On Jun 14, 2007, at 6:15 AM, Jim Straub wrote:
> I live in OH now, in columbus. All my housemates other than me are
> native
> buckeyes, from blue-collar backgrounds (parents former factory
> workers or
> truckers). Each of the three reacted the same way to the antioch
> news the
> same way: with glee. Could not have been happier. In fact the
> news was
> toasted and laughed at uproariously.
So, Jim, what is the ultimate point of trying to organize the working class? Just providing the actually existing set of people some more money and security, or changing the way they relate to the world. Is the working class as it is pretty much ok? If so, why are we radicals then?
[WS:] That seems to me like a very typical attitude of middle America/blue collar/working class that I encountered. They love kicking the ass of "liberal elites" and foreigners while saluting the flag, supporting our troops, and being proud to be an American. I am afraid they are a lost cause - we will see pigs flying by before these people support any genuinely progressive cause without the lure of patriotism, populism or anti-intellectualism.
Wojtek