tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post2070216244904852947..comments2024-03-25T15:17:04.488-07:00Comments on Captain Capitalism: When the Prom Queen FallsCaptain Capitalismhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620212946121617985noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-26574489991289466492013-04-19T09:03:25.584-07:002013-04-19T09:03:25.584-07:00My son, being raised in small AZ town, then moving...My son, being raised in small AZ town, then moving to a shit hole in central CA. has blossomed by enrolling in the Navy. Has seen Europe and middle east. I told him as soon as he graduates from high school it's like it never mattered. All those stressful times and "problems" don't amount to crap once you leave graduation day. He said "Yup, you were right, mom". Now he can go on (trade school, college, whatever) as a more mature person.S.Lynnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-40006973116227087082013-04-16T19:40:46.473-07:002013-04-16T19:40:46.473-07:00I went back to my 40th high school reunion and had...I went back to my 40th high school reunion and hadn't been back "home" since my mother died in the mid 90's. I've had virtually no contact with any of my classmates since 5 years after graduation.<br /><br />About 20% of us moved away from our hometown and only maybe 5% were more than 150 miles from where we grew up.<br /><br />In general, most everybody who graduated was reasonably successful, some like me had advanced degrees. We've had some that died early due to medical issues - heart attacks and cancer, another was killed in a fire, another was killed in a light plane crash.<br /><br />I have no knowledge of how the non-graduates worked out.<br /><br />My school district was partially rural and part subdivision - pretty much middle class across the board, so that probably helped us succeed. We had no inner city or scuzzy areas.<br /><br />What was unusual though was what people ended up becoming - in many cases people were doing things that were totally unpredictable and others were doing exactly what would have been predicted.<br /><br />I guess that means my experience was different than yours.<br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-82850901071747554932013-04-16T12:21:30.023-07:002013-04-16T12:21:30.023-07:00I grew up in a small middle class town in western ...I grew up in a small middle class town in western MA. My family still lives in the area. I left for a military career and did not make the early reunions. <br /><br />I did, however, go to the 30th. <br /><br />My experience was opposite of yours. The event was attended by people who were largely successful on many levels. Most were reasonably in shape, and many of the women still maintained their attractivness.<br /><br />The losers had self-eliminated themselves by then, I guess.Joe Barnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-72593964946633653242013-04-16T11:00:52.121-07:002013-04-16T11:00:52.121-07:00I expected more from you. This is sad.
You are lo...I expected more from you. This is sad.<br /><br />You are looking at it from your perspective. <br /><br />Many have kids, a spouse and a job and are happy with their lives.<br /><br />You have yourself.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-28258743573949492522013-04-16T10:44:49.857-07:002013-04-16T10:44:49.857-07:00The prom queen and the jocks only failed in your c...The prom queen and the jocks only failed in your case because they were lower class proles. If you had gone to school in an upper-middle class area, even the ones who stayed behind would probably be plenty successful. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-35150953782519046082013-04-16T09:24:14.988-07:002013-04-16T09:24:14.988-07:00This is why I don't even talk to my family any...This is why I don't even talk to my family any more. They're a pack of losers and screw-ups not worth the trouble of even talking to, much less visiting. I can't think of a single thing I miss about the Rust Belt urban basket case I used to call home.<br /><br />Well, maybe one thing. When the decline really starts to set in and the welfare state blows up I do want to see what my brother with the four kids his crazy fundie wife insisted on having plans to feed them if he can't afford to now. Or what my alcoholic mother who spent every penny my father ever made and then some on crap she didn't need plans to live on in her "golden years" when hyperinflation and default does for my father's pension. He can't afford to retire even now.<br /><br />Watching their stupid burn them alive while they scream for mercy will make the decline a lot more enjoyable. Mentally drafting the perfect way to respond to their begging for help with instructions to lick my bearded burrito, EABOD and FOADIAF is a great way to spend a boring afternoon at work. Pete Brewsternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-47647402412164533132013-04-16T09:07:51.269-07:002013-04-16T09:07:51.269-07:00Excellent post, Captain!Excellent post, Captain!BAJhttp://www.facebook.com/geekatron8noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-36991446439330379442013-04-16T08:14:55.832-07:002013-04-16T08:14:55.832-07:00We all know it, but thanks for reminding us Cappy....We all know it, but thanks for reminding us Cappy.<br /><br />You can go back to your old house, or old school, or old neighborhood ... but once you leave and experience other people, places, standards, customs, and attitudes then you can never go "HOME" again.<br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-20375600405126563532013-04-16T07:43:33.409-07:002013-04-16T07:43:33.409-07:00That's what happens when you give the cheezy h...That's what happens when you give the cheezy high school speeches instead of the real-talk. <br /><br />http://www.comedycentral.com/video-clips/o0vfn6/stand-up-daniel-tosh--dose-of-reality <br />TheDeckMannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-20315389013186127322013-04-16T07:00:36.904-07:002013-04-16T07:00:36.904-07:00Maybe worth noting: The environment is only fleet...Maybe worth noting: The environment is only fleeting IF you leave. It's quite easy to get sucked back into the low-class crap if you stay put. It happened to me for a few years when a good job opportunity landed me back in the same town I went to middle school in. After 3 years it finally dawned on me that I needed, again, to get out of there!kick6https://www.blogger.com/profile/13248483974686341196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-71343786458377443962013-04-16T05:26:03.863-07:002013-04-16T05:26:03.863-07:00Basically, you are saying what I told you in your ...Basically, you are saying what I told you in your "Wyoming" posts.<br /><br />Really no difference in the lower class on the edges of Milwaukee and the small-town bar crowd in Wyoming. You just had no reason prior to being among the same type of people in the Milwaukee area that you had been among in the Wyoming bars.Breaker Moranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09479195978186693279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-64030153808998294172013-04-16T05:25:57.798-07:002013-04-16T05:25:57.798-07:00Wouldn't these type of people be considered th...Wouldn't these type of people be considered the "Real Americans" you refer to in your book?<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-4029466774352661922013-04-16T05:12:05.574-07:002013-04-16T05:12:05.574-07:00yeah. i can relate. i still know some peeps back i...yeah. i can relate. i still know some peeps back in kenner that were incredibly smart, but never did crap after HS.<br /><br />sad<br /><br />and thank you. i appreciate it.dannyfrom504http://dannyfrom504.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-75850351816801462332013-04-16T04:23:26.396-07:002013-04-16T04:23:26.396-07:00Many people do not understand the quote that '...Many people do not understand the quote that 'All men are born equal'. That refers to law and that's it!<br /><br />And contrary to the liberals and our their suicidal bank lending practices...most poor people are poor for a reason. Laziness and stupidity being the big ones.Glen Filthiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256741311142364722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-21053738272662771332013-04-16T01:36:07.861-07:002013-04-16T01:36:07.861-07:00I suppose it's all what you make of it. I retu...I suppose it's all what you make of it. I returned home about 5 years after grad school. My older brother's crowd, the ones who had muscle cars, hot and cold running ass on demand, etc, had traded youth for addictions, divorces and failure on many levels... The friends I meet up with once a week when I'm home from sea are mostly people I met in kindergarten- married, successful or at least content and self-employed in the trades. I'm the oddball for changing careers, living abroad then coming back, but my social circle is united by the absence of pathetic shame that coats so many of my siblings' peers. <br /><br /> You can't go home again, once you've had your eyes opened and have distinguished yourself a bit, but working in 3rd world shitholes part of the year sure as hell brings back the appeal of familiar places. It seems to me that your life is where you make it, and there's plenty of contentment to be had if you surround yourself with only the closest of friends and loved ones, and let everyone else FOAD. <br /> Paul, Dammit!https://www.blogger.com/profile/02264872375942355609noreply@blogger.com