The Real America, ghosting along behind the fantasy

[nancylebov]

http://cargoweasel.livejournal.com/503635.html?nc=7

....more World of Warcraft players than farmers and yet farmers are considered "real Americans" and their opinions are sought on all matters while say, Harry potter fans or sushi eaters are not consulted.

I wondered about that too. How come presidential campaigns are always making photo-op stops at cheesesteak places or pancake houses or diners, and not where people really eat, which is Applebee's and chinese food and Starbucks? I blame the media. The media, and the campaigns, want to highlight unique bits of Americana, even when they are nearly extinct. Plus there's an undercurrent of racism, the most 'ethnic' place you might see the candidates go is a pizza restaurant, but never wiener schnitzel, or god forbid Thai or sushi. That would be "elitist". Even though millions of Americans eat those things. You might get them in a burrito place in Texas when trying to court the Mexican vote, but never taco bell.

I think this is something older than the media. And if I'm not mistaken, farmers were despised when there were more of them.

I don't know how much of it is that people seem to live on the stuff they make up-- actual experience is so boring or intense and personal or something that makes people tend to slither off of it. Or maybe it's a case of "Go find out what the baby is doing and make him stop it"-- whatever low status people do spontaneously isn't good enough.

What I do know is that there was something a little odd about Stephen King's point of view...and then I realized it was that he didn't despise people for using brand-name products. I *still* don't know what was going on which made that possibility a shock for me, but I do think there's something wrong with a culture that's so uncomfortable with itself.

Comments

[osewalrus.livejournal.com]

When World of Warcraft players organize themselves into a recognizable block, they will get respect.

When people who eat in Thai resteraunts organize themselves into a political block, they will get respect.

And while millions of people play WoW and eat in Thai resteraunts, they are dispersed in particular geographic patterns.

Farmers have clout because they are geographically distributed in a way that maximizes their political power and they are organized to exercise that power effectively.

To quote Leslie Fish: "Nobody cares what you think or feel unless you give them a reason too."

Or, to quote my own aphorisms: "Your political power is directly proportional to your perceived ability to cause pain."

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

Excellent point. It would seem that WoW players need a rallying event, or a cause to work towards, to gain political visibility. Perhaps the government should subsidize gold farming as a way to keep kids off the streets and get them a decent-paying job. Safer than a paper route...

[bruhinb.livejournal.com]

This is exactly the case. It also happens to be, ironically enough, something Nancy taught me nearly ten years ago. I asked the other Directors of an organization Nancy and I helped lead why our group couldn't have events as cool as another minority group in town had. Nancy replied, "when we're 11% of the population, we will."