The advantages you've had

Thu, 20 May 2021 08:36:18 +0000

“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”

– F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

I read this somewhere and it stuck with me because it’s true in a way that feels obvious until you actually try to live by it, and even then it’s hard. We all have advantages we never asked for and rarely notice – the kind of things that just make life slightly easier, like being born into a family that didn’t struggle to put food on the table, or having parents who went to university and could help you with homework without feeling lost themselves, or arriving in a country where you speak the language and look like most of the people around you. None of these things were earned. They just happened. And they add up in ways that are impossible to quantify but impossible to ignore.

Judgment on Shafiq Alibhai

The advantages you've had