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1- This article is outstanding, & so important..
To this point, a personal story.
In 1977-78 I attended my 1st year of college. In â78 I got a summer job working in a 3M plant that made adhesive (aka glue) related products. Worked there again summer of â79.
(Cont) https://twitter.com/charlescwcooke/status/1208347308892536833
To this point, a personal story.
In 1977-78 I attended my 1st year of college. In â78 I got a summer job working in a 3M plant that made adhesive (aka glue) related products. Worked there again summer of â79.
(Cont) https://twitter.com/charlescwcooke/status/1208347308892536833
2- Thus I had the unique experience of attending college & simultaneously spending summers working full-time in the epitome of blue-collar America.
I learned as much, or more, from the 3M plant job. The factory itself was gross, but...
I learned as much, or more, from the 3M plant job. The factory itself was gross, but...
3- ...I learned that most people in that gross factory were smart, funny, & some of the best people youâd ever meet. My first supervisor had adopted 9 kids & devoted his life to them. His supervisor had an incredible work ethic & would give you the shirt off his back.
4- I remember a guy in the plant who befriended me. Not everyone was so quickly accepting of the âcollege kidsâ. He was. He confided one day heâd been in jail once & it kept him from getting other work. I didnât know or care what heâd done, all I knew was he was my friend.
5- Meanwhile in college I met some good people. But... I also met many spoiled kids who had no idea why they were there (except to party). Because of my 3M experience I knew why I was there. As good as the people were, I didnât want to work in a glue factory all my life.
6- The notion that âcollege educatedâ is somehow a character test is putrid. Even popular culture has often rejected this, see âMy Fair Ladyâ, âEducating Ritaâ, âGood Will Huntingâ, & many other movies / plays.
7- My bond with blue-collar America - forged from working in that 3M plant - is why I identified as a Democrat most of my life. But somewhere along the way, the Democratic Party turned against blue collar America in favor of cultural elitism & identity politics.
8- It has reached the point that cultural elitists e.g. @JRubinBlogger openly condescend to a class of people they donât begin to understand. If they would attempt to understand them, they might begin to understand the country they purport to cover.
9- They might even start to understand the real reason that Trump won (spoiler: it wasnât because of Russia).
I thank my lucky stars every day for that 3M job. It was the best education I ever received.
/end
I thank my lucky stars every day for that 3M job. It was the best education I ever received.
/end
