Just Lose The Old Person Jokes Already

One section of one subsection of my economic discourse book takes a look at the late night cultural influence. Depends on one’s media silo, but these (mostly guys, some women) while still looking for laughs, have become more than (mere) entertainers. They have become commentators.

(I’m putting John Oliver in his own category within a category. He won’t call himself a journo and he’s right, he’s not one. But which other of the late nights seriously takes on stuff, beyond one-liners, that seriously affect lives.)

So back to age. In my media silo, the libs, I really want “jokes” about President Biden’s age to stop. (I can deal with Colbert’s Ray-Bans, those feel almost affectionate.) If we can fuss about all the -ism’s, ageism is one. Aside from Colbert’s Ray-Bans, stop it already. It’s so not funny.

(And gosh, this week President Biden showed up to James Corden’s final Late Late Show. No Ray-Bans, no Corvette. Just Joe. Cool President. Take that, late nights.)

Seriously, President Biden has accomplished so much, against cynical retrograde opposition, to make this country better for people who need it to be better, so that those people President Biden gives a care for, can experience their best lives and give back. That’s good age and good experience doing something good.

I’m so fed up with crap “jokes” about whatever century President Biden might have lived. Tudor England, give it a break. He’s here now and on the job, doing the job. Give it a break.

A few years back, I worked on a book about the Gray Panthers with one of that groups’ founders who lived in Austin. Had to interrupt because, my life, full time work and parenthood.

But I’ve got archived all the interviews and transcripts.

The Gray Panther slogan was multigenerational “Age and Youth in Action.” And Gray Panthers still exist, taking on issues we thought been filed to the past, 1970s and 1980s, and new ones (Green New Deal, top) but sad but sure, old ones now surging back again in 2023….civil rights, voting rights, reproductive rights, economic injustice, and beyond imagination, book bans. So, in 2023, we are such a fortunate civilization to have young people energetic and working for progress on all cylinders and the Joes (and Bernies) arm in arm with them. Age and Youth in Action. There might be hope.