Watching “I, Daniel Blake” was a tear-jerking experience for me because it hit a lot of points very personal to me; very similar to some of my experiences; very real things I have witnessed; and things that are a reality for a lot of the people near and dear to me. This is why I don’t want to focus my recount of this event on the film, but rather on a comment that followed the film.

One of my peers posed the question, “Are we even allowed to be angry [at the systemic flaws and disrespectful experiences depicted in the film], since we come from a place of privilege?” While I understand that this question was posed with genuinely innocent intentions, it really brought to my attention the idea that some people at Cornell are unaware that not all of their peers here come from the same privileged backgrounds. I agree that all of us attending this institution have the privilege of being here, and that in itself is supposed to go a long way in helping our socioeconomic status post-graduation. Yet, I want to bring to attention that many students, even at Cornell, face very different realities during their time away.

I know multiple people who have had to delay their studies due to financial insecurity. I know people who face food insecurity when having to return home over winter and summer breaks. I know people who are here on full scholarships and work 20+ hours a week, on top of having a full course load, in order to finance purchasing their books, materials to study, and food to eat. While it is a privilege that they still have the opportunity to study, I felt this question undermined the struggles they face every day in order to be able to do that.

For me, one of the bigger take-aways from the film was that every person should be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their situation; that if you are in a position to help and serve others, you should be doing just that: helping and serving. Changing this reality takes each and every one of us making an effort in our daily interactions; because despite the setting of the film, these things still happen in today’s society and even in the United States. These things happen to the people we interact with every day (yes, even at Cornell), and we never know which seemingly insignificant but disrespectful action of ours might be contributing to those less-than-ideal circumstances others are facing.