Smollett’s claim exposes how wonderful it really is to be a victim in modern liberal society, and how that really exaggerates tribalism.

I do agree that victimhood culture has become quite trendy and lucrative, and there’s no doubt in my mind that Smollett is being treated much more mercifully by his progressive peers than he would be if he were a white male Trump supporter who had staged an attack on himself. Progressives and conservatives alike are often eager to forgive and forget, but only when the perpetrator is one of their own. When it’s someone on the other side of the aisle, the gloves come off. We’ve seen that with Roseanne Barr, Kathy Griffin, Ralph Northam, and even President Trump.

Unless you’re a cis white male. Then there’s NO way to get ahead. Because the only real growth industry today is in victimhood.

I have to disagree with that, though. By every possible socioeconomic metric — per capita income, unemployment rates, home-ownership rates, and so on — white men are still doing quite well on the whole. There are pockets of the white community that are struggling mightily, and I certainly won’t argue that their problems are being given fair consideration or attention. Appalachia in particular has been ripped apart by everything from free trade to automation, yet no one seemed to care much about that until Trump came along and made it an issue. But at the national level, white guys seem to be doing pretty well for themselves relative to other demographics.