Back in the mid 80s I did a co-op with an organization in Atlanta that was similar to Habitat for Humanity but smaller and far less competent. That summer we hired this enormous 6’4" farm boy from rural Georgia as a carpenter. He was naturally a typical redneck which I assumed was going to be a problem since our crew was run by two lesbians. As it turned out, Scott’s sense of loyalty to the people he was with overcame his conservatism and he was cool with it.
Scott’s idea of fun was to get into bar fights. Every Monday he would come to work with a black eye or two and maybe a busted lip; given his size I always assumed the other guy was dead. His best friend on the crew was a guy who played guitar in a hair metal band, and Scott started borrowing this guy’s red leather pants and matching vest and going to college bars in downtown Atlanta. Guys there would assume he was gay and start shit with him and Scott would obligingly beat the shit out of them. I don’t really condone violence, but Scott’s actions here didn’t make me lose a lot of sleep.
Scott’s sense of loyalty to the people he was with overcame his conservatism and he was cool with it.
Pretty typical of the con mindset, not being able to care about something unless it affects them personally. It’s obviously better than not accepting it at all but even Cheney was for gay rights bc of his daughter.
That Atlanta is dead and long gone at this point. The yuppie gentrifiers have destroyed the character of the city. The weirdos are dead and gone—bulldozed and paved over and forced out.
Back in the mid 80s I did a co-op with an organization in Atlanta that was similar to Habitat for Humanity but smaller and far less competent. That summer we hired this enormous 6’4" farm boy from rural Georgia as a carpenter. He was naturally a typical redneck which I assumed was going to be a problem since our crew was run by two lesbians. As it turned out, Scott’s sense of loyalty to the people he was with overcame his conservatism and he was cool with it.
Scott’s idea of fun was to get into bar fights. Every Monday he would come to work with a black eye or two and maybe a busted lip; given his size I always assumed the other guy was dead. His best friend on the crew was a guy who played guitar in a hair metal band, and Scott started borrowing this guy’s red leather pants and matching vest and going to college bars in downtown Atlanta. Guys there would assume he was gay and start shit with him and Scott would obligingly beat the shit out of them. I don’t really condone violence, but Scott’s actions here didn’t make me lose a lot of sleep.
Pretty typical of the con mindset, not being able to care about something unless it affects them personally. It’s obviously better than not accepting it at all but even Cheney was for gay rights bc of his daughter.
It’s really not that typicality. It just gets highlighted when it happens.
That Atlanta is dead and long gone at this point. The yuppie gentrifiers have destroyed the character of the city. The weirdos are dead and gone—bulldozed and paved over and forced out.