Let them eat cake
I think that a lot of people that I know (at least here on the Planet Ann Arbor) think I am a dyed-in-the-wool democrat. I am not at all. I am all for people working hard and making their own way in the world and not having seven kids by three or four or seven different dads and driving a Caddy-lac while on the dole. I am all for lower taxes and business and I hate the idea of throwing together an ill-conceived “program” to deal with those who are in the proverbial 47% or whatever. I have voted for republican candidates many times in my life.
But the GOP has moved waaaaay to the right side of my tolerance zone and if it ever wants to get my vote again, it will have to regain some compassion for those in the 47% (I’m not going to go near the pro-choice issue today). Those Caddy-lac welfare queens exist but I do not think they are the face of the 47%. The face of the 47% is those folks who have been working for a gazillion years and lost their jobs after the banking greed meltdown. And I think the folks we met at the yooperland Habitat for Humanity last weekend may be in that horribilis 47%. Probably toward the bottom.
We have been schlepping things back and forth from the yooperland since last February and the GG is very familiar with Habitat for Humanity and other re-use centers. In this case, we were schlepping unstained twin bed mattresses to the yooperland. Habitat down here doesn’t take ANY mattresses. I understand why and I was surprised to learn that the yooperland Habitat did. Now I know why.
When we arrived at Habitat in the Trashmobile, it was sleeting (or something) and I hadn’t noticed the toilets before. Hey, there’s my Blue and Only Toilet back there (oh, not really). Who would want a used toilet? Well, who would want a used mattress… I futzed with my iPhone in the Frog Hopper while the GG unloaded our mattresses. When he returned, he announced that we were making a delivery.
Huh? I got out of the Frog Hopper and the GG and an unknown couple were putting a beat-up mattress and box something-or-other into the Snowbilly Trailer. I couldn’t tell how old they were. Older than us? I dunno. Maybe they were or maybe they were just more unfortunate than us. The GG asked them how they were getting home and they said they were walking. He asked if they wanted a ride and they agreed without hesitation. We drove them and their new bed home, a few blocks away.
I know a few things about their story. They had been sleeping on a single bed. The woman had some kind of surgery a couple weeks ago. The house they had moved into was in a ratty part of Siberia. I couldn’t exactly remember but it may have been the house that a friend of an old high school boyfriend lived in. Leaving that house was a huge move up for that family and I doubt that they are in the 47% any more but you never know…
“Those People” (that we ran into at Habitat) seemed to have next to nothing. They had been discussing how the heck they would get the bed back home when the GG overheard them. “Maybe we can find somebody with a truck”, etc. I dunno if they have jobs or whatever but they seemed to be trying and they wanted to give us gas money but we refused it, fer kee-reist…
I am not saying that we did some wonderful thing last Friday. We were in the right place at the right time (and I was photographing toilets of all things). I have to admit that later that day we wondered if these folks had *sheets* for those beds (because we sure do have a lot of sheets!). My opinion about that was that I really didn’t want to get too personally involved with a needy family up in Siberia. I’ve got enough to do, fer kee-reist!
Troll me if you want if you are voting republican. Tell me that the choice issue is not important (it is) or give me a long diatribe about how the democrats are for more dependence upon the government. That may be true but if it is, it’s because corporate America is not taking good care of its workers. Unless they are in the 1%, of course. And just so you know, I am NOT anywhere near one of the 47% but I do not trust the Republican candidate. I think he is a liar and a flim-flam man.
Good night,
Kayak Woman, Swing Voter
October 16th, 2012 at 8:42 pm
Amen, sister. I live with a Libertarian although I do, in most things, consider myself a Democrat. However, I’ve voted for a number of moderate Republicans over the years here in Washington State. Now I’m not even sure that a moderate Republican exists.
October 17th, 2012 at 12:13 am
Oh, amen indeed. John (my husband) has always been a staunch republican (in fiscal terms) — until 2008. We’ve had a few “interesting” discussions over the years, and finally just learned to agree to disagree and stay quiet about it, knowing that we would always be canceling out each other’s votes. In 2008, without any kind of influence from ME, he’d had enough. He was disgusted with Bush, and he recognized Barack Obama’s leadership qualities that he’d never seen the likes of before, and he was intrigued about that. But mostly it had to do with the batshit crazy infiltration of that party, partly on the fiscal side, but mostly on the social side. I’ve met a lot of people since then who feel the same way and have switched sides because of it. There really is no such thing as a moderate republican anymore. Actually when was the last moderate republican president? Reagan sure wasn’t (didn’t like him, either). Maybe Ford? He just seemed pretty neutral to me, although I was young then and didn’t pay as much attention as I do now.
October 17th, 2012 at 6:04 am
KW and Tonya, you both have good points to make. However, I have to say that what caught my eye the most was the phrase, “batshit crazy”, as it reminded me of KW’s and my aunt Betty. “Batshit” was among her favorite expletives. I think she’d be using a whole string of them if she was discussing today’s politics!
October 17th, 2012 at 10:10 am
you did do something wonderful last Friday in helping those folks out. perhaps it was something small in your world, but think how much better they slept that night.
October 19th, 2012 at 7:58 pm
I really wish there was a “None of the Above ” Choice on the ballot. I don’t trust either one of them.
October 19th, 2012 at 8:00 pm
Oh! Thank You for taking care of the people that bought a mattress. You were there at the right time, and I believe it was meant t be.