There are many, many great things about being a white guy. I get paid more for the same work as women, blacks and other groups. I spend less time in jail for the same crimes. I get shot less by the police. All in all, this whole being a white guy is a pretty good gig. For reason's I don't completely understand, my melanin deficiency and penis just seem to make my life better.
But there is one thing I love about being a white guy more than any other...that I can choose when, and when not, to give a damn about racism and sexism. Simply put, I get nearly unlimited vacation time, sick time and family medical leave from the fight for gender and racial inequality. Don't get me wrong, I don't abuse my vacation time, and mostly do everything I can to keep in the fight for justice. But you know, for very good reasons, sometimes...
Let me give an example. A few years ago, my wife became chronically sick. We are talking a couple years of needing significant help from me. This coincided with the last few years before I came up for tenure at the University where I work. It was a rough time. I was stressed, I was overworked, I was scared for my wife, scared about my own career. So something had to give. That something was politics, for the most part. And since I am a white guy, gender and racial inequality is basically part of my politics. And so, for a few years there, I basically checked out of that whole issue. I got tenure, my wife is much, much better...and now I am checking back in to fight the fight against racial and sexual inequality. But damn not needing to worry about it for a few years was really, really nice.
Now, had I been a woman or a minority, well I guess I woulda just had to deal with racism/sexism, my job, and my sick wife at the same time. Cause the asshole security guard at CVS doesn't care that you are there picking up a prescription because your wife is too tired to go herself...they are gonna follow your black ass around the store cause you are a potential shoplifter. The cop will pull you over for driving while black even if you had a really shitty day at work. You are gonna get passed over for a promotion for some white dude such as myself whether or not you have CHOSEN to focus on racism/sexism on that particular day. If I were a woman or minority, I simply wouldn't get to take vacations from racism and sexism, and that sounds like it would really suck.
So, while there are many benefits of being a white guy, hands down my favorite is being able to take some time off from the whole racism/sexism battles...being able to decide how much to prioritize racism/sexism in my personal and political life. Really, its nice, I strongly recommend being a white guy to everybody.
10:31 PM PT: I posted this diary today, several hours before the church killings I Charleston. Part of me wants to delete this diary, part of me feels it illustrates everything I was trying to say.
My last comment in this diary was to a troll, joking that was going to take a racism/sexism vacation and go to bed. I clicked to the front page and found the news of Charleston. I honestly have no words.
I will not delete this diary, but I am not sure I can look at it for a long while.