People With Jobs

P. J. O'Rourke wrote about the following exchange with a friend in his book, Parliament of Whores.

"How come," I asked Andy, "whenever someone upsets the left, you see immediate marches and parades and rallies with signs already printed and rhyming slogans already composed, whereas whenever someone upsets the right, you see two members of the Young Americans for Freedom waving a six-inch American flag?"

We have jobs." said Andy.

In recent days crowds of people have packed U. S. representatives' and senators' speeches and town hall meetings to scream about current government attempts to reform health care.

The Obama administration and congress have dismissed these protesters as supported by various lobbying groups, implying that they are paid employees, not genuinely concerned citizens. The protesters have been said by Barbara Boxer, Steny Hoyer, and others to be dressed in Brooks Brothers suits.

I cannot figure out whom to believe--Obama/Boxer/Hoyer/etc. or my lying eyes. I have been watching these protesters for nearly a week. My eyes tell me that there are old guys dressed like my dad, in untucked collared shirts with vertical scroll patterns on the front, and women dressed in light blue cotton blouses, like my mom wore. There are middle-aged guys dressed in the collared knits shirts that I buy from Wal Mart for ten bucks. There are a few young folks, dressed in polos and khakis--like my students. My lying eyes have not revealed the rows of Brooks Brothers suits such as one can see at a banking convention.

On one hand, Obama/Boxer/Hoyer/etc. may have optic nerves that differ from mine (in fact, that would explain a lot). On the other hand, Obama/Boxer/Hoyer/etc. may not understand what it looks like when they see protesters who have jobs.