Baitball Blogger
Baitball Blogger's JournalThe average Republican isn't just a middle class to wealthy class white male voter.
Though poor whites may have had a past history of voting the Democratic ticket, I think we have seen a shift in voting patterns when Unions stopped being a factor with job security. The factor that is changing everything is an over-reliance on the so called trickled down system. It creates an environment where small businessmen must rely on the patronage system in order to survive. That's my observation from living in a good ole boy community.
The trickle down effect in small towns creates a very strange relationship between white residents, based on class. White males who are scraping to make a living find a way to hitch their wagons to the wealthy, hateful authoritarian types. Look at it from their small businessman's point of view. He knows that he's getting a steady check for one reason. He has passed his employer's purity test. The two have a political perspective that they agree on. And they reinforce those beliefs by spewing every hateful stereotype about minorities and Democrats. That's a reality in a small red town.
It's really hard, not to get defensive when you know that jobs are being dispensed in a way that reinforces a lifestyle that is intended to block you out of every basic right that you are entitled to in this country. There is no limit to their hubris because the legal authorities will do nothing to stop it. So, rank discrimination goes unchecked and the price of living the American dream in these communities is that you get victimized, not just by the old guys who use their military, ex-officer positions to justify their entitlement, but their grandchildren as well. There is no end to their hubris and, as a homeowner, you will be excluded in ways that defy the written law. There's nothing you can do about it because the system that exists in the community, is stacked in their favor.
So, if anyone can find some way to find a term that separates poor white males who are aligned with this political patronage, from poor white males who would walk away from a job where the employer expects a white purity test, please let us know what it is. I will use it.
Keep in my mind, that my section of the county is mostly white and Republican. Things might be different in more diverse neighborhoods.
Papadopoulos - the coffee boy is right out of the good ole boy playbook.
He was a necessary conduit and didn't need credentials for the task he was supposed to perform. In fact, credentials would have been too much of a lighting rod for questions and criticism.
They do this in city government all the time. If there is a private development matter that the city might have some desire to push through, they will make sure that there are no city professionals available at the meetings. For example, at a Planning and Zoning board meeting where a complicated retention pond was planned for a small community, the city did not provide a licensed city engineer to answer questions from the panel or for the residents. Instead, the Land development coordinator, who had no engineering license to risk, was there playing the role of Papadopoulos, using his ignorance to the city's advantage to push the meeting over the bumps and obstacles that would have slowed down the process.
In fact, the only reference to the city engineer was when the Land development coordinator stated that the engineer had approved the plans. This wasn't entirely true. Through a public records request it was found that there were quite a few letters exchanged between the city engineer, his boss and the developer's engineer. Nothing was set and changes were being made to the retention pond even after the last Commission meeting had taken place. It was a mess because the city commissioners and mayor had co-opted this private development for their own purposes and they had more than a few ordinary Papadopoulos types in the city government, as well as in our community to help them.
Same thing when the City went through a major beautification project. The board was manned with a lot of the good buddies who used the city platform to bully neighbors who got in the way. The strong words that were picked up on tape were incredible to hear. The city, instead of involving their own people to contact residents who would be impacted by their decisions, they instead handed it to civilians to make those contacts. They didn't even provide a lawyer to ensure that the board meetings were held with a civil understanding of private property rights.
Don't be fulled by the coffee boy label. You would be surprised at how willing an ordinary person would be to cross the line if it would make the people at the top happy. They need to be held accountable in the same manner.
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Gender: Do not displayCurrent location: Seminole County, Florida
Member since: Sun Mar 18, 2012, 10:16 PM
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