From “People Who Look Like You” [“This white man is known for his tallness”]

This white man is known for his tallness. When he was in high school, people suggested he play basketball. This is a cliché but also a compliment. In the world of the tall white man, a compliment is a candy bar, and a cliché, a quickly ripped-off wrapper. The tall white man eats a candy bar in one sitting. As a child, you are rarely allowed candy, so when you are, you open it gingerly like beautiful wrapping paper and eat a fraction of it each day for a week.

Even the whitest of tall white men are defined by their tallness. You argue, softly, that a tall man’s whiteness is more glaring than his tallness.

Softly is the way you know how to argue, even if other people don’t call this arguing. You save wrapping paper to reuse or at least admire years from now when it’s old and no longer usable.