Prejudiced?
Bensblurb # 577 11/04/10 (Re: election returns: Yes!)
Prejudiced or just grouchy?
Know what irks me? As you might guess and hopefully someday find out for yourself, given my age and generally crusty perspective on anything novel or new, the answer is: Lots of things.
For example, the other day I watched a TV ad for farm tractors, extolling a “Mahindra.” Huh? Was that a joke? No. Come to find out, it claims to be the world's leading farm tractor producer.
Well, tractors don’t leap to mind in farm country unless you’re talking about a Farmall or John Deere or even Allis Chalmers, for goodness sake. After all, my dad used to be the Farmall dealer back home. Ran the town’s International truck business too, until the company decided to split the trucks off.
So my dad sold out to his partner, shortly before WWII, and invested totally in farmland, where he did quite well, thanks very much to International Harvester or whatever they call it nowadays
Another and much bigger irk: The White House proposal to give us seniors another kiss-up $250 bonus check. Why? So we would vote Democrat in Tuesday’s election. Simple. Costly.
Then, dadgumit, here came the President’s smearing of the Chamber of Commerce. Whoa! My dad once headed the Chamber in my home town, and cousin Winnie Lu served as secretary for years. But, as writer Michelle Malkin recently noted, “The White House attack on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce... [is] to intimidate conservative donors, chill political free speech, and drain Republican coffers.” But reportedly the Democrats have raised over $1 million from political action committees affiliated with (ahem) foreign companies. The outcome? Check Tuesday’s election returns.
And by the way, another columnist here recently favored a Virginian on the ticket named Crystal Ball. She’s the Democrat who ran to replace our present congressman, Rob Wittman. Here’s the rub. A newly elected person hardly ever gets his feet on the ground in Washington before it’s time to run again. That’s the way the system works. I’d rather let the new guy get settled in and start doing more important things and not ditch him for a neophyte. I doubt that we did. But I guess that’s politics.
“Prejudice” has come to have an awful connotation, something really bad and ugly in today’s social climate. But it’s a
perfectly good word to describe something you don’t happen to like for any reason, good or bad. One thing I am prejudiced against, besides Juan Williams’ firing by NPR, is...wait for it... rap music. Its words are impossible for me to understand, perhaps just as well and for the best.
Likewise, my great grandchildren--although they probably won’t say it out loud--are very likely prejudiced against the kind of music I enjoy: Those old harmonies like Goodbye My Coney Island Baby and Sweet Adeline.
I really don’t care that they don’t like what I do or like what I don’t. It’s gonna be their world, after all. Pretty soon, I’ll be able to say happy trails and good riddance. But not just yet. I really want to see who’ll be the next President. Don’t you?
Prejudiced or just grouchy?
Know what irks me? As you might guess and hopefully someday find out for yourself, given my age and generally crusty perspective on anything novel or new, the answer is: Lots of things.
For example, the other day I watched a TV ad for farm tractors, extolling a “Mahindra.” Huh? Was that a joke? No. Come to find out, it claims to be the world's leading farm tractor producer.
Well, tractors don’t leap to mind in farm country unless you’re talking about a Farmall or John Deere or even Allis Chalmers, for goodness sake. After all, my dad used to be the Farmall dealer back home. Ran the town’s International truck business too, until the company decided to split the trucks off.
So my dad sold out to his partner, shortly before WWII, and invested totally in farmland, where he did quite well, thanks very much to International Harvester or whatever they call it nowadays
Another and much bigger irk: The White House proposal to give us seniors another kiss-up $250 bonus check. Why? So we would vote Democrat in Tuesday’s election. Simple. Costly.
Then, dadgumit, here came the President’s smearing of the Chamber of Commerce. Whoa! My dad once headed the Chamber in my home town, and cousin Winnie Lu served as secretary for years. But, as writer Michelle Malkin recently noted, “The White House attack on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce... [is] to intimidate conservative donors, chill political free speech, and drain Republican coffers.” But reportedly the Democrats have raised over $1 million from political action committees affiliated with (ahem) foreign companies. The outcome? Check Tuesday’s election returns.
And by the way, another columnist here recently favored a Virginian on the ticket named Crystal Ball. She’s the Democrat who ran to replace our present congressman, Rob Wittman. Here’s the rub. A newly elected person hardly ever gets his feet on the ground in Washington before it’s time to run again. That’s the way the system works. I’d rather let the new guy get settled in and start doing more important things and not ditch him for a neophyte. I doubt that we did. But I guess that’s politics.
“Prejudice” has come to have an awful connotation, something really bad and ugly in today’s social climate. But it’s a
perfectly good word to describe something you don’t happen to like for any reason, good or bad. One thing I am prejudiced against, besides Juan Williams’ firing by NPR, is...wait for it... rap music. Its words are impossible for me to understand, perhaps just as well and for the best.
Likewise, my great grandchildren--although they probably won’t say it out loud--are very likely prejudiced against the kind of music I enjoy: Those old harmonies like Goodbye My Coney Island Baby and Sweet Adeline.
I really don’t care that they don’t like what I do or like what I don’t. It’s gonna be their world, after all. Pretty soon, I’ll be able to say happy trails and good riddance. But not just yet. I really want to see who’ll be the next President. Don’t you?
posted by Ben Blankenship at
3:36 PM
