Tensegrities

I'm 44, and I'm white. I HAVE had 2 jobs taken from my because of racial quotas when I was clearly the most qualified applicant. I HAVE been spat (yes, spat)upon by "racist-hating" liberal females because I dared ask challenging questions. I HAVE been beaten in an alley by black and hispanic males simply because I was walking where they didn't think I should be.

So pardon me if I found your trumpeting of articles dissecting "whiteness" and its failings a bit distasteful. Whether you like it or not, in our "brave new world" of engineering outcomes and extreme political correctness at ANY COST, being a middle aged white male is A CRIME, and we are being punished. Even those of us, who have never overtly acted on a racist impulse in our lives. I'm not saying i've never had them - anyone alive has - INCLUDING blacks and hispanics. And for my self-control, which I'm proud of, this is what I get.

You can have the world. From where I stand, it is not worth living in anymore.

I'm sorry that you've had to struggle with such painful situations. My husband -- a middle class white male -- has also faced discrimination. But discrimination is not the same thing as racism, and until white folk renounce our unearned privileges and contribute to the empowerment of a just society, I fear the pain and anger that so fatigues you will only continue. I am a progressive, not a liberal, and I would not ever spit on anyone -- no matter how angry I might become. I'm sorry you've had to face that, and I hope it deepens your empathy rather than closes you down.