White Male Privilege, Thy Initials Are RDJ

I have to walk a tightrope with this one.  I am writing about certain aspects of the life of Robert Downey, Jr.  He is an actor who I am a fan of, and I’ve probably been a fan longer than you. This is not about condemning someone with a lifelong substance abuse problem.  I think if you know me or read what I put out there, you will know that is not my game.  I’m thankful that the guy is successful and healthy and even though he is a stranger to me, it looks like he is a happy survivor. 

However, he is a prime example of white male privilege.

I’m defining privilege today as the accumulation of second chances, or third, or fourth, that are not afforded the rest of us. Not even close.  I’m a white male, too, but I don’t think I’d even get close to the amount of chances RDJ received.  Now, I’m all for second chances and comebacks.  Those are not even RDJ’s doing.  It’s the society around him; the culture he was a part of that gave him a lifetime of do-overs that the rest of us simply do not get.

RDJ’s father was a director and he started acting when he was child.  His gigs were in his father’s films.  A lot of people don’t know that he was on SNL for a season, which was very strange.  I would also like to note that his uncle, Jim Downey, was a longtime writer on the show.  Okay, maybe a few signs of nepotism.  Hardly new for Hollywood.  Also, RDJ was talented and well-reviewed.  When he worked, he worked well, which was all of his doing.  Chances are just that without talent to back them up.  He made the most of it and began to star in films.

He also had a crippling drug problem in the 80’s and 90’s.  Somehow, he kept it together and worked.  Cool.  Well, not cool.  But he kept it together even though he was slowly killing himself with cocaine and heroin.

Speaking of cocaine and heroin, he was caught in possession of both of those substance and with a gun in his car in 1996. Did his professional life end there?  No.  He was put on parole.

While on that parole, he was so fucked up one night that he broke into a neighbor’s house and fell asleep.  Certainly, that put him in prison.  No. He was given three years’ probation.  He missed a drug test and was finally put in jail.  That’s it, right?  Then somehow Iron Man came along?  No.

Before I move on, I just want the reader to transpose another celebrity in this story.  Someone that was a contemporary.  Someone like, I don’t know…Denzel Washington or Chris Rock or Chris Tucker.  Or maybe a modern actor like Pedro Pascal or Idris Elba.  How about Taraji P. Henson, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Hudson.  Hell, even Jessica Biel.  Would she get all these chances?  Would ANY of these talented people?

After the stint in jail, he was still working.  Still getting hired and making money.  Then he missed another drug test and landed in prison this time. He received a three-year sentence.  He only served one year after only having to post bail for $5000. 

What happened next?  He immediately got a role on a huge TV show, Ally McBeal.  Got an Emmy nomination, too.  Then, during production, he got arrested for possession.  Surely, he was fired then.  Nope.  He faced another possible prison sentence but he was still employed.  Then he was arrested again with cocaine in his system. He finally was written out of the show. Then another probation with no jail time and then rehab, which is probably where he needed to be.

Do I have something against drug addicts?  I do not.  I only wish we would all be given this many opportunities to climb out from under.  We don’t; especially at that high of a level of success.  RDJ is seemingly invincible. Remember that he did an entire movie in blackface and no one in this knee-jerk culture we’ve created even mentions it? 

He came back again through favors from established actors and producers.  Remember, the dude’s got talent.  It can’t be denied.  But that’s not the point.  RDJ isn’t even really the point.  It’s how the world treats him.

He got clean and somehow became a fan of George W. Bush.  Wait, what?  A quasi-conservative in Hollywood?  Surely, he was shunned at that point.  No sir.  Eventually he moved away from espousing his political opinions and it didn’t seem to hurt his career one bit.  Ask the Dixie Chicks how that worked out.  Janeane Garofalo. Ask Richard Gere, who can’t get a job because he spoke out against China.  RDJ was thankfully finally sober and ready to suit up as Iron Man and become the world’s highest paid actor.

I love Iron Man. RDJ made it what it is.  He is the spark that ignited the MCU and he deserves those crazy paychecks.  But I’m counting eleven chances that I know about.  ELEVEN.  Would your boss give you eleven chances? Your spouse?  Does that seem even fathomable to you?  That’s the twisting of logic that white privilege brings.  RDJ worked hard to be good at what he does.  But don’t a lot of us do the same?  Don’t you think he was awarded a lot of opportunities that someone else in his position would not?  That’s privilege.

Do you have privilege?  Were you born with a specific skin tone or a specific gender?  Or have a specific family name?  Were you born in a prosperous country or state or city? Were you born healthy?  Were you born with natural gifts?  It’s okay.  We all have a little privilege here and there.  But some privilege outshines all others.  RDJ’s isn’t his fault.  Just like yours isn’t your fault.  It’s the ACKOWLEDGMENT that matters.  This bullshit American fairy tale of building something out of nothing is ridiculous. Expecting others to achieve your success without admitting your inherent advantages is offensive.  It’s just wrong. Crafting a society around the idea of pulling up bootstraps is about as realistic as a flying man in an iron suit. 

I’m glad RDJ is healthy and alive and successful.  But he didn’t get there on his own.  Not by a longshot.