I was surprised to see a story about Elkhart, Indiana (the area where I’m from) on Consumerist this morning. It was something about a new law that you’re only allowed to have one garage sale a month. I thought it was funny until I read the associated NYT article. Elkhart is hurting, bad. “The jobless rate in Elkhart has increased more than in any metropolitan area in the country.” Unemployment is over 9%. So many people were involved in the RV industry, and it’s just fallen apart because of the high gas prices. Unemployment, debt, and garage sales seem to be all that’s left. It’s pretty sad. Of course, the author has to tie it into politics at the end. The guy who says that he doesn’t think people there are “ready to vote for a colored President” just made me shudder.
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I guess it’s true that people gt the government (and the economic conditions) that they deserve.
I don’t think that’s quite fair. Not *everyone* there is racist or backwards, and they don’t deserve to lose their jobs or homes. It’s just that the only industry in the area is dying. My Mom left the RV industry for IT a few years ago, but I’ve still got quite a number of relatives (Dad, aunt, uncle, etc) who are employed by it. I’m worried for them.
I just used “shuddered” because of the particular word choice. I’ve expressed the same sentiment myself many times – Indiana has been very conservative for a very long time – but who uses the word “colored” anymore? Sounds straight outta the 1950’s.
That’s what struck me, too, Kris.
And, sadly, I don’t think times of desperation necessarily make people more likely to become more – um – open-minded.
I didn’t mean to imply that everyone is racist or backward. Sorry if it came across like that. I just meant that the majority people in the US voted Bush back in, and didn’t seemed to notice that the policies that his administration were backing (like giving lots of money to banks after 9/11 and not regulating who it could be loaned to) have left the US in a sorry state. If the najority of people there are so stupid they can’t see that, and can’t see the only possibility of sorting it out that is staring them in the face, then the US will get yet another crappy government that doesn’t care about the very people who are worst hit by this crisis. It’s terribly sad, and if I lived in the US I would be very very angry about what has happened. Most of my friends in the US are doing their very best to support Obama, by ringing voters, by driving people to the polls, and by working as volunteers in campaign offices. They are mostly retired and are badly hit financially by what’s happening. They are really doing their best to “get the vote out” and change the future for themselves and the country they love. I’m not sure how they will cope with life if the Republicans get in – their anger at their fellow citizens will be immense.
Actually, whether a “majority” of Americans voted him in is debatable. Without compulsory voting, the people that vote tend to be the ones that are most outraged. Republicans know this and therefore whip out the gay marriage and abortion cards whenever they can. 🙁
We just had a garage sale, actually it was more of a yard sale. It wasnt just to make money but its a nice fringe benefit, it was that the basement needed painted and it was a good time to do some cleaning and get rid of all the things that had collected over the years. Anybody need some pink flamingos or maybe a George Foreman grill?
The pink flamingos are mine and unless you want to find your stuffed animals (deer, fish) missing keep your paws off!
Hahaha… Long live the flamingos!
(But you kept Uncle Pumpkin, right?)
Still have the Uncle Pumpkin man, I was thinking of brokering a trade with a neighbor down the street for their ultra cool humongo gargoyle with red light-up eyes.