Two words a lot of people don't like to talk about. Have you ever been in one of those conversations where a bunch of (white) people are standing around and for whatever reason "affirmative action" comes up and inevitably someone claims that it's akin to reverse racism- all these rules in place that keep deserving white people from getting what they deserve. Now grant you, there may be some truth in that statement. There are deserving white people who do not get jobs/university slots/etc because a percentage of the eligible slots must go to people of color. The debate I suppose comes from the question of whether or not that's fair.
As for myself, I believe that yes, it is fair because there are so many factors at play beyond just the color of skin. But despite the fact that my personal and political ideologies tell me that this is the case, I still find myself with contradictory thoughts. About a month ago, I'm sitting on my back porch looking at my then 7 month old son and dreaming about his future when I think to myself, "Poor kid. He's gonna such a hard time in life being a white male."
Now, if you know me, you may have read that previous sentence imagining a sarcastic intonation in my voice, thinking that you're laughing with me at the absurdity of the statement. But I kid you not, for a brief moment I was dead serious. And then I thought, "What am I thinking?!" As I mentally slapped myself back to reality, I reminded myself that my son, solely because of his whiteness and male gender, will have so many intrinsic opportunities. People will assume that he's capable of leadership, that he'll be good at math and science (and therefore given opportunities to exceed at these), that he'll not only go to college, but to a good one. I reminded myself that my son will not be watched suspiciously while he walks through a store, that women will not hold their purses closer when he approaches, that teachers will not assume that he comes from a troubled or broken home and treat him differently. He'll never fit a racial profile and be pulled over because of the color of his skin, he'll never have to live with the painful memories of racial slurs and side ways glances. Most likely he will not have to go to a substandard school and receive a substandard education, he will mostly likely never face gangs or violence (I am by no means saying that all people of color do). And people will never question his ability or intelligence because of his gender, he'll most likely never deal with sexual harassment or fear sexual assault. In fact there are so many things that he will be completely oblivious to because of his gender and ethnicity, that he might just think that life is unfair when someone of color or a different gender gets chosen over him.
