Creeps in the Suburbs

William H. Whyte, in the 1956 book The Organization Man, devotes more than 100 pages to examining the influence of corporate men in fifties suburban neighborhoods. According to him, those mid-level managers, technicians and salesmen set the tone in the neighborhoods and were looked up to as opinion leaders.

I'm not sure they all were so special in the opinion of my mother. As she looked across the neighborhoods and rated the male breadwinners, she used a more complex set of criteria. Mr. X. was a creep, even though a high earner, because he was a dictatorial overcompensator with his wife and children. He even insulted the other bridge ladies when he found them at his home, making everyone feel that they were below him and his doormat wife in social class. Mr. Y was an atheist, and did not even go to church each Sunday with his devout Baptist wife. Mr. Z. was a drunkard, yelled at his wife, and poisoned his next door neighbor's dog to shut up its barking.

For my mother, the dads that had status were good earners, but also caring husbands and fathers. They were hard workers, but also fun. I don't know if any of the men in our neighborhood passed her muster, including my dad. She let us know that the real love of her life was Dean Martin.

Even the organization men didn't necessarily have it easy in our neighborhoods. My dad was struck with a bleeding ulcer in the early 60s from all the stress his job and family gave him; the hospital had to give him 39 pints of blood to keep him alive. I wish he had watched this educational film:



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