I think you've heard the one about people taking classes together at City College, and some students standing out head and shoulders above the rest in terms of academic preparation, while the other math teachers seemed to have no discernible knowledge of math. And the way it ends with the smartest and "best-prepared" ones being the least good at coping with the environment we were training for. At least, in the sample of people I knew.
What do they do if you respond with "I know, I'm trying to keep my privilege from getting in the way of accomplishing things?" Or similar ideas. Because the ivory tower has prestige, but prestige doesn't go as far as you wish it would. At least not in these contexts. Probably good for impressing people who run arts nonprofits and getting unpaid internships (as my youngest sister can attest, with her high-prestige former women's college degree), but that's not actually useful.
What's the equivalent of getting friend-zoned? Volunteer-zoned? "We're sorry, we can't give you any money, but we sincerely do like you, so feel free to hang out here and do work any time you want!"
I can't tell if you're joking or not, but I have had this happen and having read a lot about the hell that is the unpaid internship circuit, I know it's not just me.
Even saying that feels grossly like a dude defending the friendzone.
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What do they do if you respond with "I know, I'm trying to keep my privilege from getting in the way of accomplishing things?" Or similar ideas. Because the ivory tower has prestige, but prestige doesn't go as far as you wish it would. At least not in these contexts. Probably good for impressing people who run arts nonprofits and getting unpaid internships (as my youngest sister can attest, with her high-prestige former women's college degree), but that's not actually useful.
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Even saying that feels grossly like a dude defending the friendzone.
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