My life's been harder than some, but easier than most.
This popped into my head some years ago, and is something I've consistently referred back to. Given that the season of thanks is upon us, and I have a sickness to measure, rather than simply appreciate, I set out to roughly calculate just how fortunate my place in the world is.
Gender
Right off the bat, from a flip of God's coin, I was born with chromosomes netting me an advantage.
- Odds of Being Male: 50%
Race
You've seen my profile picture on these posts. Call it white, call it European-descendant, whichever you choose, throw me in there.
This is already far harder to quantify. Some numbers I've seen thrown vary from 16% to as low as 7% of the world's population being white. The metric isn't as important here, except to emphasize that it's a fairly small percentage.
At the risk of sounding like a Rage Against the Machine song, it's a fairly safe bet to assume if you have power or money in this present time, you're more likely to look like me than my wife. This is rapidly changing, but still the reality of the time.
- Odds of being male: 50%
- Odds of being white: 10%
- Odds of being white male: 5%
Nationality
Like the Boss, I too, was Born in the USA. The United States may be the 3rd largest country by population, but only 4% of the world call it home. The odds of being born in India or China are a whopping 35%.
I'm going to make this statement from a purely economic perspective (the only subject I feel I can speak with some authority to): I'm incredibly fortunate to have been born here.
- Odds of being male: 50%
- Odds of being white: 10%
- Odds of being white male: 5%
- Odds of being white male born in USA: 0.2%
Height
This one's just for fun. There have been studies to suggest that tall people do earn more, but also some suggesting that we die sooner.
At 6' 3", that puts me in the 97th percentile for height.
- Odds of being a white American male and 6'3" or taller: 0.06%
Tip of the Iceberg
Already we've seen that based solely on a few broad characteristics, the odds of inheriting the same characteristics as me are incredibly small. We didn't even delve into other measurable funnels: family education level, family health history, intelligence, etc. Not to mention a potentially infinite number of softer variables.
We failed to even mention the timeline of human history. How fortunate are we to be alive in this moment? How much improved will the fortune of the average human be in the future? Of the estimated 110 billion humans who came before us, you're lucky enough to be here now.
The math here is obviously incredibly rough, but the numbers don't have to be accurate for them to have value. Whether I'm 1 of 100 or 100 million, the net takeaway is the same: I am blessed.
Privilege is a loaded word. I would often get offended when my privilege was pointed out to me. It seemed to undercut the accolades I felt I had earned. I've found it increasingly humbling to realize that I am indeed in a privileged position. Is it the sole defining variable? Absolutely not. One can debate the impact, but you can't ignore it completely.
My children will be amongst the most fortunate people on the planet. Though they'll still have me as a father. Handicap that however you see fit.