New Orleans is unwell. Why we must rebuilt it, there.
Scout recommended this blog American Zombie. He has a great answer to the "Why should we rebuild New Orleans?" answer. Here he is talking to a smug Republican on his way to law school (who hopes someday he will be a judge. He must think that being a judge means you should be a judgmental sort.)
Initially, I thought I might get through the night without “the issue” coming up…no such luck.
“So you’re from New Orleans….how’s it going down there?”
“Unwell.”
I like the semantic impact of unwell…it usually just hangs in the air and people don’t really know what to do with it. I’ve successfully cut off conversations about “the issue” a number of times with unwell. But not tonight…I was sitting next to Mr. Neat and unwell didn’t quite fit into his compartments.
He started to dig.
“Why is it so bad down there? I don’t understand why you guys can’t get anything done.”
“Well, we don’t have the financial resources or political leadership to do it.”
“How can that be true? Haven’t we been sending you all that money?”
I assume by "we" he meant America...or maybe he had a mouse in his pocket and donated to the Red Cross. [ed note: I LOVE that line]
“I’ve heard there's money coming…but I haven’t seen it. Look, it’s important to understand the breadth of destruction in the city…80% of the city was flooded.”
“If it’s that bad, why rebuild it?”
I was still ok…really….I was cool.
“Well, aside from the fact that many of us who live there really love our city, it’s a very important city and area to sustaining the country’s economic infrastructure. ..over 30% of the country’s energy supply runs through the southern end of our state. Our port is one of the busiest in the world. We have petro-chemical plants lined along the Mississippi between New Orleans and Baton Rouge which are absolutely vital to our food supply…we do a lot for this country quite often at the expense of our own health.”
“I don’t get it, why can’t we just move all that stuff to another state?”
“Aside from the fact that it’s geographically and financially impossible….no other states want these type of factories in their backyard. Refineries and Petro-Chem plants…they’re very nasty creatures. They create a lot of poor health conditions for the people in the surrounding areas. They call the area between New Orleans and Baton Rouge ‘Cancer Alley’”
“Why the hell would people live around them or work in them? Why don’t they just leave…are they just to stupid to realize what they’re living in?”
For some reason…that’s what set me off. It doesn’t even bother me that much now that I read it, but when he spoke the words, it very much chapped my ass.
“Because some people have to work for a living. Someone has to make plastic so you can eat fresh Pop-Tarts before you go to your business ethics class. Some people don't have as many options as you do.”
He rambled on about it being a free country and regurgitated a wave of asinine platitudes he pulled off the conservative bookshelf. I was waiting for him to ask why we couldn't get Mexicans to work in those plants...that's the kind of crap that was flowing out of his mouth.
Luckily the food showed up pretty quickly and his hunger took precedence over his need to rationalize “the issue”.
(whole post here)
I was impressed by the various types of arguments he used and by his ability to articulate them. I always like to give my readers these kind of responses based on the information from people on the ground. Feel free to memorize them and use them when confronting these "young Republican types" who spout the crap they hear on commercially supported broadcast radio, Fox and read in the mainstream newspapers from paid conservative think tankers writing op-ed pieces.
People need to hear and have strong arguments against these people. If you only hear strawmen and Bush Republican agenda items all day you might start to be hypnotized. We can't underestimate the power of a multibillion dollar campaign running 24/7 on the radio, TV and think tankers.
And if Dambala's great American Zombie post isn't strong enough try Ashley Morris' x-rated "Al Swearington approved" post. Warning F-word count approaches infinity.
Initially, I thought I might get through the night without “the issue” coming up…no such luck.
“So you’re from New Orleans….how’s it going down there?”
“Unwell.”
I like the semantic impact of unwell…it usually just hangs in the air and people don’t really know what to do with it. I’ve successfully cut off conversations about “the issue” a number of times with unwell. But not tonight…I was sitting next to Mr. Neat and unwell didn’t quite fit into his compartments.
He started to dig.
“Why is it so bad down there? I don’t understand why you guys can’t get anything done.”
“Well, we don’t have the financial resources or political leadership to do it.”
“How can that be true? Haven’t we been sending you all that money?”
I assume by "we" he meant America...or maybe he had a mouse in his pocket and donated to the Red Cross. [ed note: I LOVE that line]
“I’ve heard there's money coming…but I haven’t seen it. Look, it’s important to understand the breadth of destruction in the city…80% of the city was flooded.”
“If it’s that bad, why rebuild it?”
I was still ok…really….I was cool.
“Well, aside from the fact that many of us who live there really love our city, it’s a very important city and area to sustaining the country’s economic infrastructure. ..over 30% of the country’s energy supply runs through the southern end of our state. Our port is one of the busiest in the world. We have petro-chemical plants lined along the Mississippi between New Orleans and Baton Rouge which are absolutely vital to our food supply…we do a lot for this country quite often at the expense of our own health.”
“I don’t get it, why can’t we just move all that stuff to another state?”
“Aside from the fact that it’s geographically and financially impossible….no other states want these type of factories in their backyard. Refineries and Petro-Chem plants…they’re very nasty creatures. They create a lot of poor health conditions for the people in the surrounding areas. They call the area between New Orleans and Baton Rouge ‘Cancer Alley’”
“Why the hell would people live around them or work in them? Why don’t they just leave…are they just to stupid to realize what they’re living in?”
For some reason…that’s what set me off. It doesn’t even bother me that much now that I read it, but when he spoke the words, it very much chapped my ass.
“Because some people have to work for a living. Someone has to make plastic so you can eat fresh Pop-Tarts before you go to your business ethics class. Some people don't have as many options as you do.”
He rambled on about it being a free country and regurgitated a wave of asinine platitudes he pulled off the conservative bookshelf. I was waiting for him to ask why we couldn't get Mexicans to work in those plants...that's the kind of crap that was flowing out of his mouth.
Luckily the food showed up pretty quickly and his hunger took precedence over his need to rationalize “the issue”.
(whole post here)
I was impressed by the various types of arguments he used and by his ability to articulate them. I always like to give my readers these kind of responses based on the information from people on the ground. Feel free to memorize them and use them when confronting these "young Republican types" who spout the crap they hear on commercially supported broadcast radio, Fox and read in the mainstream newspapers from paid conservative think tankers writing op-ed pieces.
People need to hear and have strong arguments against these people. If you only hear strawmen and Bush Republican agenda items all day you might start to be hypnotized. We can't underestimate the power of a multibillion dollar campaign running 24/7 on the radio, TV and think tankers.
And if Dambala's great American Zombie post isn't strong enough try Ashley Morris' x-rated "Al Swearington approved" post. Warning F-word count approaches infinity.
4 Comments:
Those are both great posts aren't they?
thanks guys. although i think Ashley's response is best.
"People need to hear and have strong arguments against these people. If you only hear strawmen and Bush Republican agenda items all day you might start to be hypnotized. We can't underestimate the power of a multibillion dollar campaign running 24/7 on the radio, TV and think tankers."
that about sums it up right there.
Let's get this straight.
They want to have all their precious cushy toys and goodies.
And have the happy slaves slavin' to make it all for them, with no complaints.
I got a strong argument for them, right here...
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