global economy » Undiplomatic

23 February 2010 Charles J. Brown
03:40 pm

I Love the Working Class. It’s Workers I Can’t Stand

My newest post on Care2 is up — it’s all about the disconnect between progressives, who say they want the best for working people, and actual real honest-to-goodness working people.

The post was prompted by an earlier piece I did reporting on Keith’s Toyota experience. I observed in passing that the Toyota recalls were going to hurt the U.S. economy, as many of Toyota’s American plants have closed while the company sorts out its response. Although the plants will reopen soon, the reality is that thousands of Americans are suddenly without jobs.

The response I got was surprising. To paraphrase, many readers said “Well what do you expect? American workers are lazy good-for-nothings who produce lousy goods.” Here are some representative examples of their comments:

[T]oyota never had problems until they started making them IN THIS COUNTRY,funny thing about that huh?

Toyotas have never been cars that I cared for, as they appear to be poorly designed and built. But having them built by Americans? That cracks me up! The 2nd worst car designers having their cars built by the worst car builders in the world!

I love my country and all that, but I am often dismayed and chagrined at the lack of pride American workers have in their jobs. . . .I am willing to pay a bit more for American goods, but consider it unacceptable to have to pay more for inferior goods. Wherever we go, I see Americans who do not seem grateful for their jobs - lots of grousing, clock-watching, distraction, attitudes that detract from efficiency.

Boy, talk about condescension. No wonder progressives can’t understand why average Americans think progressives are out of touch. It reminds me of the old Peanuts cartoon where Linus says he wants to be a doctor: