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A Portrait Of The 'Bro' As A Young Man

Flickr Creative Commons, starmanseries

http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Commodore%20Skahill/Colin%20McEnroe%20Show%2006-26-13.mp3

In some ways, the 'bro' is not new. He's there, for example, in Philip Roth's "Goodbye Columbus" as Ron Patimkin, the big athletic empty-headed brother of Brenda. 
 
What's different is that in the 1960s, it seemed fundamentally untenable to be Ron for an extended period of time. Ron only really made sense as a college athlete, and now he's stuck with a bunch of mannerisms and interests that seem vaguely out of place.
 
Today's bros -- these are the guys with the popped collars, the backwards baseball hats, the high fives and the far more cutting edge handshakes -- seem determined to carry the vibe of college -- drinking games, video games, treating sexual conquest as a game -- forward toward their thirties.
 
This is also not a new idea, but rarely has its tribalism been so easily spotted.
 
You can join the conversation - email colin@wnpr.org or tweet us @wnprcolin.

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Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

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All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.