Originally posted on Medium on 10/03/2018

I got the benefit of the doubt at every turn in my life. I never really had to try hard. Opportunities just fell into my lap. White adults never viewed me as a threat and never called the cops on me for being a kid. I had computers in my house from age 6 and we had the money to pay for someone to fix them when I broke them.

I went to a rich, white, all boys, private high school because my great aunt left me money to pay for it. There were plenty of good people there. There was also a few Brett Kavanaughs. My parents let me pick where I wanted to go to high school. My parents only had to work one job each so they could drive me to and from my bus stop 2 towns over every day and they had the flexibility to pick me up at 3pm every day. Every time I interacted with a police officer, I was treated with respect. They never had their hand resting on their gun, they never screamed at me, I never felt unsafe approaching them or when they approached me. I got a job in high school that helped my career because my family could afford to get me a car so I could get from school to work and drive for my job.

I got into Johns Hopkins because my parents could take me to enrichment programs on the weekends, they could afford to send me to a pre-college program there, and because of the name of my private high school.

I got a job because I bumped into the right people as part of a class assignment and an awesome manager and staff member decided to take a chance on me. I was employed for almost 10 years without ever having been in an interview. I was allowed to work remote for 9 years even though there was no policy blessing that arrangement.

I had grandmothers who didn’t take crap from anyone and grandfathers who respected them. I had uncles raised to respect women. I was raised to respect women. My parents were equals. They both were responsible for child care. They both worked. They both shaped me to be the person I am today

I went to parties where people were drinking underage, I decided not to. I managed to laugh with my friends without degrading the women around us. I managed to not sexually assault someone just because I’m was a boy and boys will be boys. I never had to worry about walking alone, getting a ride in a pouring rain, who I made eye contact with or talked to. Who might find me on social media.

I’ve made mistakes. I’ve hopefully adequately made amends for those mistakes.

I’m not entitled to any job. I’m not owed anything. I was born and grew up in the left handed batters box, 3 inches from home plate. I didn’t hit a home run. I owe something to all of you who were born 5,000 miles from the baseball field and told they could never play. You who have worked so much harder than me, and have accomplished so much more than I ever could.

I have a daughter and she’s not growing up in Brett Kavanaugh’s world. Because I’m going to help amazing, strong, smart women burn that world down. Enough is enough.

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