It’s not his choice that shows his privilege - it’s the response to the choice. When Bernie wears a practical coat and mittens, the response is generally positive. A smile. A laugh or two. The launch of a thousand memes. For the most part, people do not look at him and say some version of “how dare he.”
When women and people of color show up, their appearance and clothing choices are scrutinized to the nth degree and criticized if/when they deviate from some standard. The tan suit. The bare arms. The pantsuits.
Privilege (in this case) is not having to give a fuck. That doesn’t mean people think Bernie did something wrong - but pointing out that people’s reactions to his sartorial choices are very different than the reaction to a senator who was not white or not male.
I have said before on these boards that we’re to find myself in the unlikely position of taking the oath of office for president, I’d show up in a Hawaiian shirt, Bermuda shorts and sandals with socks. And I’d take it indoors, which is only sensible in cold weather. That would be a clear statement about clothing-based privilege.
I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that those were partisan based issues, invented by Fox and used against Dems. Melania wore sleeveless dresses while she was the first lady and we’ve all see Reagan in a tan suit and I don’t recall anyone from Fox blowing a gasket over them.
Yup. A black guy, or a woman, would have gotten a lot of flack. But why did you ignore the rest of my post? I agree that he did the right thing.
most privilege is about small things. I’m not sure why this particular example of minor privilege went viral. The internet is weird that way. But there are tons and tons of little things, each inconsequential in itself, that together add up to make life very different for the haves and the have-nots. Black Americans have a much shorter life expectancy than White Americans, even after you adjust for income, etc. The best guess is that it’s due to a lifetime of higher cortisol levels from more stressful interactions, day in, day out. And almost all of those are little things. But it adds up.
By right wing nutbars who would criticize women and people of color for anything, simply because they are women and people of color.
Maybe, but most small things are relatable. “I’m treated differently during a traffic stop” is relatable to me as I have direct experience with being stopped by the police and how I was treated. “Sanders was maybe treated differently from a theoretical parka-wearing black guy in a select crowd at a presidential inauguration” is not. Shit, I’m a white guy and still wouldn’t expect the same reaction if I somehow squirreled my way into a Covid-restricted Inauguration invite and showed up on the steps dressed like I was running to Costco*. It doesn’t parse as a “learning experience” in any meaningful sense to me and I assume it doesn’t to a whole lot of people.
*Yes, I know he was wearing a suit under; that’s not what most people noticed or focused on and is thus somewhat irrelevant.
I must remember to take my Morning Suit out of storage and get it fitted and sent to the cleaners so I can be ready for this sort of ocassion… 
but really, it was not so long ago I was browsing through threads on this same site and feeling a right ancient old fart for working somewhere where (before stay-at-home, that is) an actual suit (or at least jacket-and-tie) is expected on most days and our employing authority person detests “nonconventional” grooming.
Let’s call it Old Coot privilege. And TBH, every guest on that stage was swimming in privilege of one form or another, let’s not forget that.
My shock at his look was “why the heck doesn’t he have a hat on if he’s cold??”
Then again, heck, I myself have never owned a “proper dress” overcoat, but rather a trenchcoat. I like being able to button up all the way to the neck.
Except all cultures have their appropriate dress. You don’t show up to an Asian wedding in the wrong color. Had Kamala shown up in a sari, it would have been appropriate (but REALLY cold). Yes, the dress of the inauguration is western centric, but in no one’s culture are recycled mittens and a parka respectful dress. And while allowances can be made for poverty, that certainly isn’t the reason Sanders didn’t bother to dress respectfully.
I think it’s 100% relevant. People are trying to tear him down based on the incorrect fact that he wasn’t dressed appropriately. They either noticed and ignored the suit or it’s since been pointed out. In either case if you want to accuse him of some kind of privilege at least use the actual facts and not made up ones.
You’ve chosen as your examples, a President, a First Lady, and Hillary Clinton, (who, for many legitimate reasons, is deeply unpopular). Presidents and First Ladies get criticized by partisans all the time, often for trivial reasons, and regardless of their race.
For instance, Melania Trump got a lot of criticism for her minimalist taste in Christmas decorations (this was long before the audio tape of her complaining about it was released). Should I infer from this that a white woman can’t even put up Christmas decorations without being scrutinized to the nth degree and criticized if/when they deviate from some standard?
Donald Trump was frequently criticized over the length of his ties. Does that mean white men can’t even put a tie on without being dragged over the coals?
The answer to these questions is obviously ‘no’. Bernie Sanders is the most popular senator in the country and has an endearing “grumpy grandpa” image. If a black politician of the same standing and with the same image had worn mittens to Biden’s inauguration there’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t have received a similar response.
Also, while we’re talking about privilege, what species of privilege allows one to publish poorly written articles about nothing in major newspapers? Because the author of this silly article has it in spades. Sam Stone is right. We truly are living in foolish times.
That was way back when people – everyone! – dressed up to go out in public. Does not truly apply in this case.
People from Vermont were much simpler about their appreciation for Bernie’s attire – that’s what everyone, from the lowliest to the highest, wears in Vermont in winter. Because one, it is forking cold there. In a place that cold, staying warm takes priority over everything else. And because two, it is a central part of rural New England culture, dating from its earliest Calvinist Puritan founding, to not “show away”, to be humble and modest in your presentation. It is expected that no matter how much money or other attainments you may possess, you should dress like a laborer. Bernie was kind of bridging the gap – suit underneath, parka and beloved gift mittens on top.
It’s forking cold in Minnesota - also not a place known for being fashion forward or overly fancy - and Senator Klobuchar managed not to wear a parka.
Their maleness is as much or more their armor.
But is that in the “Mitten State? [Michigan]
I agree, I just doubt that anyone getting worked up over it cares.
See, here’s where we part company.
As far as I’m concerned, there was absolutely nothing disrespectful about the way Sanders was dressed. He was wearing a suit. He was wearing a gray coat (and I still haven’t heard what you think about all the other people wearing gray, non-wool coats – were they all dressed disrespectfully?). He was wearing mittens made for him, in an environmentally-friendly and sustainable manner.
I cannot grasp why anyone would think Bernie was dressed disrespectfully.
Let’s go back to the whole Obama tan suit thing. We would all agree that those who criticized his suit choice on that day would criticize anything at all that Obama did. Or wore.
And yet here we are taking potshots at Bernie Sanders, of all people, because of what he wore.
I wonder if Joe Biden or Kamala Harris thought he wasn’t dressed respectfully? I wonder if Senator Harris (at the start of the day – Vice President Harris a little later) thought Sanders was getting away with something because of his white privilege?
Holy crap, this is getting beyond silly.
Sanders was not dressed disrespectfully. That’s just some made-up silliness.
She has a lot more to prove than Bernie, I imagine. Hey, I’m not saying there’s no such thing as white male privilege! Just relaying the Vermonter report.
The author is an idiot. The only problem is that people spouting off whiny nonsense like that get too much attention in today’s culture.
She did, however, wear the same coat she’s been wearing to political events for years. Including (according to WaPo) when she announced her run for the presidency. Almost as though, I dunno, she has a warm coat she likes in a color she likes (relating to her Alma Mata) and wore it to the inauguration.
Edit: Sanders’ coat is looking a bit worn in that Trump inauguration photo as well. Guess no one cared enough at the time to rail against him for it or turn it into a meme.