No, Sateryn was saying (s)he was ridiculing the anecdote.
You’re quite correct. Thanks.
Apologies, Sateryn.
No problem…
Thanks Santo
If someone uses typical right wing rhetoric as a joke, then they’d best either include a smiley or prepare to be taken seriously.
We media types just love doing Man on the Street interview pieces because
- They’re incredibly easy. Just find someone and ask them a question or two, grab a heashot and rinse and repeat until satisfied. Even an intern can handle it.
- Odds are that the person being interviewed knows less on the subject than the interviewer, so the writer/hair’n’teeth doesn’t have to translate it into least common denominator dumb-speak.
- Finding knowledgeable, reputable and willing resources are right out in many smaller markets. Or the producers/editors dropped this on the staff at the last possible minute and lining up these resources in time is out.
- The boss thinks that the reader/audience is actually interested in what some random person thinks, regardless of any reader/viewer surveys conducted.
Mind you, these are just some thoughts backed by my own experiences and 16 years in the industry. And for the record, I loathe doing the MotS interviews and I hate seeing them in print or on air. Like the OP’er, I don’t give a rat’s ass what a non-expert thinks about the latest crises ju jour.
Multiply $3.78/gallon by 15 gallons in your head. Quick now!
Come on. You honestly expect people to be able to do that kind of mental arithmetic? I’d have difficulties with that problem, and I’m better at it (usually by far) than almost everyone else I know!
Why do you hate America?
…
…
“About 60 bucks.”
I’m paraphrasing an actual CNN Typical-Woman-on-the-Street “interview”:
CNN: “What do you think of the government’s Wall Street bailout?”
TWotS: “Well, you know, I . . . I . . . I just don’t know. I mean, you know, I . . . I just don’t know.”
What I wonder is when will people stop equating blue-collar, small town Christian white people with “Salt of the Earth”? They aren’t any more American than anyone else. They don’t work harder than anyone else. They aren’t morally better than anyone else. So why are they romanticized so much?
Hillary really started pissing me off when she started pandering so heavily to this demographic. It’s one thing to reach out to underappreciated, long-neglected groups. That’s what politicians do. But it’s quite another thing to elevate one demographic over all the rest. The “We’ve got more hard-working, non-college educated white Americans in our corner!” comment blew my mind. Imagine Obama saying the same thing about his black supporters. He would have been ridiculed for consorting with the lowest common denominator. Working-class, uneducated black people aren’t the salt of the earth. They’re the scum. But if you’re white, let’s put you up a pedastal and worship you for being a true American!
It drives me crazy.
Maybe they’re the pepper?
Ok, ok, don’t hurt me.
I agree, somewhat. According to Jim Webb (D-VA) and David Saunders (campaign adviser to Obama)–our world hinges on the rural Appalachia whites. Or something. See te Oct. 6th issue of The New Yorker for the article.
I will confess that since I am a white American with Appalachian, New England and southern heritage, I am guilty of not noticing how often this theme is used. But since you mention it, why not Lakshmi Patel or the Kim’s down the street or Taneeka Washington? I’d say it’s long past time for some of these memes to change.
Erm, well, the term “Salt of the Earth” does come right out of the Christian Bible 
All kidding aside, though, I agree with your point. I made a similar comment in a thread about country music - I love the music, but I’m getting a bit tired of certain singers/songwriters who seem to believe that “small town Southern men” have a monopoly on hard work, love of country, and loyalty to family. As I put it there, “Hey guys, everything north of the Mason-Dixon Line isn’t ‘New York City!!!’”
Yeah, and New York City / New York State contribute more in taxes to the central government than they receive from the Feds. And divorce rates are higher in Alabama than they are in New York.
I’d say by objective measures that the Northeast beats the South in terms of hard work / love of country / loyalty to family. (Ok, actually the South has unusually high enlistment rates: we should offer props where they are due.)
You’re forgetting that this is Biden we’re talking about here. The man’s practically got a fetish for the taste of shoe leather (Remember his gaffe about Obama at the beginning of the primary season?), the fact that he actually got the story out without screwing it up and saying something like, “The only reason the Republicans like you, Governor, is that you’ve got tits and shoot guns.” at one point is something of a minor miracle.
(And no jabs at Biden’s character at all, or his ability to perform, but I have to think that Obama picking him was a bad bit of long term strategery on his part.)
$56.70. So what?
And this right here is why I don’t give a fuck about you. You can rot in hell.
Sampiro, um, I think you pissed a rejected Jack the Ripper victim off.* Shame on you!
*see above post. Also, she’s gotta be really, really old by now. Really old.
Yeah, you’re right, I’m old, and I’m pissed. You should know better.
Oh, get over yourself already. Do you really think Sampiro is condoning the raping and killing of prostitutes? Do you think he’s misogynist? I do know better.
Why should any of us care what Ted and Carol Hampton have to say about anything? That’s the point of the thread–not Sampiro’s hyperbolic use of peculiar descriptors.
Get over yourself, darlin’. Do you think I care about prostitutes?
I care that someone I like(d) used a term I hate. If Sampiro doesn’t realize his mistake, he can rot in Hell.