Thursday, November 08, 2012

No More Mr. White Guy



Demographics are ever changing in today’s world.  Who was in is out; who was on top is slipping down the ladder.  We live in a country that is looking more and more like the rest of the world.  It’s no more Mr. White guy in the U.S. of A. Not at the top of the population heap anyway. Although they do still control the seats of power.  Wall Street. The banking elite.  Corporate board rooms. All these bastions of power are still dominated by white males.  But it is still true that he who controls the wealth controls the bucks controls the ducks? The ones that line up to make sure the 1% hang on to their wealth.

So far, that seems to be the case, but as the trend is showing in who votes in this country, that could be changing too.  Barricades of moneybags may not be enough to stem the tide of hordes of minorities and women, whatever their skin tones, from huffing and puffing and blowing their houses down.

At least we can hope so.  There is, of course, lurking in the wings of all governments, a power bigger than the outrage of the masses, or even their more subdued but just as strong-willed, voting power.
                                                                          
As long as there are crazy white guys like Pat Buchanan who called Obama’ re-election the death of white America, which he apparently took as personal rebuke, white people being so obviously much better and more intelligent than any other kind, the rest of us, white and non-white alike, must remain vigilant. They still have the airwaves, the guns, and the money.  Not only that they have the the armed forces who stand at the ready to put down insurrection as we have seen time and again in other nations – in Latin America, Africa, and more recently, the Arab world and middle eastern countries.  Or, even more scary, to stage a coup on their own.  No, I’m not making dire predictions. In fact, I actually feel hopeful, sorta, and really, some of my best friends are White Guys, but not Republican ones, although I’ve been known to tolerate them on panel discussions.  

But I’m not ready to let these guys out of your sight.  As Machiavelli is reported to have said, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”