White Privilege
Sit back and relax or, if it applies, tighten those fists a little more. This is chapter two of last week's column.
Today, anyone who dares to challenge the far left's manta that racism in America is 100% one sided is a racist. Facts do not matter.
So here is another racist's (in some opinions) discussion of facts that challenge the left's assertion that whites succeed where minorities do not because of “White Privilege.”
There is never a discussion or definition of White Privilege. To try to find out what White Privilege means, the following paragraphs will be somewhat braggadocios. This will be a discussion of my children's lives with a request that someone enlighten me on how they were aided by White Privilege.
My four children are “Army Brats.” They were reared on totally integrated Army installations. Their neighbors, classmates, and playmates were from all races, colors, and creeds. They were reared in a disciplinary environment where they frequently got “the talk” to respect and obey their parents, teachers, police officers, and other officials.
While in high school, each of them began working in part time jobs. Usually this was in fast food restaurants or paper routes.
They were told that, if they wanted to go to college, their parents would pay for the tuition, books, room, and board for four years. Anything beyond that would be their responsibility.
Each of them decided to attend the University of Texas, Austin, with the following results.
The oldest worked as a waiter at Pelican's Wharf, a restaurant that no longer exists, for money for those things not coming from his parents. While at UT, he decided to become a lawyer. So law school at the University of Houston was on his own.
While in law school, he clerked for a law firm in Houston. Concurrent with his graduation and admission to the Bar, one of the senior partners in the firm was appointed General Counsel of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and invited my son to accompany him to D.C. as his assistant.
In the FERC General Counsel's office, he met another “Army Brat” and lawyer who became his wife. They have had very productive legal careers, primarily in the energy regulatory field. He will retire as a Texas State Administrative Law Judge in September. His wife will retire from a prestigious national law firm in November.
My second oldest worked at Mr. Gatti's Pizza Parlor while attending U.T. He earned enough there to buy a car while a student and had worked up to the manager's position. Upon graduation, he was offered a position in the management training program of the Gatti corporation, but elected to follow a career in the oil and gas industry. He is now the Manager of the Electric Submersible Pump Division of Halliburton Corporation in the Permian Basin.
My third son worked as a teller at First National Bank of Brenham during his summer and Christmas vacations while attending U.T. Because of that experience and his BBA in finance, he was hired in the management trainee program of the Austin National Bank. He stayed with that bank through many changes of name and retired a year ago as a Senior Vice President of the international corporation Bank of America.
During his years with Bank of America, he reported to three different Black managers or supervisors, whom he admired greatly.
My daughter, the youngest of the four, helped pay her way through U.T. by serving as a dormitory supervisor. She is now a Certified Public Accountant/Certified Internal Auditor serving as a consultant to a number of companies and corporations. In her early career she was hired by the FBI as an expert witness in several fraud cases.
In all of my children's work and educational endeavors, they had minority colleagues.
So here's the perspective.
What am I missing in this narrative? What White Privilege gave my children a step up in their work and education journeys that was not available to minorities? How did their White Privilege close the door of opportunity to any minority? Did their Christian work ethic influence any of their decisions?
As I dare to ask these questions and challenge the far left's preaching, am I a racist?
enough
