In the role playing game known as The Real World, “Straight White Male” is the lowest difficulty setting there is.

May 18, 2012 2:45 PM

In the role playing game known as The Real World, “Straight White Male” is the lowest difficulty setting there is.
posted by deathpanels (5 comments total)

Double
posted by OmieWise at 2:47 PM on May 18, 2012

I’ve been thinking of a way to explain to straight white men how life works for them, without invoking the dreaded word “privilege,” to which they react like vampires being fed a garlic tart at high noon. It’s not that the word “privilege” is incorrect, it’s that it’s not their word. When confronted with “privilege,” they fiddle with the word itself, and haul out the dictionaries and find every possible way to talk about the word but not any of the things the word signifies.

No, they don't want to accept responsibility for something that's an accident of their birth. Better to condescend them by making an analogy about video games, because straight whites guys love shit like videogames, right?

Complex issues require complex engagement. Otherwise, you're not much better than the people who are oversimplifying for more nefarious purposes.
posted by Mayor Curley at 2:50 PM on May 18, 2012

I don't think you read it.
posted by roll truck roll at 2:51 PM on May 18, 2012

Double
posted by OmieWise at 2:47 PM on May 18 [+] [!]

Yeah, but we can't risk missing opportunities for self-flagellation.
posted by codswallop at 2:52 PM on May 18, 2012

Complex issues require complex engagement. Otherwise, you're not much better than the people who are oversimplifying for more nefarious purposes.

Some people's inherent anti-intellectualism causes them to instinctively reject attempts at complex engagement.
posted by jedicus at 2:53 PM on May 18, 2012