I'm An Equal Opportunist

When I tell people this, they usually go, "What's that?"

It's a phrase that I like to think I coined myself, but I'm sure there's others out there who identify themselves as equal opportunists. Actually, I recently learned that equal opportunist has something to do with sex. Bisexual?

But that's not what I mean when I say equal opportunist (I'm straight, though there's nothing wrong with being curved). Equal opportunist is when one believes that everyone (regardless of race, class, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc) should have equal opportunities. They should all have the same chance to go to a top notch school. They should all have the same opportunity to strive for what they want to accomplish. They should all have the right to choose what they want to do as their job, how to raise their children (if they want kids), how to live.

Of course, if they want to be a lawyer, they'd have to actually work for it. They'd have to study and try hard. If they had slacked their whole lives and applied for the same job as someone who graduated from... Harvard with straight As then they probably shouldn't get the job. But that one from Harvard shouldn't have a greater chance than the one who was also from Harvard with similar, if not better, grades, just because that one is black, or a woman, or from the slums of Detroit. That shouldn't matter.

Equal opportunist isn't only about the gender of someone, but it's the best example I can think of.

Women (and men) should be able to choose what she (he) wants to do. Most feminists feel disdain and/or for the traditional homebody housewife who takes care of the kids and cleans the house while her doctor husband brings home the bacon. But if that's what she (or he) wants, as an equal opportunist, I say, go for it! Just as I'd say go for it to a woman (or man) who does not want a single child and wants to become President of the United States. Now, if that first woman did not want to be the housewife with the 2.5 kids and white picket fence, and instead had wanted to be the President, I'd pity her. Especially if she had grown up in a sexist environment where she was strongly discouraged to reach for her dreams. I'd feel as if she was wronged. And as a fellow woman, I'd feel wronged.

As an equal opportunist, I may not want the same things that you'd want, but I'd defend your right to want it. (Unless it's against my morals)