The idea, if what they are doing can actually be called an idea, is to remind people of the hobo villages that sprung up during the Great Depression, which were popularly known as Hoovervilles. If you weren't around to see them yourself, and most people now drawing breath weren't, they looked like this:
This was the physical manifestation of poverty and desperation, where people who had reason to wonder where their next meal might come from would gather in public places, in a desperate attempt to gain attention for their plight.
Walkerville, by contrast, looks like the picture at the link, a row of $200-300 tents from REI or Gander Mountain, the visible manifestation of a highly comfortable lifestyle.
So what is the plight of the denizens of Walkerville? That if evil Walker's nefarious plans go through, they might have to wait another year to buy a new $200 tent?
There are a lot of people who are hurting right now, people who have been out of work for a very long time. A lot of people I know who are out of work are in danger of losing their homes. The moral beacons of Walkerville are in no such danger, protected by civil service regulations and well compensated for their labors. The poor souls who lived in the Hoovervilles had nowhere else to go. The people of Walkerville live in a world far removed from the plight of those they claim to emulate.
15 comments:
Could "Walkervilles" be considered a physical manifestation of the Boomer generation? Prosperous, keenly interested in demonstrating for others (in the abstract,) disinterested in others (in reality.) In three words, oblivious and selfish.
Now that's a heavy load to dump on a whole generation and is certainly unfair to many. But as far as gross generalizations go...
Maybe too broad a brush, WBP, especially since some of the denizens of Walkerville are addled collegians. But as a (very) Late Boomer, I don't think you're necessarily wrong.
The really useful and illustrative political imagery that will come from this stunt is when the public gets to see how much sh*t these folks produce in the political system. As for the campers themselves, they might actually discover that theirs does, indeed, stink.
Back of the bus, swine! How dare you defile our sacred right to crush political opposition under the heel of sycophantic political stooges! Know your place, you parasitic bureaucratic sponges. The gears of capitalism are to be greased with your filthy Arby's filled guts. The sooner you get used to your pipsqueak status the better. Now, back of the bus, all of you! I've got a meeting with the Kochs.
Night Writer:
they only produce a lot of sh*t in the political system, they also produce an equal amount of physical sh*t too. I'd like them to sleep in their own.
CousinDan 54915
The gears of capitalism are to be greased with your filthy Arby's filled guts.
Kinda doubt that, anon. Two reasons:
1) Arby's claims to be "Good Mood Food" and the folks in Walkerville are never in a good mood; and
2) It's well established that the preferred food of Walkerville is Ian's Pizza.
But it was a good effort. Appreciate the ol' college try.
Right you are, Mr. D! Moody and overfed. Exactly the condition these rabble hoards wallow in. A thrifty busy working class would never upset their cushy apple cart if they kept their faith in the sweet Baby Jesus and the God given rights of private property ownership. How insufferable these hoi polloi nincompoops! Sending them to college is like sending the family dog to dinner at 21! Absurd and messy. Keep up the good work parroting the goodly corporate sloganeering! If we say something enough times maybe these uppity college dwarfs will get the picture and get with the program.
A thrifty busy working class would never upset their cushy apple cart if they kept their faith in the sweet Baby Jesus and the God given rights of private property ownership.
Baby Jesus can handle a better shot than that.
How insufferable these hoi polloi nincompoops! Sending them to college is like sending the family dog to dinner at 21!
Nah, I have no problem with sending the hoi polloi to college. The hoi polloi usually learn something useful in college. It's the bored suburban kids who spend their time marinating in post-structuralism and gestalt theory who usually end up on the Capitol Square in Daddy's tent.
If we say something enough times maybe these uppity college dwarfs will get the picture and get with the program.
Based on the available evidence, that's not the way to bet.
hehehe...
the coverage of this could be fun!
Hey anonymous, the only parrot in the room is you. A MAJORITY of the population voted Walker & the Republicans in to office. They want lower taxes and a government that doesn't direct money towards a priviged class (Koch brothers you say, how about Union entrusted public employees) at the expense of everyone else. Instead of doing everything possible to interrupt the democratic process, how about concentrating on the next round of elections. Bring some soap with you to Camp Walkerville because you arguments stink and so will your idiot friends.
Shouldn't "Walkerville" be a nice subdivision in southern Wisconsin filled with former Illinois residents who followed their jobs into a land of plenty?
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Bike Bubba rings the bell.
I'm thinking Scott Walker and the GOP legislature could make it into a series of great campaign commercials.....
Yes, yes, those rapacious government leaches hoovering up every loose scrap of cheese are an equal priviged [sic] class of society to my fellow titans of post-structural capitalist aristocracy! Very good analogy. Sneaky. Link together two entirely disparate groups, i.e. those who shop at Walmart and those who OWN Walmart, and feed this baloney and peanut butter sandwich to a financially stunned electorate. Brilliant! A quicker way back to the feudal system could not be devised by a thousand post-modern literary theoreticians! Keep up God's work, Walmart shopper, you'll soon be reaping the seeds you sow. Thank you from the bottom of my great-great-great grandson's balance sheet.
Yes, yes, those rapacious government leaches hoovering up every loose scrap of cheese are an equal priviged [sic] class of society to my fellow titans of post-structural capitalist aristocracy! Very good analogy. Sneaky. Link together two entirely disparate groups, i.e. those who shop at Walmart and those who OWN Walmart, and feed this baloney and peanut butter sandwich to a financially stunned electorate. Brilliant!
Wait, I thought you were mad at the Kochs.
A quicker way back to the feudal system could not be devised by a thousand post-modern literary theoreticians! Keep up God's work, Walmart shopper, you'll soon be reaping the seeds you sow. Thank you from the bottom of my great-great-great grandson's balance sheet.
The residents of Walkerville would never be seen in a Walmart, grasshopper. And fear not, Sam Walton's great-great-great grandson will set up a Bentonville version of the Ford Foundation to support you in your dotage.
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