By the end of his article, Savage admits “I’m not some extraordinary talent who was passed over; I’m an ordinary talent—and in ordinary times that would have been enough”3 and in this post-2017 landscape, it just won’t do for a straight white male millennial to be mediocre. They have to be exceptional. I admit that this is true but as material... See more

So, bully for me trying to get a tenure-track job in an English department while also attempting to sell a pilot (or feature or whatever) while also attempting to publish a novel. Yet it’s not because I’m a white dude that’s the problem. This is only a symptom of a much, much larger issue. The trap that Savage falls into is that the ruling class... See more

What I’m getting at is the major blind spot in Savage’s article: the pie isn’t just getting smaller for Da Boys, it’s getting smaller for fucking everybody.

Have I occasionally felt aggrieved by this or that thing that has occurred to me over the course a decade-plus of attempting to publish a book, sell a screenplay and/or get a tenure-track job? Sure. Who hasn’t? Trying to turn blood into a diamond can feel like a soul-sucking pursuit regardless of your race, age or sexual orientation.