Check your privilege

One modern trend is the "Culture wars" that are played out on social media, on campuses, in the courts with the battle cry "Check your privilege" as  its supports hold being in whole social groups gives you unearned and unwarranted advantages that effectively hold others back.
At least that's how they see it.

The retort to the proposition that criticism of one Meghan Markle is racially motivated suggesting it had more to do with how her actions are seen as met on BBC Tv's question time with the person being told they were not fit to comment as a white male and to "check their privilege" by a minority rights lecturer.

Their proposition runs black people only know how in lots of ways they are discriminated against and put down verbally and so any time a criticism is  made by a mainly white source such as the Mass Media, then it is. The end.

The Mass Media here have things to answer for, obsessive interests, playing people off  and yes sometimes racially motivated (or at least culturally insensitive) commentary but in this instance many in Britain's BME community do agree with that man.

A bigger argument can be made  that the process of comparing and contrasting similar people by gender and role (the obvious example being Catherine and Meghan) that it's less about race so much it is about what the roles of "Royal" women should be that editors are trying to shape.
Less racism, more misogyny if you like.

More to the point, can a blanket assumption of white privilege be upheld as if just being white puts you further forward on the starting block ignoring poverty, education (the lowest levels of attainment are white working class males). chronic disabilities and even the extent to which you applied your abilities studying or training?

If a black women in her twenties and a white male of the same age both win a 200 metre race can we say he's had every advantage and didn't earn his win? What if she'd of come from a well off background background and he hadn't possibly having health issues in his early childhood? 

Because I'm white does that mean I'm privileged beyond that anyone who is black even with many many long term health issues and disabilities? Things that have resulted in discrimination, verbal and physical abuse even?
Do you even 'get' me and my needs?

I suspect as a tool for saying we ought to be sensitive to others needs  and think before we make wide statements this term really is inadequate for the complexity of what constitutes advantage  and the extent to which any group of people use it.
It also has the ability to promote discrimination itself.