26 February. 2017. 18:04

ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact

Bouncing between foster homes until his 18th birthday, one local man once considered himself to be underprivileged.

Never really knowing his parents but knowing the sound of a belt being taken off all too well, John Petersburg of South Betoota explained to The Advocate for all his shortcomings and internal crises, he still should feel privileged because of how he looks.

“There are still times when I just feel like crying for no reason,” he said. “And my fear of abandonment and trust issues prevent me from connecting with another human being on anything more than a superficial level, but I also thank my lucky stars I was born a boy and whiter than Ascot bedsheet.”

While the 29-year-old insurance broker stops short of describing his early life as privileged, he does concede that other people his age had it worse.

“Look, the other day I got grilled by this chick at a party who said I didn’t understand how lucky I was to be born the way I was, which confused me a bit but, you know, I tend to avoid confrontation so I just back away,” he said.

“But yeah, nah. If I was a disabled transgender woman of colour, then yeah, I guess I got it better than she did. But fuck me, you can’t just make these types of assumptions on people. She reckoned I was blind to my privilege as a white male, which is pretty much true. But I got kicked out of every home I’ve ever lived in and had to fight for everything I’ve had. If it was easier because I was a white male, I’m fucking sorry.”

Mr Petersburg then spoke about how if he was still blind to his privilege, he’d rather stay blind forever.

More to come.