The last throes of white men like Pat Buchanan

I've always been annoyed at Pat Buchanan, esp his nasal, whiny voice which rises in pitch the more frustrated he becomes. But yesterday (July 16) I saw him finally squeal as if his you-know-what was caught in a vise. He had insulted Judge Sotomayor and Gene Robinson on Hardball the day before. He had written a nasty column about his hatred of affirmative action. So, despite my counsel to her NOT to give him more air time, Rachel Maddow invited him to spew his racist tripe on her show. She politely disagreed with him and told him he was "dated."

"Dated" as in acting like a total Neaderthal. I can understand why white men like Buchanan are feeling at a loss these days. The era of privilege for them is over. Buchanan tried to make the argument that white men built our country and created everything that's good about the world. I suppose that's why Jesus appears as a Danish prince in many iterations of God produced by white males.

What Rachel tried but failed to get across to bonehead is that of course white males did all those things - BECAUSE THEY HAD NO COMPETITION - duh. And now we've evolved to the point where we recognize that ALL humans have potential and should be given a chance to develop whatever skills they can. We can ALL make contributions to society now. So there.
Grow up and get used to it.

My own family example: The reason I'm a college graduate and fairly successful, satisfied human being is because my European ancestors came to New York State in the 19th century and immediately found good jobs in factories. They never were unemployed because those jobs were not available to black men, let along women of any color. Within two generations, my family went from penniless immigrants to sending their kids to college. And this was possible, in part, because black U.S. citizens whose families had been here for 300 years were not allowed to apply for those good jobs. Do I owe those generations of African-Americans something? You bet your ass I do. My success and comfortable retirement are possible because my grandfathers didn't have to compete with women or blacks for their livelihood. My father and his brothers all had jobs in the textile mills because their father paved the way for them.

It wasn't until 1972 that it became illegal in this country to list classified ads as "Help Wanted Male" and "Help Wanted Female." When I told my students about that, they were shocked. 1972 is not that long ago in the big scheme of things in this changing world. When I was in high school and college and needed a summer job, I looked in the "Help Wanted Female" column. It would never have occurred to me to look in the other column or that it was unfair for jobs to be separated like that. I was socialized to believe that men should be paid more and have more status than women because they were naturally superior in every way. Back then I wouldn't have gone to a woman doctor, and, if I did, I'd get a second opinion from a male doctor before I'd take make any serious decisions.

So move over, Pat Buchanan. The next generation is ready to take center stage. And they aren't really interested in your "dated" opinions.