General Discussion

LongTomH

(8,636 posts)

91. There were a number of splits during that period, which the right was quick to exploit.

Thu Sep 19, 2013, 12:46 PM

Sep 2013

One important one was between white-collar, mostly non-union workers and blue-collar, frequently union workers. The white-collar workers usually felt superior to the blue-collar types, although there might be little difference in salaries during the height of unionization in America.

I know, I was a white-collar computer programmer for a company that employed both. We paid for our assumption of superiority when the companies started outsourcing our jobs in the late 80s. I actually managed to hold on to my position until 2005 (I got a chance at another year of employment as a contract programmer, no benefits, later.)

We could have used a union. We should have maintained solidarity with our blue-collar brothers and sisters.

You started a useful dialogue, Sir. Well done!

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

112 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

We Live In The Emotional And Economic Wreckage Of This Broken Home.... [View all] The Magistrate Sep 2013 OP

You, Sir, can sure turn a phrase. Schema Thing Sep 2013 #1

Be My Guest, Friend The Magistrate Sep 2013 #3

For me, as a woman, some of those LiberalLoner Sep 2013 #2

+ One JustAnotherGen Sep 2013 #4

I Agree, Ma'am The Magistrate Sep 2013 #5

Yes, your main point is very true and I applaud your LiberalLoner Sep 2013 #6

It May Yet Prove, Ma'am, To Have Been A Good 'Long Game', As The Current Phrase Goes The Magistrate Sep 2013 #8

+1 LiberalLoner Sep 2013 #15

There aren't many people who want to 'go back' leftstreet Sep 2013 #12

Oh, that would be wonderful! Because I've been surrounded by LiberalLoner Sep 2013 #14

I may be reading your post wrong? mimi85 Sep 2013 #27

The OP stated we lost the working class white vote LiberalLoner Sep 2013 #28

PS LiberalLoner Sep 2013 #30

I Regret If That Is What You Took From The Comment, Ma'am The Magistrate Sep 2013 #34

Thank you for this. Because I have been thinking, LiberalLoner Sep 2013 #39

I Do Tend To employ Some Antique Usages, Ma'am The Magistrate Sep 2013 #29

why yes you are seeing things wrong hfojvt Sep 2013 #77

Okay, thanks for this info! LiberalLoner Sep 2013 #78

Let Us Delve Into This A Bit More, Sir.... The Magistrate Sep 2013 #79

you are combining males and females hfojvt Sep 2013 #86

No, Sir, I Am Not The Magistrate Sep 2013 #93

"no one denies" hfojvt Sep 2013 #95

I Seldom Do This, Sir, But Here I Must Remind You D'Nile Ain't Just A River In Egypt.... The Magistrate Sep 2013 #96

I think it was the Union Management that broke up the marriage Demeter Sep 2013 #44

They Did Not Help Matters, Ma'am, That Is Certainly True The Magistrate Sep 2013 #47

THANK YOU Skittles Sep 2013 #54

Well said - K&R - nt Ohio Joe Sep 2013 #7

sadly true. n/t cali Sep 2013 #9

What about the Unions? They aren't hippies with lifestyle issue. Walk away Sep 2013 #10

Regarding Unions, Sir, There Has Been Some Rapprochement Recently The Magistrate Sep 2013 #13

Unlike the right who depend on billionaires, American Unions have been some of the largest donors to Walk away Sep 2013 #35

True, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #37

don't forget teachers and nurses Precisely Sep 2013 #83

Teachers I Consider Government Employees, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #84

Right Precisely Sep 2013 #90

There Are Some Subjects Of Great Interest To Me, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #94

basically true marions ghost Sep 2013 #11

"Anyone who thinks the boomers have had it easy since Reagan is nuts." SammyWinstonJack Sep 2013 #16

And To Be Fair, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #18

True but marions ghost Sep 2013 #64

Well put Precisely Sep 2013 #87

Baby Boomers Approach 65 � Glumly FarCenter Sep 2013 #21

The effects of the Bush Era marions ghost Sep 2013 #66

In their parents day Precisely Sep 2013 #88

The Boomers didn't "have it easy" Precisely Sep 2013 #85

DURec leftstreet Sep 2013 #17

This was the basis of my political decline. FredStembottom Sep 2013 #19

Indeed, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #22

What you said. FredStembottom Sep 2013 #32

I remember my political seventies and what we were actively 'protesting' bigtree Sep 2013 #20

yes it seems Precisely Sep 2013 #26

And Conspicuously Absent From That List, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #36

there was plenty of union and workers in the mix Precisely Sep 2013 #38

If, Sir, You Want To Live In A World Where Working Class Whites Are A Core Left Constituency, Enjoy The Magistrate Sep 2013 #40

Like I said Precisely Sep 2013 #55

maybe that was the case with the white 'left'. I remember most of that time from civil rights bigtree Sep 2013 #73

That, Sir, Is Definitely So The Magistrate Sep 2013 #76

making more sense to me now bigtree Sep 2013 #92

I Appreciate Your Comments, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #106

can't help replying, Mr. Magistrate bigtree Sep 2013 #108

K & R !!! - Posted This Yesterday... WillyT Sep 2013 #23

That Is A Good One, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #24

I love the way that point came around the corner Frustratedlady Sep 2013 #33

It Is An Excellent Bit, Ma'am The Magistrate Sep 2013 #57

And it is still broken DonCoquixote Sep 2013 #25

As a recovering Reagan Democrat . . . SleeplessinSoCal Sep 2013 #31

Some Truth but a keyhole view brindis_desala Sep 2013 #41

I Agree, Ma'am The Magistrate Sep 2013 #45

I have a hope that this sense of inborn superiority will die off slowly LiberalLoner Sep 2013 #48

I Do Think It Is Aging Out, Ma'am The Magistrate Sep 2013 #49

:) LiberalLoner Sep 2013 #52

Thanks for the reply brindis_desala Sep 2013 #63

It Is An Interesting Question, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #68

Actually, sir brindis_desala Sep 2013 #99

None Of These Things Are New To Me, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #100

That was not my point. brindis_desala Sep 2013 #101

We May Be talking At Cross Purposes Then, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #102

I'm suggesting that brindis_desala Sep 2013 #103

Then I Think We Are In Agreement, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #104

Since I cannot dissaude you of brindis_desala Sep 2013 #110

It was long overdue. The '50s was a stifling period of conformity, racism, and materialism. Tierra_y_Libertad Sep 2013 #42

Lifestyle? Look, being a pompous windbag is a style, being gay or a woman is a Bluenorthwest Sep 2013 #43

Amen! Demeter Sep 2013 #46

".....the white working class threw itself at an old actor...." RebelOne Sep 2013 #50

Very astute, but I have one quibble . . . markpkessinger Sep 2013 #51

In Attempting To Evoke A Period, Sir, One Employs The Language Of That Period The Magistrate Sep 2013 #53

and in the language of that period, they were called Precisely Sep 2013 #56

If that is how you evoke a period, I suggest you avoid Civil War era writing. Bluenorthwest Sep 2013 #67

If I Were To Do That, Ma'am, I Would Use The Period's Vernacular, And Cry Damned To Any Objecting The Magistrate Sep 2013 #70

For perhaps the 100th time, it is Sir. Not Ma'am. Bluenorthwest Sep 2013 #72

I Can Be Forgetful, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #74

Here is a link to a page of quotes from Harvey Milk so folks can see how movment Bluenorthwest Sep 2013 #71

Frank Church, Birch Bayh and George McGovern - liberal titians from what we would now call solid Douglas Carpenter Sep 2013 #58

The West Used To Be A Seat Of Serious Radicalism, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #59

there must have been some shift of thought that focused people away from economic concerns and Douglas Carpenter Sep 2013 #112

We're the keepers, while we sleep in America RandiFan1290 Sep 2013 #60

Interesting Piece, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #61

Indeed. nt rrneck Sep 2013 #62

Yes. :( K&R n/t OneGrassRoot Sep 2013 #65

Very well stated Sir malaise Sep 2013 #69

Thank You, Ma'am The Magistrate Sep 2013 #80

Very well put,I wish more people could understand that. nt sufrommich Sep 2013 #75

Amen, Brother ... don't look too close, I think Tuesday Afternoon Sep 2013 #81

I Keep A Pair Of Skates For Just Such Occasions, Sir.... The Magistrate Sep 2013 #98

Sir Hekate Sep 2013 #82

Thank You, Ma'am The Magistrate Sep 2013 #97

You, Sir, are a poet. That is one of the most cogent and lyrical posts I've read at DU. 11 Bravo Sep 2013 #89

I Appreciate The Kind Words, Sir The Magistrate Sep 2013 #105

There were a number of splits during that period, which the right was quick to exploit. LongTomH Sep 2013 #91

That is just about the perfect metaphor for what has happened. Volaris Sep 2013 #107

K & R Scurrilous Sep 2013 #109

Please don't forget the right wing's deliberate role in that wreckage since the 1970s. highplainsdem Sep 2013 #111