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The Professional Gambler
Explaining institutional and systemic discrimination, simply
There’s a great analogy at the start of Malcolm X’s biography.
In it, he talks of the law of averages and probability.
If you were playing cards, blackjack or roulette or doing any kind of gambling, and one person was winning all the time, every single time eventually you would say they’re cheating. That they’re dealing from the bottom of the deck. They’re playing the system.
And it’s the same with if someone loses every single time. You would say eventually this doesn’t seem right, this game must be rigged. In a game of chance, surely you’d win here and there — even if overall you lose your money.
Even if they’re a professional gambler with years of experience, playing against an amateur. Sure, the extra skill and experience will count for something and ensure they minimise their risk and make better decisions but even they wouldn’t expect to win every single time.
Life doesn’t or shouldn’t work like that.
