how Georgia O’Keeffe said she broke the rules as she understood them, and it was A Good Thing.) And yes, a lot of people — often white men, but have you watched Housewives of [name a city]? — growing up with privilege have been taught to have the confidence to break the rules to get what they want. So rather than white privilege, it’s more like “people taught to be privileged,” no matter what race or gender.