I think I have seen the future.

[The Backlash Cometh]

I have pointed out several times that I lived in a staunch Republican county. Many of the things I've experienced five to eight years ago, are beginning to be seen by others for the first time. Mainly, the fracturing of our country on an everyday basis, the defined lines developing where people are looking for safe havens where they don't have to compromise any more. I've been to places where people repeat what you hear on talk radio as if it's gospel and to disagree with them brings their wrath, and to avoid them only confirms that "we stick to our own kind." You can't win.

I'm always looking for signs of change in my staunch Republican county, because I was shocked when I saw that the cronyism I observed on a local level was not an anomaly, but a pattern. I saw that same cronyistic behavior broadcasted on a national level when the Bush Administration came to power. What you see with the corruption and cronyism in that Administration and in the Republican Congress, is EXACTLY how they are on a local level. It's not going to go away even when we put our corrupt congressmen behind bars. It can only be managed, like diabetes.

So, today I think I saw a sign of the future. I walked into Home Depot, and the store which advertises itself as a friendly place for all consumers, suddenly went very white-male on me. I mean, ALL the workers in the aisles were white males, 40-55. The few women in the place were at the register. Why did this present a problem? Because the white men actually turned their backs on me. No less than five. Of the five, only one was working with a customer at the time, but even when I waited my turn, he conveniently walked in the other direction when he was through with that customer. The other four just acted like they were too busy to answer a question. It was a slow Wednesday morning at the Home Depot. Not crowded at all. In frustration I went to the register and complained to a girl who had no one at the register and eventually she got someone to assist me.

Anyways, I suspect this will be the future for those of us who live in staunch Republican counties. I think the common courtesies will be gone entirely. They will never admit they were wrong, and we will never have the balls to demand the kind of accountability from the Republican party to show them why they were wrong. So two very different kinds of Americans are going to emerge.

In the short run, maybe it would be wise for Home Depot to begin hiring a diverse labor force, unless they think they can subsist on white customers alone. Next time I'm going to Lowes where it is very diverse and where I don't have to question if someone is really busy, or if they're faking it.