Grumpy Old Men

There was a lovely show on the television the other night entitled "Grumpy Old Men". No this was not the movie which featured some American stars, rather this was a revealing exposé of the current perceptions of some famous (usually British) males around the world who are now in their 35-55 age group.

Without a doubt the most amazing thing about their views was the extent to which I found myself agreeing with them. Let me give you just some of the instances they cited as their views.

They hate body piercing with a passion. From their point of view (one that I share completely) the current passion for body piercing is an anathema. Rather than being seen as an adornment or as an enhancement of existing beauty it is seen as a complete disfigurement of the human body and something that is as uncomfortable to the person who has been mutilated in this way as it is to those who need to interact with them.

They are completely lost when it comes to what to do about women. All of them were brought up to be courteous and polite and since their childhood of course so much has changed with the advent of Women's Liberation that they now no longer know what they can do without being thought of as male chauvinist pigs or as sexist beasts. The choice about opening doors, offering one's seat on a bus or a tram, the choice of whether or not to pay for a drink or a meal, all of these things that they took for granted when they were growing up are now nothing more than a traumatic decision making chore.

The mere fact that a woman chooses to wear clothing that reveals most of her anatomy while at work for example drew some of the most scathing criticism. They have learned that it is not up to them what a woman should or should not wear and that's fine. However whether they are permitted to look at the goods on display or not is another question. On the one hand, they ask, if the woman chooses to display the merchandise, then there must be a reason for it, the reason surely being that she wants to be noticed, so what's wrong with noticing? Similarly they find it impossible to understand how women with huge beer guts can get away with wearing mid-rif tops that flaunt their fat or low slung pants that reveal what they call the female equivalent of the "builder's crack" showing their thong underwear. If this sort of demonstration is considered 'off' in males, then they ask, why is it not considered off in females and more to the point if women can comment about men who demonstrate such crassness then why can't men comment on it when it occurs in women?
I could go on with a whole litany of their observations, but rather I encourage others to view the series for themselves and see what it is that they identify with and in what respects their own views differ.

The real point at issue is the level of frustration which was being expressed by these people. Frustration that the things that they hoped for in the 1960's and the 1970's had turned to dust. The world was not a better place - indeed from their perspective it was far worse in many ways than the one they had inherited.

Was this their fault? Perhaps it was, which is perhaps why these men, as I say successful men, all seemed to be dejected and depressed. The conditions that exist today is somehow perceived by them as their own failure.

What I think they missed in their analysis is that it is NOT TOO LATE to make a difference. In some ways the revolutionary ideals with which they started their development into adulthood are still valid and they still have time to make a difference.

The reality is that baby boomers need to take up the challenge and exert their political and numerical power once again. They are still the largest group in our society and still the largest purchasing power in the world, they represent the largest group of voters and the largest group of people who CAN still make a difference in our outlook and in the way in which this society continues. The question is whether the get up and go with which they started their lives has now got up and gone or whether it is still present and able to be firmly grasped and utilised with the political savvy that has been acquired.

Let's move from this cult of worshiping the young back to worshiping the aging. For the next ten to twenty years THEY are the power that has to be reckoned with and they still have an opportunity to undo much of the damage that they are responsible for. Let's hear it for those grumpy old men who do not want merely to rail at the things that have gone wrong with their dreams but now want a second chance to fix those things.

That's the way to go in my opinion.