Posted by Dave on 03/31/06 at 01:50:09 pm
Categories: Sociology Ravings

Here are some of my musings from the start of my trip…

The concept of privilege is an interesting thing.

As part of my thesis research, I am attempting to look at what role privilege plays in the lives of the community members that I am studying. For the most part, each member of these communities comes from privilege - they are almost all white, upper-middle class, well traveled, educated Americans. And they are now choosing to reject privilege and instead live a life of simplicity amongst poverty.

The people that they live among (the surrounding neighborhoods) clearly lack privilege. As mentioned back in August, Camden is one of the poorest cities in the nation and has been labeled the most dangerous. The area of Philadelphia where the simple way is located is not much better. It surely is not a privilege to live in such a place. But it does not stop there. Few of those that live in these places have a college education. Few have come from middle class families. Few have traveled outside of the greater Philadelphia/Camden area. I had a conversation yesterday with a man who is living at the simply way. He told me about visiting Fresno with Shane (a founding member of the simple way), who had a speaking engagement. It was the first time he had been on a plane. And it was the first time that he had left Philadelphia. It was eye-opening for him, and he loved it. But the point is that this is something that most of us take for granted. I know that most of my readers are fairly well educated and have done their share of traveling. And I know that most of us would not be excited about going to Fresno! :)

What is interesting is the relationship between these two groups - those rejecting privilege and those who do not have privilege. I presented some of this material a few weeks back to a Sociology of Religion class at CSU-Fullerton. One student commented on this relationship, saying that one who lives in poverty does not choose simplicity - they want escape the need for simplicity. The poor do not have a choice to choose poverty or to choose simplicity. The very nature of what these communities are doing - choosing to live in impoverished areas, living simply, etc. - necessitates privilege. The decision can only be made by those that have the option.

The question becomes about the relationship that this creates. How does the greater neighborhood respond to those that choose the life that they do not have a choice about? How does this play out?

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