We Don't Want Your Kind
If it's a bloodbath they want, let's get it over with. No more appeasement.
-- Attributed To Ronald Reagan, Governor of California, 1969;
in reference to antiwar demonstrators at Berkeley
The Oldest Friend is having difficult times, some of them involving a house they own in rural Washington state; Klickitat County, pop. 21,889; median household income, $49,580.
>> In 2008, Klickitat voted for Obama / Biden over McCain / Palin (4,965 to 4,944)
[ Constitution = 48 / Libertarian = 45 / Green = 16 / Ralph Nader = 139 ]
>> In 2012, the county voted for Romney / Ryan over Obama / Biden (5,316 to 4,598)
[ Constitution = 53 / Libertarian = 147 / Green = 121 / SWP, Other Socialist = 12 ]
>> In 2016, Klickitat voted for Trump / Pence over Clinton / Kane (5,798 to 4,194)
[ Constitution = 75 / Libertarian = 463 / Green = 217 / SWP, Other Socialist = 31 ]
When people think of Washington, other parts of the state come to mind. But Klickitat is not Seattle, just as all of America is not it's urban centers, as the last Presidential election made clear to everyone.
The home my friend owns is at the ass end of nowhere. It sits on a relatively flat table of land, remnant of massive flooding when a glacial ice dam broke 12,000 years ago, far to the north. The closest neighbor is almost ten miles away; roads are not necessarily the highest priority of the County administration and occasionally wash out with heavy rain or be buried under snow, as they have been this winter.
The house has been rented for several years by a married couple in their thirties who, to all outward appearances, are Hippies right out of the Sixties playbook -- long hair; beard; kick-length paisley skirts, and Home-Grown in a patch beside the house (marijuana for recreational use and cultivation -- with limits -- has been decriminalized in Washington state). The couple is Liberal / Progressive in their politics, voted Green Party in the last general election.
Two weeks ago the couple abruptly advised my friend that they were vacating the property and leaving the area. There were two reasons for this -- one was private, but the other more immediate.
Over the past year and a half, the couple realized that something had changed. While shopping, in a movie theatre, or simply on the street, they occasionally noticed that other people were staring at them.
It didn't happen every day, but the people staring all had something in common: They wore red baseball caps with a particular motto stitched in white, serif capital block letters on the front. And their stares were disapproving, hostile; what d'ya think you're doin' here?
Then, the couple began hearing anecdotal reports of other people experiencing the same general disdain and hostility from total strangers -- apparently for no other reason than they appeared to be 'Hippie types'. Some of these total strangers had even made insulting remarks -- in essence, We don't like your kind so why don't you get outta here?
The couple wasn't interested in confrontation, so when they encountered fellow citizens who had a need to express carefully-nourished anger or free-floating rage, they did their best to ignore it. Then they began hearing from people -- who lived quietly in rented homes, as they did, on remote pieces of land -- that men, actually wearing those Red Baseball Caps, had shown up on their doorsteps and said things which amounted to Y'all might want to go somewhere else before somethin' bad happens.
My friend talks with her own family and friends who still live in that same general area of southern Washington / northern Oregon state. "But since 2016, I'm hearing you just can't talk politics there anymore," she related. "In the past, people disagreed, even got passionate in political discussions -- but it was clear that the person you disagreed with was a person. That they deserved respect.
"But Trump gives people permission to act like complete assholes, with guns," she said. "He does it to be popular with his base; he feeds off that hatred. It's more than scary. This is what totalitarianism does."
Then, my friend related that during this past winter, the renter couple had been at home when a man appeared on the property. He was driving an ATV, and he was armed. When they approached him, he aimed his firearm at them and delivered that same message: Git out.
But it wasn't just a message; it was a threat. It was the functional equivalent of burning a cross in front of their home. So they're getting out.
"A Furious Tampa Crowd Screams At The Press, Just As Trump Intended",
Quartz, August 1, 2018 (Stillframe from CNN video)
If it's a bloodbath they want, let's get it over with. No more appeasement.
-- Attributed To Ronald Reagan, Governor of California, 1969;
in reference to antiwar demonstrators at Berkeley
The Oldest Friend is having difficult times, some of them involving a house they own in rural Washington state; Klickitat County, pop. 21,889; median household income, $49,580.
>> In 2008, Klickitat voted for Obama / Biden over McCain / Palin (4,965 to 4,944)
[ Constitution = 48 / Libertarian = 45 / Green = 16 / Ralph Nader = 139 ]
>> In 2012, the county voted for Romney / Ryan over Obama / Biden (5,316 to 4,598)
[ Constitution = 53 / Libertarian = 147 / Green = 121 / SWP, Other Socialist = 12 ]
>> In 2016, Klickitat voted for Trump / Pence over Clinton / Kane (5,798 to 4,194)
[ Constitution = 75 / Libertarian = 463 / Green = 217 / SWP, Other Socialist = 31 ]
When people think of Washington, other parts of the state come to mind. But Klickitat is not Seattle, just as all of America is not it's urban centers, as the last Presidential election made clear to everyone.
The home my friend owns is at the ass end of nowhere. It sits on a relatively flat table of land, remnant of massive flooding when a glacial ice dam broke 12,000 years ago, far to the north. The closest neighbor is almost ten miles away; roads are not necessarily the highest priority of the County administration and occasionally wash out with heavy rain or be buried under snow, as they have been this winter.
The house has been rented for several years by a married couple in their thirties who, to all outward appearances, are Hippies right out of the Sixties playbook -- long hair; beard; kick-length paisley skirts, and Home-Grown in a patch beside the house (marijuana for recreational use and cultivation -- with limits -- has been decriminalized in Washington state). The couple is Liberal / Progressive in their politics, voted Green Party in the last general election.
Two weeks ago the couple abruptly advised my friend that they were vacating the property and leaving the area. There were two reasons for this -- one was private, but the other more immediate.
________________________
Over the past year and a half, the couple realized that something had changed. While shopping, in a movie theatre, or simply on the street, they occasionally noticed that other people were staring at them.
It didn't happen every day, but the people staring all had something in common: They wore red baseball caps with a particular motto stitched in white, serif capital block letters on the front. And their stares were disapproving, hostile; what d'ya think you're doin' here?
Then, the couple began hearing anecdotal reports of other people experiencing the same general disdain and hostility from total strangers -- apparently for no other reason than they appeared to be 'Hippie types'. Some of these total strangers had even made insulting remarks -- in essence, We don't like your kind so why don't you get outta here?
The couple wasn't interested in confrontation, so when they encountered fellow citizens who had a need to express carefully-nourished anger or free-floating rage, they did their best to ignore it. Then they began hearing from people -- who lived quietly in rented homes, as they did, on remote pieces of land -- that men, actually wearing those Red Baseball Caps, had shown up on their doorsteps and said things which amounted to Y'all might want to go somewhere else before somethin' bad happens.
_________________________
My friend talks with her own family and friends who still live in that same general area of southern Washington / northern Oregon state. "But since 2016, I'm hearing you just can't talk politics there anymore," she related. "In the past, people disagreed, even got passionate in political discussions -- but it was clear that the person you disagreed with was a person. That they deserved respect.
"But Trump gives people permission to act like complete assholes, with guns," she said. "He does it to be popular with his base; he feeds off that hatred. It's more than scary. This is what totalitarianism does."
__________________________
Then, my friend related that during this past winter, the renter couple had been at home when a man appeared on the property. He was driving an ATV, and he was armed. When they approached him, he aimed his firearm at them and delivered that same message: Git out.
But it wasn't just a message; it was a threat. It was the functional equivalent of burning a cross in front of their home. So they're getting out.
__________________________
I wanted to say more about this, but there's nothing more to add. Let those able to hear, hear, and those able to see, to look.
Fuck The Leader, and all who ride in him.
__________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment