Leaving aside whether Europe would like us more if we did something about those horrible people they see in “The Dukes of Hazzard” documentaries, you have to love the idea of the “white trash” demo sullying our name inside our borders — she’s talking about the thin crust of coastal dwellers who regard Manhattan as some sort of precious monastery that keeps the dim flickering light of civilization alive. Why, if the hillbillies disappeared, the New Yorkers would be reduced to making disparaging remarks about people from New Jersey who take the bridges and tunnels to go clubbing in LowSoHo or MoTriVil or whatever old neighborhood has been fitted out with thudding discos and fusion-sushi joints.
Why does this demographic — the white trash, I mean, not the orange trash of the Guido Jersey interlopers — have such a “curious appeal” to the right? Because the right, perhaps, thinks of them as “voters” who cast “ballots” in “elections” for people who don’t consider rhinoplasty so they can look down their noses even further than God intended.
I highly recommend reading his entire rant.
Hat tip: Wally Ballou.
[Post ends here]
14 comments:
not the orange trash of the Guido Jersey interlopers
Well, that's a first. Never heard that term. Now, since I live in southern NJ, I call these people BENNYs who, when they come south, are rude, arrogant, and lousy drivers.
And I am not Italian. And why are they orange?
"The excerpt below may not mean much to our European readers"
Why so? Because we Euros are bloody ignorant? Is it Baron?
Or is it because we Euros do not have to worry about the American elections?
I for me, am indeed ignorant and I did not understand much of it (hope I'm not the only one) but I will read it all anyway. I am not hoping to understand it but I'll have to make an effort because the American elections is a great deal.
If anyone wants to give a background to us ignorant Europens it would be perfect.
Oh, for goodness' sake. Afonso -- don't get your knickers all in a twist.
This isn't about ignorance, it's about context. Lileks' rant is in a very specifically American context, larded with cultural references which may be obscure (even to some of hid fellow Americans).
Examples would be the "Dukes of Hazzard", SoHo, and the mutual attitude of New Yorkers and the rest of the country to each other.
I'm not saying that a European can't get the gist, only that the gist may not be obvious.
95% of Swedish jokes have to be explained to me, and even then I may not see the humor. It doesn't mean that I'm ignorant, just that I'm not Swedish.
I'm not sure if afonso is conplaining about being ignorant ofr being thought ignorant. There is no reason he should know much about the different types of intra-American class prejudices.
Suffice it to say that the US city-dwelling, expensively educated elites consider themselves morally, culturally and intellectually superior to those of different backgrounds, although they have very little evidence to support that view.
As for "orange trash", I think Lileks was on a roll and wanted to coin a new bogus derogatory term, for temporary use, that would be an analogue to "white trash", and he struck upon "orange trash" because of the proximity of Orange, NJ to NYC. No big deal.
After an excruciating week listening to right-wing talk radio, and watching the Republican convention, I have come to the following conclusion:
Right-wing talk radio has made American conservatism a stupider ideology and American conservatives a stupider bunch of people.
The choice of Sarah Palin, and the hysterial reaction from the American right, represented by the "intellectually stupid" wing of the conservative movement (James Lileks) exemplifies my point.
In my opinion Palin is a stupid pick for three reasons:
1. She is a far right-winger.
2. She is inexperienced.
and
3. If John McCain croaks she will be president.
Nodrog! So good to have you back. Your point of view provides balance at Gates of Vienna.
It's the same kind of "balance" the BBC uses on its programs when they have a Labour MP to represent the Left, and a devotee of Sir Oswald Mosley to represent the Right.
I'll leave it up to you to figure out which way the analogy falls for you...
A consitent tactical advantage the Left always grants the Right is the Left's assumption the Right is stupid.
Baron,
95% of Swedish jokes have to be explained to me, and even then I may not see the humor. It doesn't mean that I'm ignorant, just that I'm not Swedish.
Well, you could always start with Bellman jokes and build it up from there:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellman_joke (including example jokes)
Yes, if this Bellman figure seems familiar, it's because it's the same man that you find in the banner of Snaphanen's old blog, just to the right of Strindberg.
CS -- Hoho! Thanks for the Bellman jokes. I thought they might be like Polock jokes, but they're quite different.
BTW -- there doesn't seem to be a Wikipedia entry for Polock jokes. I think they're too politically incorrect to be represented there.
"Palin is a stupid pick for three reasons:
1. She is a far right-winger.
2. She is inexperienced.
and
3. If John McCain croaks she will be president.
So Nodrog must agree that Obama is a stupid pick because:
1) He is far left
2) He is more inexperienced than Palin
3) There's no one dead or alive between him and the presidency if he's elected.
@Former Gordon
I thought Sarah Palin was a particularly astute pick because:
1. She is a far right-winger. (where McCain is weak)
2. She is inexperienced. (at hosing us)
and
3. If John McCain croaks she will be president.
@Wally Ballou
What you mean orange doesn’t refer to the General Lee
Dan, I definitely agree with you on that...
Baron:
I am sorry. Re-reading my words again I was a bit too agressive and away too stupid.
I didn't meant that.
All I wanted to say is that we Euros want to understand that, and that Gates of Vienna is kind of a bridge through the Atlantic.
By the way "ignorância" here can mean:
1) lack of knowledge (intelligence?)
2) lack of contextualisation
3) lack of sensitiveness
I was an ignorant. And I shouldn't have had commented it at all because after reading all that, it was (almost) as clear as water.
We've those "Canadians" here in Europe. The most famous is the girlfriend of the Socialist Prime Minister: Fernanda Câncio.
Imaturity, what more can I say...
By the way, nice to see Baron wellcoming ex-Gordon, the one who ususally agrees "less" with him.
That's a nice attitude from you Baron.
ex Gorndon,
In another recent post, I'd like you to explain us how Sarah Palin is "far-right" (I've been told that. Whenever she apears in the news here...) and how it's bad (See, here they usually do not fundament their "assertions". I think that here the press that is more well fundamentated is the sport's press. That is, football, because those three daily sport's newspapers are 95% about football).
Take care.
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