Analysis Of Who Are You Calling Underprivileged By Natasha Mariguez

I am frequently told that I am privileged because of the color of my skin. Then I’m told I’m underprivileged because of my gender and my income. Obviously, someone needs to make up their mind. This is the starting place of Natasha Rodriguez’s essay “Who Are You Calling Underprivileged?” She writes about her experiences dealing with labeling due to ethnicity and income while applying for college and financial aid. This leads her through an emotional process that causes her to question racial classification and how she identifies herself. Her final solution is to suggest alternate terminology that she feels everyone can be comfortable with. While I believe the author makes some valid points that I can appreciate, it seems as though she is so …show more content…
I can agree with that. However, I feel that we waste far too much time debating who is referred to as what by whom. Everyone is an individual, but in the grand scheme of society, not everyone is a special snowflake that always deserves their way. If we spend all of our time trying to find terms that make everyone happy and comfortable, then in the end what will we have achieved? What happens when the next person comes along and is uncomfortable or offended by the phrase “students in need”? Then the whole process starts again. Until that person is appeased. Then the next comes along who is offended by that term, and again, over and over. I spend a lot of time wanting to scream. While the author might be frustrated by the words society uses to label her, my frustrations are on society as a whole. It seems like everyone spends so much time tiptoeing around afraid to cause offense to anyone, that no real action takes place. Wouldn’t it be a better use of time to skip it? I feel that more people would be better served if all of the easily offended masses were just told to grow a thicker skin. Ignore the minor offenses and spend more time actually doing something. Perhaps funding the educations of more students? Or finding ways to better educate those who desperately want to go to school, or attend a better school, but don’t qualify for scholarships to prestigious private …show more content…
Rodriguez is justified in having her own opinion. She requests an end to stereotyping based on ethnicity, and that is a practice I can support. How she was recognized by the schools she considered attending might be as important to her as my indifference is to me. However, I feel that wasting time in never ending debates on labels to appease one person is selfish. I believe that more time should be spent on creating opportunities for anyone who wants an education, rather than wasting time deciding what terminology to use in order to avoid offending everyone who thinks they are special. Maybe it comes from my being privileged or underprivileged. Call me what you like. I don’t care! Stop talking everything to death and enact a real lasting change that can help the greatest number of students. Wouldn 't that have more value? We can decide what to call it