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To be fair, privilege isn't only based on skin color. Only you can decide if your colleague was out of line in that instance, of course.

Consider that most people here on HN have some level of privilege simply by being in the tech field, which is highly paid and respected right now.

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> Consider that most people here on HN have some level of privilege simply by being in the tech field.

I have to disagree with this statement. My view on "privilege" in its contemporary usage is that it is any advantage which comes "naturally" without any (or at the very least a relative minimal amount of) effort. Being in the tech field is something you have to work for, develop your skills for, etc. That isn't what privilege is, that is the result of your own work and ambitions.

Asians experience a lot of racism too. It’s not always the clear cut racism other groups experience but it is reliable enough to have a definite impact. Sometimes it’s country club style “I have an Asian friend” or “not you though”. And then admissions turns around and lumps Asia all together with negative quotas even though there are rather meaningful differences between south, SEA, and east Asian countries and cultures. So someone saying check your privilege to someone who’s parents may very well have earned them that privilege the hard way sounds hollow.

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