Strip Mining for Whimsy

People often ask me what it was like to grow up in the States, and I struggle to answer. When I tell them the truth, I get the feeling that they don't really believe me, minds filled up with a lot of Hollywood propaganda and myths about the USA. It is not all about Mickey Mouse and Levi jeans; Levi jeans were for the nosebleeds who mocked us as we stood waiting for the bus in a foot of snow, decked out in entirely inadequate footwear.

A couple of months ago, I stumbled onto Joshua Norton's site, Strip Mining for Whimsy. His descriptions about life in Seattle and growing up in the Northwest, better than I could ever do. Anyway, he got it right again with yesterday's post (24/01/2005). This is what he had to say:

"But you know what? I don't really care about that stuff. I'm doing pretty good. I'm getting my needs met. Generally speaking, my take on most of this is that if you're making more than $22,500 a year, you can just shut your fuck'n pie hole: you're officially making more than half of all Americans with income. You are in the upper 50% of the economy, and the privileges you get from that trump race, class, and all that other shit. You're a woman who thinks it's hard dealing with the prejudice you have to face in calculus class because of your sex? Man, you should hear the way people in Universities talk to you when you can't pay tuition. Shit. They act like you don't even got a right to be there."

Right on, man.