‘White Guy’ America

Good grief. Chris Matthews just insulted the country again. A little while ago, I was half-listening to the MSNBC talk show host bloviate about the Libya intervention when, just before the commercial break, he introduced his next segment. He said something like: “We’ll talk to two Middle East experts about ... well, it looks like we, the white guys, are going into another Arab country again. Is it wise? Back in a moment.” Um, the white guys? Say what!? I feel a bit of Ellison’s “Invisible Man” coming on. Matthews has been (rightly) concerned about the repercussions of America fighting in yet another Muslim nation. I’m sure that’s what he meant to convey. But he chose the words “white guys” to describe America – a nation that’s been multiracial literally since its founding.

Matthews has been caught flatfooted in this territory before. During the 2008 campaign he dumbly referred to working-class whites as “regular Americans” as if persons of color of similar economic background were not. Don’t get me wrong. Matthews, a card-carrying liberal, is no bigot. Far from it. But his word choices (and internal thought processes) are indicative of a generational mindset. He obviously can’t help it because the blunders keep coming. Indeed, for too many Americans born before the 1960s, the world will always be divided between black and white, even if it’s done unconsciously or without malice. Matthews, 65, was born in 1945. But changing mindsets is futile. It is ingrained too deeply. It is a legacy of racism that will simply have to die off naturally. In the interim, to re-work an old California hippie saying, never trust anyone over 59 on matters of race.