"The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing."

                --Archilochus

Glenn Reynolds:
"Heh."

Barack Obama:
"Impossible to transcend."

Albert A. Gore, Jr.:
"An incontinent brute."

Rev. Jeremiah Wright:
"God damn the Gentleman Farmer."

Friends of GF's Sons:
"Is that really your dad?"

Kickball Girl:
"Keeping 'em alive until 7:45."

Hired Hand:
"I think . . . we forgot the pheasant."




I'm an
Alcoholic Yeti
in the
TTLB Ecosystem



Friday, February 29, 2008

Angry White Men

Aspen Times columnist Gary Hubbell has sent ripples through the collective consciousness with his February 9 piece:
Each candidate is carefully pandering to a smorgasbord of special-interest groups, ranging from gay, lesbian and transgender people to children of illegal immigrants to working mothers to evangelical Christians.

There is one group no one has recognized, and it is the group that will decide the election: the Angry White Man. The Angry White Man comes from all economic backgrounds, from dirt-poor to filthy rich. He represents all geographic areas in America, from urban sophisticate to rural redneck, deep South to mountain West, left Coast to Eastern Seaboard.

His common traits are that he isn’t looking for anything from anyone — just the promise to be able to make his own way on a level playing field. In many cases, he is an independent businessman and employs several people. He pays more than his share of taxes and works hard.

The victimhood syndrome buzzwords — “disenfranchised,” “marginalized” and “voiceless” — don’t resonate with him. “Press ‘one’ for English” is a curse-word to him. He’s used to picking up the tab, whether it’s the company Christmas party, three sets of braces, three college educations or a beautiful wedding.

[snip]

The Angry White Man is not a metrosexual, a homosexual or a victim. Nobody like him drowned in Hurricane Katrina — he got his people together and got the hell out, then went back in to rescue those too helpless and stupid to help themselves, often as a police officer, a National Guard soldier or a volunteer firefighter.

His last name and religion don’t matter. His background might be Italian, English, Polish, German, Slavic, Irish, or Russian, and he might have Cherokee, Mexican, or Puerto Rican mixed in, but he considers himself a white American.

[snip]

Women either love him or hate him, but they know he’s a man, not a dishrag. If they’re looking for someone to walk all over, they’ve got the wrong guy. He stands up straight, opens doors for women and says “Yes, sir” and “No, ma’am.”

He might be a Republican and he might be a Democrat; he might be a Libertarian or a Green. He knows that his wife is more emotional than rational, and he guides the family in a rational manner.
After reading the whole thing, you might pass the time by googling the article and surfing the varied responses.

H/T to Uncle Michael.

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Comments on "Angry White Men"

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (12:06 PM) : 

really? no one has recognized the angry white man? nobody's representing his interests? no candidate is campaigning for his vote? that poor, victimized, disenfrachised guy!

 

Blogger Hired Hand said ... (2:34 PM) : 

Uhhh, sorry, but the WSJ Op-Ed page disagrees, and says the Angry White Man has gone the way of the Dayton housewife and the soccer mom. Reprinted in full here:

http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2008/0228_demographics_teixeira.aspx

 

Blogger Gentleman Farmer said ... (12:19 PM) : 

OF COURSE that's what the WSJ's editorial writers would think. They're overpaid metrosexuals. They're very good with upholstery. (Google it and see if you can puzzle it out, turkeys.)

 

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