[lbo-talk] 'American kids, dumber than dirt'

[ravi]

On 4 Nov, 2007, at 9:38 AM, Doug Henwood wrote:
> On Nov 3, 2007, at 6:33 PM, Michael Pollak wrote:
>> On Sat, 3 Nov 2007, Doug Henwood wrote:
>>
>>>> I think this is why this British term doesn't fly in an American
>>>> context. It's the flipside of our having no class consciousness.
>>>
>>> The feminization of Kerry in the '04 campaign was a class insult,
>>> even though Bush was less of an athlete and just as upper crust.
>>
>> But that's just the point -- it's not a class insult because it
>> doesn't implicate both of them as members of the same class the  
>> way an
>> ethnic slur insults everyone who is part of the group.  It's  
>> personalized.
>
> No. The Bush people were trying to portray Kerry as upper class, as
> opposed to their common man candidate.

But what is the real difference? In reality, Kerry and Bush belong to  
the same class. The crux of the success of the GOP play is that what  
is emphasised and sticks is the "upper" (i.e., "elite" in terms of  
taste, imbibed education, etc, as Michael points out) rather than the  
"class". Class consciousness would make this silly attempted  
differentiation (on the basis of class) laughable.

Rather, as Michael points out, the difference is all spelled out in  
individual mannerism, personality, etc. We are the ruling class and  
one of us will be selected -- which one do you want? This guy who  
sounds foreign or this brush-clearing fake cowboy you can "have a  
beer with"?

	--ravi