Monday, August 25, 2008

Honor thy mother and father

ABC's web site today contained the following video clips:
Now substitute "boy" or "beaner" or any other term derogatory of a group and watch the feathers fly, but it's still just fine to make fun of someone over 60; it's still fine to perpetuate nasty stereotypes as long as it's about women over 50. It's acceptable to chastise those who defy your stupid Alzheimers and diapers and false teeth bigotries and other slanders -- and it shouldn't be. Why is any women who doesn't know enough to sit on the porch in a rocking chair and knit, comical to the media?

Why am I the only one pissed off about this?

7 comments:

Intellectual Insurgent said...

This is simply part of the media pattern of presenting negative images of family. So when sane, normal people discuss the importance of family, some screeching piece of crap will point to the grandma who taught the grandkids the 5-finger discount as evidence that family can do harm.

Anonymous said...

I have a different opinion, and it is just that, an opinion :)

I think part of it, is that the older generation in general is viewed as being very law obiding, conservative, seasoned, non-risk takers, and have many years of experience to draw from.

As such, they would be the last people you would think who would be breaking the law, as referenced in these examples.

The slam comes not in reporting this, but in how the person is referenced. If the media report said "Grandma, or Grandpa" in the title, it is not demeaning in my opinion. Converting Grandma to Granny adds the negative spin.

I think they may use the Granny reference as to draw a differentiation between Grandma "good", Granny "bad".

Home Boy good, Homey bad. I learned this lesson very early on in life. My given name is Chris. Referring to me as Chrissy to my face, conveys distain, an obvious put down. We are taught to turn the other cheek, however if you let one person get away with it (not standing up for yourself), then that in a way encourages others to try a similar attack.

I chose to confront the first age peer (kindergarten) who chose to refer me in this fashion with a physical response (on the playground).

That "peer" never referred to me in those terms again.

There has been very few times in my life, where I used force to get my point across. This was one of them.

Anyway, I know why the media does it, and I don't like it either.

MrSleep

Capt. Fogg said...

I see it in part as another result of pushing youth as the be all and end all of life: a scenario where you begin a downhill slide at age 20. That's related to marketing and consumerism of course, but I think it's also that to emphasize the primacy of youth and youthful fads you need a scapegoat.

Of course you also need to use grown-ups as a scapegoat because it's too difficult to do it so overtly to minorities.

But yes, in some respect there is a tendency to show real families as something to laugh about, but it's part of the "18 is the age when you know everything" mythos and young people don't want to be told they don't know best.

Yes, it's sometimes better to rack the slide than turn the cheek.

Anonymous said...

Our future is in the hands of the 18 somethings and 20 somethings. That scares me almost as much as a McCain presidency.

I have a very close friend who just happens to have an 18 year old, just graduated from HS living at home. The son has developed an Internet relationship with another 18 year old girl. Prior to the last week, they have NEVER met. Phone calls yes, texting yes, chat rooms yes. She is from the Mid-West, he lives on West Coast. She flew out to the West Coast for a week long visit. The parents mandated platonic sleeping arrangements. It turns out they spent the entire week sleeping together, which was not discovered until late in the week visit.

Wow. The Internet age.

MrSleep.

Capt. Fogg said...

I'm extremely glad that my kids just missed that era and are safely into adulthood.

Of course none of this constitutes any claim that I had any brains whatever at that age. . .

Anonymous said...

I think we're supposed to think "granny" is somehow a "cute" word to use for an older woman, when in fact it infantalizes and patronizes her. It's odd to me that we are still internalizing society's depiction of anyone over 50. For instance, I went to a birthday party last weekend for my brother-in-law and three of his friends, all of whom had recently turned 60. All of the joking around was about how old and decrepit they now were blah blah blah and they did a little song and dance that they'd rehearsed.....with canes, pretending to dodder along. Sheesh, really? I'm two years away from 60 and I work out four times a week, still weigh the same as I did when I was 21, and identify much more with my 30-something nieces and daughter than I do with most of my own age group. I know this is rather off-topic, but I just wanted to comment on the revolting stereotypes that get perpetuated by the culture at large.

Capt. Fogg said...

I'm 63 and OK, I'm a little heavier than I was in high school, but My memory is exceptional, my eyesight is 20/20 and although kids giggle because I don't "text," not one of them knows how a transistor works much less any of the other technology invented by my generation for them to play with.

It's all dismissive as hell and designed to make the born yesterdays feel they have control over a wold that controls them.