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In reply to the discussion: As a white male I am blamed for all the ills of society [View all]Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)I learned how to hide in a house when I was five; mom and I would hustle up into the attic an wait for the landlord to stop knocking, while dad was looking for work out of state. He taught me how to shoot, and how to fish, and how to snare; Ever eaten opossum? Ever killed it yourself? I taught my little sister how to sneak potatoes and onions out of the store so that we could have shit to eat. Never did any break and entering anyone, but shoplifting was very much a survival tactic in my family - and just 'cause I didn't doesn't mean I couldn't. All while mom and dad drank and brawled. I had piss-poor grades in school too, mostly because I never bothered showing up and when I did, I couldn't stand the "busy work" - I know the stuff, give me the test, let me leave. Paying for school was a fantasy, and scholarships? lord almighty, there are Florida land deals that were better investments than me.
And most of my friends were in the same boat - maybe not quite so hillbilly, but definitely poor. As most of my friends were other kids at Morningside elementary school, Mae Eanes middle school, and Blount High school in Mobile, AL, most of my peers were black. Know who the teachers tried to "save"? Know who the counselors sought put? Know who the vice principle cut slack for, when it came to fights in the hallway? it wasn't Jamal. It wasn't Larry. It wasn't Duane. it was me, Token White Kid. I had "potential," I had "promise", I could "do so much better". Apparently though, my friends couldn't.
Now why is that? They knew why. I knew why. So what's your hangup?
And let me tell you something; there's plenty of grants and scholarships. I know because oh, those counselors that wanted me to become their special project? They told me all about them, "if only you could bring your grades up..." What I think, is that you got into this "poor me I'm white and brown people have it made over me!" rut so long ago you didn't even bother looking into grants and scholarships, because you assumed there weren't any.
Now look at you. Complaining that you have student debt and have to work to pay rent. What, you think black people don't work to pay rent, is that it? Vietnamese kids - the other major minority in my school years - didn't end up with student debt? What on earth makes you special, you think that you only owe money because you're white or something?
You're not the only broke-ass white guy running around these boards. And you don't speak for all of us, and certainly not for me - I for one have the perspective to understand that if I'd been born a few shades darker, things would only be tougher for me.