A self-described "middle-aged, middle-class white man" says, "200 years of American bro-ocracy have come to an end." And he's surprisingly happy about it.
In ways that have to do with more than just the recent election, "Middle-aged, middle-class white men like me no longer have sole control of the levers of power," Hugo Schwyzer writes at Jezebel. But he doesn't mind at all, and he lays out four pretty convincing reasons why his peers shouldn't, either.
But they won't all be convinced by this list. No one tell Rush Limbaugh and Donald Trump!
1. We'll probably live longer. … The sooner white men let go of the anxiety and resentment that accompany unearned privilege, the healthier and happier we'll likely be …
2. We can finally stop the unhelpful whining about our white guilt. Of course, the fact that white men don't have the power they once did doesn't mean they don't still benefit from unmerited privilege …
3. Women –- and everyone else –- will be more likely to tell us the truth. The more privilege you have (or are perceived to have) the riskier it is for someone who doesn't share that privilege to be honest with you. Anglican feminist theologian Janet Morley suggests that when the privileged use power to dominate, they force the less privileged to use their "weakness to manipulate." Most people dislike being manipulated — and yet a system in which women and non-whites lack equal access to power is one in which honesty often comes with dangerously high risks …
4. We can –- maybe –- trust our successes are due to our merit. One of the most pernicious tropes in the affirmative action debate is that minority and gender-based preferences in admissions or hiring make it impossible for non-whites and women to be sure of their own abilities. For two generations, angry white men have complained that they aren't given any special benefits by the state …
Read more at Jezebel.