The Big Read: Opiate of the middle class

Being white and male and middle class generally means that, wherever I am in the world, I'll get the benefit of the doubt in most public encounters. This doesn't apply in my home, obviously, or on Twitter, but in most real-life encounters people will be inclined to assume that I'm not an illegal immigrant or a bag-snatcher or a suicide bomber or falsely crying rape or the guy who left the orange peel on the floor of the lift.