This is in response to a post from someone that I know who said that if people can't acknowledge white privilege, he does not want them to speak to him anymore. This person was a star athlete who got a free ride to college and surely had a better experience growing up in my hometown than I did. He was unfollowed. Here are some real predictors of success in life. Still, with all of this being said, you can always make choices to better your situation and improve yours odds of being successful.
Intelligence:
A- Genius or near genius. Can be accepted to the most selective universities. Any job that you want can be yours if you are willing to work for it. Little to no limitations.
B- Above Average- School may not always come easy but a Bachelor's Degree from a good and well respected school is an attainable goal. Some occupations will be beyond your abilities but you can gain marketable job skills that will set you up for a comfortable life.
C-Average- Marginally college material but can still earn a decent living especially if you have good mechanical skills.
D-Below Average- High school will be struggle. Not college material. Significant limitations. That said, some of the nicest people I've met work as cashiers or servers in restaurants. Do a good job and you can become a manager.
F- Much Below Average- With a normal distribution, an IQ of 70 is as common as 130. Sadly, if your intelligence is in this range, you will likely work a menial labor job. No matter how hard you try, a subject such as Algebra will be too difficult. Sad but true.
Family Background:
A- Loving mother and father who make a good salary and can pay for much of your education.
B and C- The middle ground can be murky. Parents may be divorced but both parents are involved and a loving step-parent is around? How about 2 parents who stay together but money is a bit tight? I'd say that's a "B" on both.
Divorced parents with friction and tight money but both parents are involved and are loving. A single parent household that brings in a decent salary. That's a C.
D- 1 parent is completely absent and you grow up poor but are loved. In this case, you will not have access to the best teachers and tutors. Significant disadvantage but not an insurmountable obstacle if you are advantaged in other areas.
F- 1 or both parents are abusive and/or you live in severe poverty in a high crime neighborhood. I will concede that if you grow up in this environment, your odds of being successful are long but it can be done.
Social skills:
This one can be a bit tricky to assess but I'll give it a try.
A- Top 1-2% in athletic ability. Good enough to get scholarship money for college. This will offset much of the disadvantage of growing up in a lower socioeconomic stratum. This is usually accompanied by good looks and the ability to date pretty much anyone that you want. It will also enable you to form network connections in the job market especially if you have a naturally outgoing personality. That may offset some of the disadvantages of having only average grades in school.
F- Serious personality disorder or extremely unattractive. An example could be a person with morbid obesity to the point in which they are unemployable or severe mental illness to the point of needing to be institutionalized.
The vast majority of people are somewhere in between these 2 extremes and there is some overlap with the next category.
Health:
A- Almost never sick and physically fit.
B- Not athletic but in generally good health
C- Chronic condition that is manageable with treatment. Quality of life is impacted only a small amount.
D- Condition that is difficult to treat but able to work and live independently. Social life and work performance may be affected.
F- Completely disabled. No life.
My Report Card:
Intelligence- B+
Family- A
Social- C
Health- D
Intelligence:
Growing up, I knew several people who were "gifted" (IQ >130) but were mediocre students who did not even attend college. Tragically, at least 2 got messed up on drugs and did not live to see 30 years of age. Success will not simply be handed to you even if your circumstances are favorable. You have to do the work. I was a very good student but it did not always come easy and had several courses that I found to be quite difficult. I could have passed high school by taking easy courses without too much effort but college preparatory classes required significant study.
Now, let's say that your intelligence is average or slightly below (IQ 85-95). You are not doomed to be a failure. Getting a high school diploma is a considerable advantage over those who do not. If you can learn a trade such as carpentry or welding, you will earn decent money and will not be saddled by mountains of student debt. Let's say that you land a job at Wal-Mart. If you show up every day and do a good job, you will probably be an assistant manager within a few years.
Family:
This is the only one that you really can't control for yourself. However, you can certainly improve your children's lives by making good choices. A Ben Shapiro video left a profound impression on me. He stated that if you simply graduate high school, work a steady job and wait until marriage to have children, you may hit some rough patches but your chances of "permanent poverty" are very slim. Yes, there are plenty of single mothers who do a great job but the odds are not in your favor without a father or strong male role-model. Statistics don't lie and they cut across racial lines too.
Social:
Only a small percentage will be good enough athletes for college teams. Still, if you can play multiple Varsity sports in high school, you'll learn life lessons, gain confidence and have an easier time making friends. That confidence will likely carry over into adulthood. My general athletic ability was average at best but I was good enough for one sport, which was running. Though I was sometimes frustrated by my performances, it was still a great experience overall. I have a nephew in a similar position. He's not good enough to make the school team in basketball, football or baseball but could be decent in cross-country. Sadly, he has no interest in joining the team. No interest in sports? You can still find kindred spirits in clubs with people who have similar interests. I've had to scale back my running in recent years but I've re-discovered skiing, which will fill some of the void. It is very important to find a productive activity outside of work or school both as a teen and as an adult.
Health:
Sadly, there are genetic factors that leave you more vulnerable to chronic disease. Still, for most people, you can improve yourself by following basic guidelines: Don't smoke. Don't drink to excess. Eat well and get some exercise. You don't have to train like a marathoner. Even a regular brisk walk for 15-30 minutes is a lot better than sitting on the couch. I've pulled out all the stops to get myself up from a D to a C in this area. If I can do that, it will be life changing. While I won't be bringing home a supermodel, I'm sure that I will get some quality matches who show interest if I put my picture on dating sites. Finding a compatible partner may not be so easy however. I've had some not so good experiences recently so I'm beginning to doubt whether or not I will seek marriage. I won't say that I'll be okay with it if it never happens but given the choice, I'd much rather be healthy.
Now on to the controversy:
A friend of mine took heat for saying that being black in America has NOT been a handicap. My opinion is that it depends on your age. Born in 1950 and raised by parents who grew up under Jim Crow? Yes, it is a significant disadvantage. Born in 1980 or thereafter? Not nearly as much. I say that if you come from a good family, are intelligent and attractive, you have just about the same chance of being successful in every area of life as everyone else.
I will not deny that police profiling does exist nor do I deny the reality of racism. I can't imagine how hurtful it is to be told to your face that you are disliked or worse simply because of the color of your skin. Words cannot express how much I hate that. Still, such attitudes are not nearly as pervasive today and I've seen real progress in the last 20 years. If I were to rank the biggest problems in the black community, police brutality is not in the top 5. There are many aspects of life that create a far greater disadvantage than your race. While some will face greater obstacles than others, I strongly believe that no matter your skin color, you CAN make it in America with good life decisions especially if you don't have an F in any of the 4 categories.
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