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Another Perspective
White Is the New Black
Things are looking up for an aging white demographic.
After the presidential election, Bill O’Reilly decreed that old white guys like him have become a minority, a virtual fringe group. As you can well imagine, I felt pretty bad about this at first, until I realized that, in fact, this now makes me part of a soon-to-be new hip ethnic group. Maybe we didn’t help re-elect Barack Obama but we won’t be silenced. For now, like Obama, we can only hope for change.
Old white guys have trouble getting much media respect these days, but our sudden position as outsiders should change all that. Being old, and white, and guys, makes us a triple minority, with diminishing power every day. We’re on the outside looking in at all the fun that the now-trendy former outliers — Hispanics, women, blacks, Asians, gays, Native Americans — are having, just partying the night away.
Clearly, this new elite doesn’t need us and ignores us, even laughs at us, ridiculed it seems by everyone except skinheads (making us even further scum). We go virtually unnoticed, but if I know America this won’t last long. Formerly disparaged ethnic groups are sure to take pity upon us in time. The new GOP and Democratic parties, in an effort to seem all-inclusive, to show their diversity, will surely want to bring aging male honkies into the big tent, if only to mollify us.
I’m sure there are middle-aged white guys on the horizon who, to paraphrase Dr. King, will be recognized for the content of their character, not the pallor of their skin. I’m certain there are good men out there, white and over 65, who will be welcomed into the mainstream again; even the Democrats may give us a minority voice at future conventions.
None of this is new to me. For 20 years I’ve realized that I am now part of the counter culture, which once ruled. I listen to Frank Sinatra, I wear a belt, even a tie and slippers, my head is not shaved and I don’t sport a three-day stubble. I don’t eat at food trucks, bicycle, wear jeans or a baseball cap, listen to rap, go to dance clubs, drop “F-bombs,” enjoy casual hook-ups, or carry a bottle of water with me. I’ve never read a graphic novel and do not own a Kindle. I am not even a vegan — shocking, yes, but there it is.
Now and then, if nobody is looking, I will order a steak, use butter not olive oil, and consume products containing white sugar and corn starch. I do not smoke pot nor do drugs, unless you count baby aspirin and Lipitor, aging white guys’ drugs of choice.
As a member of the emerging counter culture, I subscribe to newspapers and magazines, watch movies on a TV screen, do not use an iPhone or have an account on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. I don’t download tunes on an iPod. OK (full disclosure), I do own a cell phone but I don’t know the number and keep the cell in the glove compartment for emergencies only. I’m not afraid to admit that I watch the “CBS Evening News,” Jay Leno, and “Cheers” reruns.
Despite feeling left out of American political, social and cultural life, I remain a proud old white guy whose time is sure to come. One day, an older white guy might be elected president again, but only after a woman, a Hispanic, an Asian, and a gay have served in the Oval Office. Probably by no later than 2050, an aging white male will be returned to the Rainbow (formerly White) House, and one might even be appointed to the Supreme Court again. It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility. After all, this is America, where anybody can grow up to be president, despite their race, age, or gender.
About the Author
Gerald Nachman is a writer in San Francisco and most recently the author of Right Here on Our Stage Tonight!: Ed Sullivan’s America (University of California Press).
Letter to the Editor View all comments (56) | Leave a comment
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Appleby| 1.3.13 @ 6:46AM
I take consolation in the thought that once we all retire, and Occupy The Basement cohort discovers it is now The Man and all the paperwork is landing on its desk -- and all the other desks are filled with whiny binkie slingers who expect to be paid because they showed up today, even though all you saw of them during the day was the tops of their heads--that yes, on that day the country will give rise to a tantrum that the most hardened kindergarten teacher will wince in sympathy ... I will turn tuck the blanket around my retired feet and turn a page in my paper book and smirk quietly. I have contributed my "fair share" and now it's time for TheKids to get landed with the goods. Oh, and Occupiers: the homes at The Villages don't have basements, and we just sold OUR house. Welcome to Grown Up Land.
Aristocat| 1.3.13 @ 6:56AM
So we here in California live in a "Minority Majority" state...So, even when they become the majority, they still reap all the benefits of being an official "Minority"...Great deal for them...For us white guys, even though we are now the minority, we can still be discriminated against because......why again???
Tina B| 1.3.13 @ 7:48AM
Because you're still white and because you're still a guy. Duh! Thumping forehead with palm, a la algore. Who, though white and male is also remaining trendy with the ignorinatti. Go figure?
TLP| 1.3.13 @ 2:29PM
Contest, tomorrow, at Mr. Bowman's House.
Figure it out.
Frank Drackman| 1.3.13 @ 7:29AM
Umm Don't call the Secret Service, but if EICOTUS(Evolver in Chief of the US) doesnt give up the Cancer Sticks, we could have an Aging White Male in the Oval Orifice before Opening Day(of Baseball). Which is another one of those Old Man thangs you left out, like Baseball Card Shows, which I only went to one of, cause every dealer looked like Jerry Sandusky...
And you left out another "Old White Dude" thang.
Revolvers. Took my youngest daughter to the range January 1st, cause I love to start the new year by inhaling lead dust, and its proof of my virility, cause even if they mistake my 17 year old daughter for my girlfriend, I'm "Da Man" either way.
Anyway, I was demonstrating my rapid fire technique, in which you fire off 6 shots of 357 double action, reload with a speed loader, and then do the "Dirty Harry" Speech to any body who's left standing(and since criminals rarely wear hearing protection, probably useless)
The whole range stopped, and several guys came over, asking about the exotic handgun with its exotic caliber.
"Its a Smith & Wesson Model 28" I said "They don't make em anymore"
Then everyone went back to their Sigs, Glocks, and hitting on my daughter.
Oh yeah, "Cheers"???
Frank
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.3.13 @ 7:43AM
Apparently, a wheel gun does not look nearly as cool as an autoloader does when brandished as it is canted 90 degrees in the gangsta handgun stance, and the hat on backwards does little to keep the glare off the front and rear sights.
Albert "Pardon me while I hold my hand at the top of my barrel to minimize backward blood splatter as I fire my coup de grace shot point blank" Constantine
c. j. acworth| 1.3.13 @ 9:01AM
Frank;
I have two .44 Spec. revolvers, one of which used to be a S&W Mod. 28. When I decided I was in the "large-bore heavy slug" school, I sent it off to an outfit called Cylinder & Slide, who bored out the cylinder, screwed a .44 barrel on it and did a trigger job that has to be experienced to be believed. With target loads that thing will ring a 6" steel plate at 100yds all day. As for your .357, lemme guess...125 gr JHP's, right?
Harry the Horrible| 1.3.13 @ 9:40AM
.44 Special is a great round. They work in the Ruger Blackhawk and Vaqueros, and in the Marlin as well. Easy to reload, too.
And I can always go back up to .44 Magnum...
Frank Drackman| 1.3.13 @ 10:16AM
umm are you Psych-ick??
Cauese you got it wrong, 158 grains, cause bigger is always better, at least in Bull-wets...
and one of the biggest dissapointments in my life, beside my marriage night, was that part in "Magnum Force" when Dirty Hairy Callahan admits that he shoots 44 Specials in his 44 Magnum, I'd have sooner he wore makeup and highheels, I mean who buys a Magnum to shoot Special loads?!?!?!?
Umm OK, Me, 357 magnum makes my ears ring, even with triple hearing protection...
Frank "What!!" Drackman
gene| 1.3.13 @ 12:18PM
How many bull's eyes 0n a target range does not really mean anything and never did. The greatest shots at a range will start snapping the trigger and curling their finger and pulling shots all over the place when the bullets are coming from the opposite direction.
SUBVET| 1.3.13 @ 12:21PM
Gezzzzzzzzzzz....Mr. D. your starting to sound like dear old BEN.
You know...like what you did for the day and young girls.
BBT
Frank Drackman| 1.3.13 @ 1:54PM
Umm if Ben starts recounting his days at the range, I could put up with his Dirty Old Man-isms...
Frank
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.3.13 @ 7:30AM
As Dennis Miller famously said 20 years ago, once it was established that he was in the minority, that he was tired of being hassled by The Man.
Of course, it might now be critical to identify the Chief Hassler. which might need to be switched from "The Man" to "The One" (or perhaps Wise Latina, or, as they were known in Pol Pot's Kampuchea, Angkha)).
CJW| 1.3.13 @ 3:05PM
Albert
Miller is a Pgh boy. He worked as a deli clerk in a supermarket with some friends of mine. They say he was funny, and read a lot of books/magazines.
Tina B| 1.3.13 @ 7:59AM
I think I'm going to find all the versions of "I Shot the Sheriff," on YouTube, and play 'em all to see which one sounds best to me now that I'm retired. That and "Hey Joe," "Gimme Three Steps," and more of those gun songs from my youth. Get myself in the right frame of mind for the future. Maybe get some DVDs of the old "Wild, Wild West" series with Bob Conrad and Larry Storch. Seems a good gun or explosion fixed most all of their problems and led to happy endings.
markenoff| 1.3.13 @ 9:38AM
Deep Purple's "Hey Joe" off of Shades of Deep Purple.
Frekki| 1.3.13 @ 2:39PM
The best:
http://www.youtube(dot)com/watch?v=VQf4hzKpF1c
Love Jimmy, love Janis.
Stormzeye| 1.3.13 @ 8:08AM
I don't mind being old (66) and white (actually kind of beige). In fact it's a blessing to get old, especially if you still have your health. What I do mind though are these old white guys, like the author, who revel in the fact that they're culturally out of touch. Tea Partiers (like me) must keep in touch with younger people. They're not all Occupiers. They could actually learn from us. My 36 year old son loves Coltrane and scotch but unfortunately is becoming a Libertarian. Oh well......
Frank Drackman| 1.3.13 @ 8:17AM
In the bad old days, you remember, the 80's, when even though Reagan was President the DemoKKKrats ran both houses of Congress, majority of State Legislatures(even in the South!)and the thought of a Repubiclan Congress was about as rediculous as the thought of a Half-Black President with a Muslim Father and Arabic Name,
You'd actually have to pay a real live cashier for your groceries, with real live money, and I remember one day, I had my essentials, Beer, Cigarettes, Corned Beef(the canned kind that doesnt require a can opener, but the edge can cut through steel, how do they do that?) and the (Black) Cashier, who coincidentally loooked like "Florida" from "Goodtimes"(did she get smoted with the Ugly Stick or what?) put down one of those "this lane closed" signs, and paused, before drawling in flawless e-bonics "I's be's on my's Break!)
"A White Man can't get a fair shake in this Town!" I shouted.
Well actually I just thought it, cause it gave me the perfect opportunity to get the best return on on investment I've ever gotten.
Thats right, for absolutely no cost to me, I got some $20 worth of Beer, Cigarettes, and Corned Beef.
Pretty sure it had something to do with why "Albertsons" went out of business, in my town anyway.
Frank "it aint stealing if they don't catch you" Drackman
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.3.13 @ 8:36AM
Sorry to disrupt a tale of petty larceny (or redistribution of wealth in the Obama era) with anything resembling facts and figures, but the Republicans controlled the Senate from 1981-1987 during the Reagan administration, though the Democrats ran the House throughout all of it.
I realize that you would have been busy studying during much of that era, so as not to confuse the Loop of Henle with Don Henley (who wants to go to dialysis and hear "Boys of Summer" instead), and the detail does little to derail the Moral of your tale, so please forgive my mentioning it.
Albert "Don't Give Ensign Drackman the Key to the Pharmaceutical Cabinet" Constantine
Frank Drackman| 1.3.13 @ 8:53AM
Morals? Don't have any, they get in the way of progress.
Oh, MORAL, I think its
"Nothing Smokes as Good as a stolen Cigarette"
Its like having sex with one of your annoying sister's friends, you get to have sex, and piss off your sister at the same time, Win-Win.
Thanks for reminding me(dead head sticker on a cadillac)of one of the most Homo-arotic Music Videos of all time, I mean at least "Wake me up before you Go-Go" had those 2 hot chicks dancing..
And I checked Wikipedia, you're technically right, the Senate was in RepubicKKKlan hands during those years, without which we'd never have gotten Anton(the Nose) Scalia on the Surpreme Court...
Frank "Reciept? what Reciept?"Drackman
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.3.13 @ 9:14AM
"one of the most Homo-arotic Music Videos of all time"
I never saw that video, but I would suggest a modification to "of the 1980s". REM's "Losing My Religion" from 1991 likely takes the title for "Homo-Erotic Video of all time". I'm pretty sure Michael Stipe is aroused whenever bow season opens now.
Frank Drackman| 1.3.13 @ 10:22AM
ummm in the old days before there was such a word as "Outing" or "Coming out of the Closet" we'd use REM as a metaphor.
"Hey, that Internal Medicine Resident, seems a little light in the loafers, is he a Peter Puffer?"
"Oh yeah, he listens to REM"
"Please Proceed Governor*"
"You know, he's a Ho-Mo"
"But I listen to REM, I mean, I may have heard one of their songs on the radio before I switched stations"
Frank
*I started that "Please Proceed Governor" thang in the 80's, damn Obama owes me some Royalties!!!!
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.3.13 @ 10:38AM
Do ya think "Man in the Moon" (about his crush on Andy Kaufman) might've been a hint?
Albert "Don't get Frank on a tangent about Kaufman and Wrestling" Constantine
Frank Drackman| 1.3.13 @ 10:49AM
No Ho-Mo, but "Man in the Moon" is a great tune, hey that rhymes.
and I always get REM mixed up with that other Georgia Ho-Mo Group, the B-52's, who ironically, my Dad, who actually flew B-52s, has still never heard of...
And neither of those bands could carry Collective Souls's jockstraps....even though they'd like to.
Frank
Frank Drackman| 1.3.13 @ 10:51AM
and Andy Kaufman was only one of the greatest minds of the 20th Century, on a level with Einstein, Plank, and whoever invented those foam "#1" fingers....
Frank
fmm| 1.3.13 @ 8:59AM
Heh? What? Hmmm, must be an old white guy.
C. Vernon Crisler | 1.3.13 @ 8:59AM
The fact is a sizeable segment of the aging white guy population still voted for Obama. No age, race, or gender can escape responsibility for turning our country away from the principles of the Founders. Collectively, everyone is guilty.
Bob K| 1.3.13 @ 10:11AM
Recognizing that Mr. Nachman here has written a well disguised screed in favor of White people who live in the USA; I would like to note that this aging demography is the group which is supplying the young people who make up the brunt of our Military.
This should prove to be very handy to that demographic in the future should worse come to worse in our country.
Frank Drackman| 1.3.13 @ 10:24AM
Last time I checked Old White Guys were beating Middle Aged half White Guys 44-1 in the Presidents Game...
Or is it 43? that damn Grover Cleveland screws up everything...
Frank
cicero| 1.3.13 @ 10:38AM
At some point in time, the white guys, both old and new, are going to get tired of supporting all of the others (blacks, women, hispanics, etc.), and tell them all to go take a flying ... We are getting to that point now. In reality, we just don't care anymore whether your great-great grandmother was a slave. We don't care that your grandmother didn't get to go to college. We don't care that you couldn't get a decent paying job in your home country. From now on, if you don't want to work, you won't get to eat. If you don't want to ccompete in the job market, and work your rear off to get ahead, too bad. If you want to play with the big boys (white guys) don't cry when your get a broken nose.
Frank Drackman| 1.3.13 @ 11:31AM
Radio, TV, A-Bomb, Hydrogen Bomb, Penicillin, Anesthesia, Rock N Roll, Classical Music, damn, sounds like a Bill Joel(old White Guy) song...
all invented by Old White Guys, in fact, name me ONE, thats right ONE significant Scientiffic/Technological/Sociological advance from a Spook,
I mean Afro-American.
And don't tell me bout' no George-Washington-Carver, we'd have figured out how to make Peanut Butter sooner or later...
Frank
SUBVET| 1.3.13 @ 12:36PM
Frank......social advance would be hoodies & pants hanging off your a@@.
BBT
TLP| 1.3.13 @ 2:32PM
BBMe!
markenoff| 1.3.13 @ 4:08PM
Dr. Charles Drew discovered that separating plasma from whole blood allowed both to be stored for much longer than the two together. He also discovered that plasma was interchangeable so someone with type B blood could get a transfusion of plasma from someone with type A blood.
Ronsch| 1.3.13 @ 12:14PM
Gerald,
You are falling into the leftist trap...I am 47 (my birthday was 28 December) and I do have an iPod (which I use to download my playlists for my Rock And Roll Radio Show), and a cellphone...I also shoot...er, shot revolvers (single and double action..Uberti .45 LCs and M1937 S&W .45ACP) before I lost all of my firearms in a tragic boating accident, served in the military, and keep my hair shorn short (picture Jack Webb from "Dragnet" short.)
The point I am trying to make here is...Do Not Stereotype all of us...I half expected you to say "rich, white, evil" in your article...LOL (that means "Laugh Out Loud", fyi...)
In other words, there is nothing wrong with using new technology that becomes available without becoming a slave to it.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.3.13 @ 12:28PM
On the occasion that I listened to some of your show, I observed that your tendency was towards late 70s-80s Classic Rock (Van Halen etc).
Not to criticize that genre, but a little homage to the older folks, such as The Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace" might not be bad once in a while (though I realize that that particular selection, along with say, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens or even Rick Nelson or Jim Croce might make all of the small aircraft pilots in your Alaska audience nervous).
SUBVET| 1.3.13 @ 12:38PM
Al Jr. you forgot.....skip & flip
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.3.13 @ 12:59PM
I am a fan of "It was I", and who doesn't love "Cherry Pie" (whether their version or a piece of another), but since they didn't die in a plane crash, I didn't add them to that particular list (though I think one of the members of Fleetwood Mac might have also recorded a version of "It Was I" in the early 80's, which might make it close to Ronsch's playlist).
Tina B| 1.3.13 @ 12:58PM
Oh my gosh. Skip and Flip. Flashback.
Tina B| 1.3.13 @ 12:58PM
And, BBT.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.3.13 @ 12:59PM
Tim is back. Check out Gannon's thread, for one.
SUBVET| 1.3.13 @ 1:27PM
Lest's see .............Al & Tina to make a comment on skip & flip....let me see maybe 65 to 68 in years old.
Tina.........you don't have to answer
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.3.13 @ 2:10PM
You've got a few years on me there, Subvet; even if I have Ral Donner's "You Don't Know What You've Got" on CD.
SUBVET| 1.3.13 @ 5:46PM
Al.........cd....holy shit most of that stuff I listened to on my Norelco 45 rpm car record player with vibrasonic..........those were the days.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.3.13 @ 9:02PM
I am actually starting to transfer my vinyl to digital now so I can put in on CD, or in case I actually get an I-pod some day.
Derek Leaberry| 1.3.13 @ 1:32PM
It may not be a trendy thing to note, but white men make pretty much everything of true value in this country. Most of the country's food is grown by white men. Most structures are either made by white men or the building of the structures are directed by white men. White men dominate the building of useful tools. White men dominate our homemade manufacturing. White men run the stock markets and most businesses. Everybody else is just along for the ride.
markenoff| 1.3.13 @ 4:04PM
Mohawk Indians build our skyscrapers.
deehra| 1.3.13 @ 1:40PM
Oh Mr. Nachman where have you been hiding ?
I'm not a guy, but everything else you wrote applies to either gender. {are there still only two?]
Frankly, I'm tired of doing the working,andthe paying, all the while raising six kids who missed getting the street cred of jail or unwed parenthood. Where did it all go wrong ? We are so retro.
Mazzuchelli| 1.3.13 @ 1:48PM
Exactly. I have a Kindle and a Motorola Droid. The phone isn't used to make many calls but to me it's the incredibly snazzy current culmination of the Star Trek Tricorder. It's as if there's a supercomputer in my handbag. At the same time, I'm a registered 'Pub, vote party ticket and get my news only from conservative web sites, the WSJ and Fox News. Everyone else can kiss my red white & blue ass. I also drive two of the most American cars known to man but am rethinking that position after the not unexpected presidential outcomes in Ohio and Michigan. My most American vehicle is built in Toledo which fxxked up hugely. The other is made in Kentucky which always votes correctly while the manufacturer's HQ is in Detroit. Who am I kidding. I want to punish those jackwagons but their vehicles are quite appealing. And, certain cars are compromised if they're riding anything but Goodyears.
markenoff| 1.3.13 @ 4:15PM
They make some nice Camrys in Kentucky too.
Frank Drackman| 1.3.13 @ 3:13PM
am I the only one who thought The Power Station kicked butt???
Drunken Sailor| 1.3.13 @ 4:23PM
Robert Palmer was the man! And he was un PC enough to smoke on his album covers.
Bob Grant| 1.3.13 @ 11:29PM
Frank, had your eye on the pretty boy from Duran Duran, eh?
I'll trade you one Power Station for an Asia.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.3.13 @ 11:44PM
It was the Heat♪♫ of the Moment ...
Fredx| 1.4.13 @ 11:06AM
"One day, an older white guy might be elected president again, but only after a woman, a Hispanic, an Asian, and a gay have served in the Oval Office." ... and screwed it up so badly that we will long for the good ol' days before we foolishly believed that mere "diversity" was the solution to all of our problems. Very entertaining article, thank you.