AARP thinks only white men are safe drivers

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

I got this email from a Racialicious reader named Stephanie a few days ago:

I wasn’t sure if you’ve ever seen it, but AARP has a commercial out — I saw it this morning on CNN — regarding insurance to reward “experienced” drivers over 50. I tried to locate a copy of it online, to no avail, but if you catch the commercial, you’ll quickly discover that all the poor “inexperienced” drivers are women. The lone male among these unsafe drivers is non-white. Guess who portrays the experienced (read: safe & infallible) driver who is going to reap the AARP rewards? Yep, a 50+ White man. I was shocked that they would make a commercial like this that blatantly depicts anyone who isn’t white and, above all, male is a disaster behind the wheel and a menace to society! Felt like something out of another time.

If you can catch this commercial (AARP Driver Rewards), I hope you can find a way to post it online. It’s pretty miserable.

Has anyone else seen this ad? I couldn’t find it on YouTube or on AARP’s site.