How to respond when co-worker states “Middle aged white males really have it hard right now.”

587 points•146 comments•submitted by Thr0w4w4y15987 to r/askwomenadvice

I’m a Woman of Color (WOC) and live in the South. The industry I’m in is still male dominated, Fintech, and very traditional. The office culture is getting better, but there can be improvements.

I was chatting with a co-worker, Brett, about another co-worker who was recently let go, Kathy. Kathy is in her mid 50’s and also a WOC.

Brett: Have you heard from Kathy lately? I hope she’s found some work.

Me: No, I actually just chatted with her last week. She’s got some promising leads, but nothing concrete.

Brett: Yeah, being a woman in their mid 50’s, she’ll have a difficult time finding work in our field. But you know, if I were to lose my job, I’d be screwed. Middle aged white males really have it hard right now.

Me: .....

I’m a WOC and have lived in the South since the late 80’s, I have experienced racism, discrimination, condescending people, you name it.

And now the playing field is becoming more even and this dude is complaining to me. I’m kinda like, “I really don’t give a shit.” I almost wanted to say “Now you know how I’ve felt the majority of my life.” But I didn’t.

I guess I’m asking, am I wrong for feeling put off by his comment, and what the hell do I say the next time he says something like this?

EDIT: I appreciate everyone’s responses. I have to work on speaking up when inappropriate topics are mentioned in the workforce. It doesn’t happen often, but enough that I need to find an effective way to communicate this to people. Thanks again!