Marathon → Key West

[amw]

Ah, first impressions. I think it might be the worst possible day to roll into an American town on Thanksgiving. I figured this was a holiday destination, so everything would be open, but it isn't, really

Comments

[amw]

Sometimes when i read a conservative or centrist/contrarian take on the coastal elites i have to roll my eyes, because it's painting such a contrived picture of liberals. But every now and then i meet one of these rich liberals and it's like, wow, okay, now i see why they are so infuriating to some commentators. They do come across as condescending, without perhaps intending to.

I think this kinda goes to my theory that politics in America is just two different clubs of rich people hurling abuse at one another... Because in everyday life, in my circles at least, i don't end up rubbing shoulders with these so-called elites very often, so they're very easy to ignore, and really just seem like an imaginary threat conjured up to fill newspaper columns and Substack newsletters. But i guess the people who write newspaper columns and have their own Substacks, they're the kinds of people who go to the same sorts of restaurants and holiday destinations as the so-called elites, so they get more annoyed by them. And that's a self-perpetuating drama, because all of the other 99% of people who aren't involved in the media and academia and arts and politics and whatever other "elite" industries don't have much contact with these folks, so it just seems like yet another stupid argument that's going on that doesn't reflect the situation on the ground.

[olamina]

So true. Most of us are caught in the middle of country club squabbles. This idea of "two sides" or "two parties" only makes sense within the confines of that world, but they do work overtime (and by they I mean the media and government people) to try and convince us that their reality is everyone's. Kind of like The Big Lie that everyone in America is just some flavor of middle class.