When the Only Thing You Have Going is Being White
What Are You Besides Your Skin Color?
In the first Avengers movie, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark have a verbal altercation.
Steve said, “Big man in a suit of armor, take that off; what are you?”
Tony replied, “ Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist!”
Tony Stark might have been an arrogant egomaniac, but he had some things going on in his life besides the suit he wore on the outside.
I was an athlete in high school and college. It wasn’t unusual for athletes to be stereotyped and placed in a category as if we couldn’t also be scholars, poets, and successful in other areas of their lives. Unfortunately, some athletes only saw themselves in terms of their athletic accomplishments. Even professional athletes often struggle when their careers ens as they eventually must. They have to discover what they are besides the thing they were always known for.
In every segment of society, a hierarchy forms where people can rise to the top of their…
