Thursday, June 26, 2008

Todays Good Egg Award: Phoebe Fay

I am now officially sick of old people

Ralph Nader's latest "white guilt" comments pushed me over the edge. I'm officially sick of old people.

Now, I'm not exactly young (my driver's license says 42, but I don't believe it because I have absolutely no answers to life, the universe, and everything). I was born after the Boomers, but early enough that I don't necessarily really relate to the Gen Xers. I do, however, stand with Generation X on one thing: white guilt is a stupid and absurd concept in presidential politics.

I don't think I've ever heard anyone under 40 even use the phrase white guilt. Mostly, you hear it from Baby Boomers and older, mostly from people who are just too stuck in some old reality to fathom a legitimate reason people might support a black candidate for office.

I'm not going to say that the younger generation is post-racial or has moved beyond identity politics or anything grand and sweeping like that. There's still work to do, and I don't expect we'll reach any promised land beyond identity politics anytime soon. I do think, however, the younger generation is light years ahead of the Baby Boomers on this issue.

And I do hope, ever so fervently, that old farts will shut their mouths occasionally and listen to their children and grand-children on the issue of race.

No comments: