The most honest response to the Compact essay by Savage is “this happened, and it’s good.” If you support these policies and believe in them, own them. Ultimately, all policies like these are zero sum - only so many slots to dole out in academia, media, Hollywood etc. What critics of Savage ultimately miss is that, yes, there’s an enormous amount of privilege granted to the white male but in 2010s prestige spaces, these privileges evaporated completely and you were confronted with the reverse. Maybe that’s fine. Historically marginalized groups need a seat at the table, and that’s what began to happen.

Me personally, as a Millennial - a bit younger than Savage - my attitude was just to keep hustling. I don’t really like self-pity. There’s a bit too much of that in the essay. Sure, in the 2010s, you had to be twice as good, but why not try to be twice as good? A Black writer circa 1950 faced the same challenge, and it was way worse. You deal with the cards you’re dealt. My philosophy was always keep writing, keep swimming, and eventually I’ll be around when others fall away.

But little Savage describes in the essay is incorrect. My real rejoinder would now be to write something else. Two blockbuster pieces on the white male. What else you got? Start creating.