Topic: Some Lessons on Government Largesse From the New Frontier

[rickl]

So it is that in 1935 poor people scraped and saved to cast a bronze plaque for their Depression-era new city hall, and in 2011 rather more affluent people ripped it off to melt it down for a layaway payment on some chrome rims or another round of meth.

Civilization ends when the pampered beneficiaries of the hard work of the now dead have the luxury of ignoring how hard it was — and is — to build shelter from the elements, to erect public buildings from scrub, to grow food and sprout farms from sage. Our contemporary criminals are protected from the elemental struggle and so have the indulgence to gnaw away at civilization’s veneer — and we, in our conspiratorial silence about them, likewise forgot that to keep still about the destruction of the work of others is to be complicit in it.

There were any number of quotable passages I could have selected.  Read the whole thing, as well as the great comments.

[charlesoakwood]

Could only read about half of his well written lament.
Two words: target practice.

[IronDioPriest]

Twice I ran into the barnyard to see the truck, with its two gangbanger youths, peel off in clouds of dust. (And, yes, as a CSU ex-professor, I know the party line: the dominant culture neglects/exploits/oppresses/fill in the blanks the “other” to such a degree that he sometimes must lash out, or, on occasion, to find validation, might just do something illegal like steal buckets of antique nails, or illogical, like in poverty buying a new truck, and thus so disturbs/finally wins the attention of those with privilege and their self-constructed norms. Been there and heard that for thirty years).

That's kinda like something the SCoaMFotUS said once. I think it was the Typical White Grandma speech where he justified the hatred of Jeremiah Wright by tying his hatred to the Black race in general.

[Alphabet Soup]

Could only read about half of his well written lament.
Two words: target practice.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen the reply "SSS" (shoot, shovel, shaddup) in response to this. It must just be bravado speaking because I haven't heard of any uptick in 'banger deaths lately. Or maybe it is simply that they aren't worth reporting about (fine with me).

I guess it's the Badger in me talking again: leave me alone and we'll do just fine. Mess with me or mine and you'll be lucky to take a dirt nap.

That reminds me - the shipment of 00 hasn't arrived yet.

[charlesoakwood]

  Quigley down under was a wonderful movie.