I'm glad I read this. As a white boy who grew up in poverty like he did, his explanation of how wealthy people simply don't understand the priveledge they have

I'm glad I read this. As a white boy who grew up in poverty like he did, his explanation of how wealthy people simply don't understand the priveledge they have, and connecting that to race really hit home. I can only begin to understand the perks I get by being white and belonging to the mainstream, white collar culture. Growing up, people knew I lived in a trailer, and was therefore "white trash." The fact that I spoke in the dialect of my family (a thick, Appalachian accent which is itself a relic of heavy Ulster Scots settlement of the region) marked me as an outsider when I arrived at college courtesy of a wealth coal-man's scholarship and heapings of Pell Grants. I am now able to shed this accent, this marker of "inferiority" at will. My brothers and sisters of color are unable to shed the markers which make them stand out as outsiders. There is one thankful trend I have observed: I have seen prejudiced people become less numerous, and less likely to hold positions of power than they used to, but it is a slow process. The minions which often guard the doors to the hiring process are often samll minded, petty bigots, unbeknownst to their leadership. They see "Tyrone" on a job application, and it gets moved to the "no" pile. I'm glad my father didn't name me "Jethro." Perhaps I would have been marked out as inferior by proxy of my "hillbilly" name.