"My brother's a framer"
Originally uploaded by Theorris
The only purpose for this image was that the folks in the circle were discussing various vocations. None of them spread beyond anything not related to construction. Nothing wrong with that, in all, but I sense the "working man's" distrust of anything beyond his (and it very much as a male dominated conversation) point of view.
I've always been pissed off by this small-minded blue collar perspective on what is acceptable work. I grew up in this shit, you see.
Oh boy it still rankles.
Oh here you are! Nothing going on over at Comcast...
ReplyDeleteThat's a very apt description of Comcast's service.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post--My father's father was a sheep farmer and then a small business owner (farm implements), and he was determined that every single one of his kids would go to college, so much so that when he caught my dad working on motorcycles, and then the engines of the farm implements, he curtailed those activities immediately. So while my dad loved working with his hands, and always did something along those lines, including fixing our cars until it was impossible for them to be fixed by laymen, he got a Ph.D. in physics and worked, essentially, as a project manager on aerospace weapons. I guess his is a story of the transition out of manual labor occupations into a knowledge economy, sort of. I remember, however, being sort of envious of my across-the-street neighbor who was a finish carpenter--I wished I had something so concrete to offer as neighborly help. "Hello? I can parse your sentences--just give me a call."
ReplyDeleteI grew up in it too; still have issues; I try to respect the blue collar world but I often fail.
ReplyDelete