Earlier today I
read a blog post by sci fi author John Scalzi (Old Man’s War, Zoe’s Tale)
wherein he compared “straight white male privilege”—i.e. the social advantages
straight white males receive from being straight, white and male in Western
society—to the lowest difficulty setting in a video game. Speaking as not only
a straight white male but a gamer as well, I felt the comparison was spot on.
Purely in terms of content, Scalzi didn’t really say anything new or that I
didn’t already agree with, but I thought his actual rhetorical approach was
utterly fascinating.
Every so often I
stumble across an opinionated piece such as this one that’s able to phrase an
oft-repeated argument in a new and surprisingly intuitive fashion that hammers
the point home better than a straight take (“this is right/wrong because…”)
ever could. I call it the “Huh, never thought of it like that” Effect. As
someone who enjoys a good opinion piece and good writing even more, it’s as
refreshing as a chilly can of Coke on a blazing hot day.
