So...this is another one that is going to get you in trouble with your friends if you repeat it...
...But, getting in trouble for not 100% agreeing with absolutely everything anyone on the left or right says is kind of always going to get you in trouble in this day and age.
Just a reminder...
I know, I know an argument can be made on both ends.
This is about pragmatism after all and we really wouldn't be pragmatic if we didn't point out...
And, I know its early in this blog, but we are using memes from the prequel trilogy in this one.
And, if you don't absolutely hate the prequels there is something very very wrong with you.
So even though this is an early post, it seems like a growing tradition, so we really have to work this image in...
...and now seems like a good enough time to do it.
After all, there is no better way to to illustrate how much we hate the prequels.
...moving on...
It is very popular to make fun of rednecks. I mean, it doesn't take very long while surfing through left wing threads to see shit like this:
And let's face facts here, they are easy targets. I mean, that redneck shaved an American flag into his chest hair...and his tummy hair and that redneck behind him is wearing the Stars and Bars. The Confederate Battle Flag.
One is in bad taste, the other is just offensive.
Seriously, the ONLY Confederate Flag I would ever wear is the kind that comes on a foam cap with a ready made mullet, just to make fun of rednecks like that.
Mullet..Business in the front, party in the back.
And it, well, mullets do make anyone a very easy target...even people that we should respect because they can dismantle an atomic bomb with a Swiss army knife and a pack of Juicy Fruit.
It is a hair sin...but the left has hair sins of its own...
So I guess mullets are coming back in their own way. They are evolving. And they are still awful.
Now my girlfriend wants me to grow my hair long...and I am trying, and getting irritated by its length, but...I AM NEVER GOING THERE.
Anyway, yeah, no, yeah, it is really easy to make fun of the rednecks. It's easy to make fun of those country yokels...even though...well, country don't mean dumb.
The fact is, a hell of a lot of our problems are a result of ignoring the rust belt.
That is a fact.
And they know they are getting fucked.
Now, I know the objection for #4, Before you voice them
But you know what, #4 is about the only decent paying job they have left in those areas thanks to NAFTA and CAFTA, they depend on that for their only real source of income.
5) CAFTA
And still...
We keep making fun of them.
But there is more.
There is always more.
In the city, there is at least access.
And those are just to name a few. The point is, in the city, with the urban poor, there is an infrastructure that people can take advantage of.
Now in the country
The fact is, there is no infrastructure. The opportunities are closed. We have abandoned them. The opportunities that are available for the urban poor are not available for the rural poor.
And before you say "They can move" well, moving across town is expensive. Try moving to another town, or city, with no job and nothing in your bank account.
Because of that some of the rural poor are very, VERY poor.
Some of it looks a lot like a third world country.
And we are making fun of them.
Not only that but...
And this is the part that your friends are going to HATE you for if you make the argument...there is this thing called:
And in urban areas, in suburban areas, no one is going to argue it.
I mean, I am white, I don't get pulled over for driving while Black in the city. That is just a fact.
But, I have a piece of shit car and I do get pulled over for driving while poor in the suburbs...BUT, even then I know it would happen a lot more if I had a poor man's Toyota AND was Black.
But the fact is that, we are forcing people to admit that they have "White Privilege."
I mean, even a friend of mine got pissed at me for pointing out that colonization wasn't ONLY a white European thing. And, in fact, it is an empire thing that is practiced by empires across the globe and, maybe we should look at how evil Empires are before we blame colonization on race.
I mean, look at the horrible things that empires did to the galaxy.
And did I mention he was white?
He was literally trying to shame and guilt me into saying that:
And, historically, that's not even true for Africa, let alone the rest of the world.
But like I said, I'm a suburban white guy...I understand that the color of my skin and the fact that nearly everyone can pronounce my name gives me a leg up in the world.
All I was doing was playing my "I have a history degree" card...and then my "I am so not going to rewrite history just to suit politics" card.
So whatever, that is me. And I will admit that I have a privilege and that comes with my race...I've seen it everyday.
I mean, I am more than certain my buddy Kasheem has missed a job interview or two because people wanted to save themselves the embarrassment of not being able to pronounce "Kasheem." And I am sure he's missed even more because Kasheem is clearly an African-American name.
Now, let's see what happens when you try to force someone living in a place like this to admit that they are "privileged."
You see, they are poor.
And we have already gone over why they are poor...see points 1-5 above.
And remember, I have been pulled over MANY times in the suburbs for driving while poor. I am sure it happens elsewhere, especially when that elsewhere is over 90% white.
And we have already gone over the difference of being poor in a place like this and being poor in a city...infrastructure and access to opportunities.
Now, they are going to be focused on the "privilege" part of that...and we on the left are going to force them to admit that they are privileged.
And if they don't bow down and tell us how privileged they are...
We are going to call them this:
That's right, if they don't admit that they are privileged, despite the fact that they are living in 3rd World poverty in the United States, we are going to call them "Racist."
And that's when the "White" in "White Privilege" is heard. That is when they focus on the racial part of it.
And then, after we are going to call them racist, when they try to point out how NOT privileged they are because of said poverty, we may say things like this:
Or at least some of us are going to say something like that...when they point out that they are poor and forcing them to say how privileged they are is kind of like mocking the fact that they are living in poverty.
Now, have you stopped to think about that?
Really, look at it this way.
And, people, well, they are very sensitive about being poor.
But, it is OK to do it to them because, well they are...
And even if they DO admit that they are privileged, despite the fact that they are living in poverty, we are still going to throw down the redneck card.
You know, we are going to make fun of them for shit like this:
And there is nothing that is going to stop us from making fun of them for that.
And, we are pissed that they aren't voting out way.
Let me repeat that:
Now, before you object...that is a fact.
There are a ton of questions like:
1) Why do they vote for Republicans that screw them?
So there is that. You know, the opportunities that come with infrastructure are in the cities, they know it and we are making fun of them, and talking about helping the poor in the city...which they associate with "Black."
And I'll even admit to being the type that, when encountered with:
My initial reaction is to say
And that's mainly because you didn't try to persuade me, you demanded than threatened or shamed me hoping that I'll agree out of fear rather than debate.
We are pushing them because, well, we openly view them like this:
And we are somehow confused as to why they are pushing back?
And when they have enough. When they get so pissed by how they are being treated, well, it comes to the surface as this:
And it comes to the surface as this:
And we are SHOCKED.
Why are we shocked?
We were making fun of them for being shit like this. We told them this is what they are and we told them this is all they are and we told them that, no matter what, this was how we were going to view them.
Let's face it, this is the situation that has been brought to a head by our own rhetoric.
And that rhetoric isn't changing at all. In fact, that rhetoric is becoming more radicalized and more hateful. It's gotten to the point where you can't even hate a remake without being attacked by the far left for misogyny because of...reasons. Reasons that had nothing to do with why you didn't like the film to begin with.
We have directors, politicians, students, professors, we have journalists, we have people on the internet, we have the very structure of the left pushing people to the right because, well, it is easy to mock rednecks. It is VERY easy to mock mullets.
And, let's face it, it is just as politically correct to be openly discriminatory against people in rural communities facing extreme poverty as it is to be openly racist against the Irish. And that is being reinforced every day.
Now there is a way to fix it. There is a way to correct it and bring them back into the fold.
It's simple:
1) Don't force them to say they are privileged because they are white.
2) Stop supporting the exportation of jobs for globalization--it creates sweatshops abroad anyway.
3) Stop mocking the country, just stop making fun of them
But, honestly, this is going to take years. It will be a generational thing.
Jack and Bobby Kennedy, LBJ, they were the last people on the left that didn't make fun of rural Americans. And LBJ, yeah, he was one of them, but Jack and Bobby weren't. They were the upper class. They were in the 1%, but they still had class enough to embrace them.
We can only blame the Southern Strategy so much. The fact is, that "we lost the south for a generation" turned into two generations and then three because when we weren't busy mocking them and insulting them like they were drunken fighting Irishmen...we were busy ignoring their economic needs.
We can bring them back, all we need to do is change our own rhetoric.
That doesn't mean we need to embrace the racist rhetoric of the Republican Party. That just means we need to stop the crap we are saying about them now. We need to change how we talk about them. We need to change how we view them in our own eyes.
Because, you can't bully and ridicule and make fun of someone...and then ask them to vote for your cause.
...But, getting in trouble for not 100% agreeing with absolutely everything anyone on the left or right says is kind of always going to get you in trouble in this day and age.
Just a reminder...
I know, I know an argument can be made on both ends.
This is about pragmatism after all and we really wouldn't be pragmatic if we didn't point out...
And, I know its early in this blog, but we are using memes from the prequel trilogy in this one.
And, if you don't absolutely hate the prequels there is something very very wrong with you.
So even though this is an early post, it seems like a growing tradition, so we really have to work this image in...
...and now seems like a good enough time to do it.
After all, there is no better way to to illustrate how much we hate the prequels.
...moving on...
It is very popular to make fun of rednecks. I mean, it doesn't take very long while surfing through left wing threads to see shit like this:
And let's face facts here, they are easy targets. I mean, that redneck shaved an American flag into his chest hair...and his tummy hair and that redneck behind him is wearing the Stars and Bars. The Confederate Battle Flag.
One is in bad taste, the other is just offensive.
Seriously, the ONLY Confederate Flag I would ever wear is the kind that comes on a foam cap with a ready made mullet, just to make fun of rednecks like that.
Mullet..Business in the front, party in the back.
It is a hair sin...but the left has hair sins of its own...
So I guess mullets are coming back in their own way. They are evolving. And they are still awful.
Now my girlfriend wants me to grow my hair long...and I am trying, and getting irritated by its length, but...I AM NEVER GOING THERE.
Anyway, yeah, no, yeah, it is really easy to make fun of the rednecks. It's easy to make fun of those country yokels...even though...well, country don't mean dumb.
The fact is, a hell of a lot of our problems are a result of ignoring the rust belt.
That is a fact.
And they know they are getting fucked.
1) They saw their standard of living drop under Reagan.
2) They saw Clinton Export their jobs.
3) They saw Bush send them to war and cut the VA when they came back injured
4) They saw Obama shut down their coal mines.
Now, I know the objection for #4, Before you voice them
- Yes, we need to move away from fossil fuels
- Yes, it causes global warming
- Yes, working there causes Black Lung
- Yes, there is no such thing as "Clean Coal"
But you know what, #4 is about the only decent paying job they have left in those areas thanks to NAFTA and CAFTA, they depend on that for their only real source of income.
5) CAFTA
And still...
We keep making fun of them.
But there is more.
There is always more.
In the city, there is at least access.
- There is public transportation
- There are community colleges
- There are jobs and a way to commute to them
- There are free clinics and a way to commute to them
And those are just to name a few. The point is, in the city, with the urban poor, there is an infrastructure that people can take advantage of.
Now in the country
- There is no public transportation
- Sometimes there are no libraries
- There are community colleges...sometimes hundreds of miles away
- There are jobs...again, sometimes hundreds of miles away
- There are free clinics...sometimes hundreds of miles away
The fact is, there is no infrastructure. The opportunities are closed. We have abandoned them. The opportunities that are available for the urban poor are not available for the rural poor.
And before you say "They can move" well, moving across town is expensive. Try moving to another town, or city, with no job and nothing in your bank account.
Because of that some of the rural poor are very, VERY poor.
Some of it looks a lot like a third world country.
And we are making fun of them.
Not only that but...
And this is the part that your friends are going to HATE you for if you make the argument...there is this thing called:
WHITE PRIVILEGE
And in urban areas, in suburban areas, no one is going to argue it.
I mean, I am white, I don't get pulled over for driving while Black in the city. That is just a fact.
But, I have a piece of shit car and I do get pulled over for driving while poor in the suburbs...BUT, even then I know it would happen a lot more if I had a poor man's Toyota AND was Black.
But the fact is that, we are forcing people to admit that they have "White Privilege."
I mean, even a friend of mine got pissed at me for pointing out that colonization wasn't ONLY a white European thing. And, in fact, it is an empire thing that is practiced by empires across the globe and, maybe we should look at how evil Empires are before we blame colonization on race.
I mean, look at the horrible things that empires did to the galaxy.
And did I mention he was white?
He was literally trying to shame and guilt me into saying that:
"No, despite world history, it is ONLY White People that had colonies."
And, historically, that's not even true for Africa, let alone the rest of the world.
But like I said, I'm a suburban white guy...I understand that the color of my skin and the fact that nearly everyone can pronounce my name gives me a leg up in the world.
All I was doing was playing my "I have a history degree" card...and then my "I am so not going to rewrite history just to suit politics" card.
So whatever, that is me. And I will admit that I have a privilege and that comes with my race...I've seen it everyday.
I mean, I am more than certain my buddy Kasheem has missed a job interview or two because people wanted to save themselves the embarrassment of not being able to pronounce "Kasheem." And I am sure he's missed even more because Kasheem is clearly an African-American name.
Now, let's see what happens when you try to force someone living in a place like this to admit that they are "privileged."
And we have already gone over why they are poor...see points 1-5 above.
And remember, I have been pulled over MANY times in the suburbs for driving while poor. I am sure it happens elsewhere, especially when that elsewhere is over 90% white.
And we have already gone over the difference of being poor in a place like this and being poor in a city...infrastructure and access to opportunities.
Now, they are going to be focused on the "privilege" part of that...and we on the left are going to force them to admit that they are privileged.
And if they don't bow down and tell us how privileged they are...
We are going to call them this:
And that's when the "White" in "White Privilege" is heard. That is when they focus on the racial part of it.
And then, after we are going to call them racist, when they try to point out how NOT privileged they are because of said poverty, we may say things like this:
Now, have you stopped to think about that?
Really, look at it this way.
Forcing someone that is living in poverty to tell you how privileged they are is mocking their poverty.
And, people, well, they are very sensitive about being poor.
But, it is OK to do it to them because, well they are...
You know, we are going to make fun of them for shit like this:
And, we are pissed that they aren't voting out way.
Let me repeat that:
We are Pissed That They Are Not Voting Our Way
Now, before you object...that is a fact.
There are a ton of questions like:
1) Why do they vote for Republicans that screw them?
- And, of course, the answer is because both sides have screwed them
- BUT, out of the two sides, the Republicans are NOT mocking them, at least not openly
- And, well, Hillary did call them "deplorable"
- And some people on the left are still forcing them to tell them how privileged they are
- And both sides screwed them
- And...the Republican's aren't mocking them.
- And look at all the redneck memes here, they aren't new and the insulting ones are exclusively from the left
- And, as I said, people are still telling them: Admit you're privileged or you're a racist
- And, as I pointed out, while all the rhetoric is against them, we are talking about how bad it is to live in poverty in the urban areas and mocking the poverty in the rural areas...and "urban" still translates to "Black"
- And the Republicans aren't mocking them
So there is that. You know, the opportunities that come with infrastructure are in the cities, they know it and we are making fun of them, and talking about helping the poor in the city...which they associate with "Black."
- And the Republicans aren't mocking them
- And the Republicans aren't mocking them
And I'll even admit to being the type that, when encountered with:
Say "X" or I am going to threaten/shame you into doing it
My initial reaction is to say
Fuck you.
And that's mainly because you didn't try to persuade me, you demanded than threatened or shamed me hoping that I'll agree out of fear rather than debate.
- The Republicans aren't mocking them. They aren't trying to shame or threaten them onto their side. They are welcoming them with open arms and telling them how much they understand...hence Trump and the coal thing.
We are pushing them because, well, we openly view them like this:
- You can only insult someone so much before they push back.
- You can only shame someone so much before they push back.
- You can only taunt someone so much before they push back.
- You can only mock people so much before they push back.
And when they have enough. When they get so pissed by how they are being treated, well, it comes to the surface as this:
And it comes to the surface as this:
And we are SHOCKED.
Why are we shocked?
We were making fun of them for being shit like this. We told them this is what they are and we told them this is all they are and we told them that, no matter what, this was how we were going to view them.
- And the Republicans are NOT mocking them.
Let's face it, this is the situation that has been brought to a head by our own rhetoric.
And that rhetoric isn't changing at all. In fact, that rhetoric is becoming more radicalized and more hateful. It's gotten to the point where you can't even hate a remake without being attacked by the far left for misogyny because of...reasons. Reasons that had nothing to do with why you didn't like the film to begin with.
We have directors, politicians, students, professors, we have journalists, we have people on the internet, we have the very structure of the left pushing people to the right because, well, it is easy to mock rednecks. It is VERY easy to mock mullets.
And, let's face it, it is just as politically correct to be openly discriminatory against people in rural communities facing extreme poverty as it is to be openly racist against the Irish. And that is being reinforced every day.
Now there is a way to fix it. There is a way to correct it and bring them back into the fold.
It's simple:
1) Don't force them to say they are privileged because they are white.
- Instead realize that they are poor
- And then address their needs caused by their poverty
2) Stop supporting the exportation of jobs for globalization--it creates sweatshops abroad anyway.
- Instead, bring the jobs back to America
- Understand that, when they say "America First" they mean "Bring our jobs back.
3) Stop mocking the country, just stop making fun of them
- Because, the GOP doesn't post anti-redneck memes. Their redneck memes are Jeff Foxworthy
- And, honestly, when you mock someone, they aren't going to vote for you, they are going to stand against you.
But, honestly, this is going to take years. It will be a generational thing.
Jack and Bobby Kennedy, LBJ, they were the last people on the left that didn't make fun of rural Americans. And LBJ, yeah, he was one of them, but Jack and Bobby weren't. They were the upper class. They were in the 1%, but they still had class enough to embrace them.
We can only blame the Southern Strategy so much. The fact is, that "we lost the south for a generation" turned into two generations and then three because when we weren't busy mocking them and insulting them like they were drunken fighting Irishmen...we were busy ignoring their economic needs.
We can bring them back, all we need to do is change our own rhetoric.
That doesn't mean we need to embrace the racist rhetoric of the Republican Party. That just means we need to stop the crap we are saying about them now. We need to change how we talk about them. We need to change how we view them in our own eyes.
Because, you can't bully and ridicule and make fun of someone...and then ask them to vote for your cause.
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