Is this the beginning of the end for my persona – the White man? I don’t think there is any doubt. Some other foods for thought: as a former colleague at Bishop O’Connell High School (a Cuban immigrant) observed a few decades ago, the USA will be a majority Spanish-speaking nation by mid century, if current trends continue. The nation is becoming increasingly “mongrelized”, as younger generations increasingly mate and marry across racial lines (in my view, this contributes to strengthening the human race). I have blogged in the past about the growing marginalization of males in general. Are we entering the Golden Age of Women? Sure seems that way.
I remember vividly, in the early 1990’s, my recently graduated daughter coming back to live with mom and dad. No, it wasn’t supposed to happen that way, but the economy had soured, and jobs for recent grads were not forthcoming. To say that Jen felt badly about this is putting it very kindly. We were pleased when, in the space of several months, she had gotten into a graduate program and landed her first professional job…and then moved out. I don’t have any stats on this, but it sure seems like a lot of guys have moved back with M & D and are going nowhere – in a time when the unemployment rate is, effectively, zilch.
As an old goat living in what used to be called a nursing home, women greatly outnumber men in the resident population. Sure, some of this can be attributed to the tendency of men in my generation to marry younger women, but the morbidity/mortality stats tell us that women live longer. I’ve pointed out that the majority of graduates from colleges, law and medical schools are female, and the gap seems to be widening. In the upper levels of corporate management, the so-called glass ceiling is cracking more and more. Even Congress is beginning to close the gap between the genders, albeit too slowly. We are among the last holdouts in advanced western democracies who still have not elected a female head of state (or, have we? In 2016, the female candidate outpolled the male by somewhere north of six million votes), but we are getting closer.
I can’t help wondering whether this recent push to restrict abortion rights isn’t the old guard’s final, last gasp attempt to put women in their places. The last gasp of (white) male supremacy. After all, science hasn’t figured out how to get men to give birth yet- thank God! My views on abortion: it’s homicide, it’s sinful, but in the final analysis (yes, I was a chemist once), it’s really none of government’s business.
When I first joined DEA in the late 1960’s, there were no female agents (nor, for that matter, forensic chemists). At this writing, at least two of the most recent DEA administrators have been women. In November 2023, Admiral Lisa Franchetti became Chief of Naval Operations. Even March Madness seems to have been usurped by women. Need I say more?
So, what to do about the other gender? I think that guys need to bond more, at the very least. Even in my generation. At the “home”, we have a breakfast of sorts. I go downstairs a couple days a week to feed. When I come off the elevator, I am greeted by a table of women in lively conversation. In an adjoining room, however, a table of men sit around a table in relative silence. Younger guys interact even less. Many people trace this to the advent of smartphones. Why talk, after all, when you can play games?
Rogernarc 