The magical power of historical inertia perhaps. And its ok, people can fail to capitalize on their privilege just as some of us succeed in spite of it.
With where I hail from, people are truly as equal as they could be barring a need for a social hierarchy. The only division was by authority. Race, age, gender - none of the go-to issues were in play. We all had the same requirements and duties asked of us; the immaterial concept of "privilege" held no ground there, for which I am thankful. Even before then, when I was young, no one spoke about privilege. Why, one might wonder?
We all lived in the same neighborhood and willingly followed the same social lies. In fact, I never heard the argument of this "privilege" until it confronted me know the internet years ago. It still proves to be some unfounded argument that focuses on division, pitting people against one another, than any forward thinking concept of unity. It asks nothing of equal opportunity and demands "equality" in a nation where all people are afforded that chance.
In brief, I cannot capitalize on something that does not effectively exist, because if it did, why did I not get preferential treatment for all of my "oppression points"? Just being a "white male" has not granted me anything; I earned everything I kept, woe or weal.
If we want to harp on history and how "whites" and "men" in the past had actual power beyond others in a great number of ways, then certainly, that is a valid statement. But that root died a long, long time ago.
