Ok, “Math Major” (HA! He’s actually a ‘Music Recording Technology’ major or some such nonsense), I’ll give you substance.
I have come to the startling conclusion that Pittsburgh is one of the most conservative cities, anywhere.
Shocking, right? I know! I was totally dumbfounded when I thought of it. Considering that about 80% of residents are Democrats, we haven’t had a non-Democrat mayor since before World War II, and the exceedingly liberal Post-Gazette is the only newspaper I see on the T in the morning, you would think that Pittsburgh wouldn’t be conservative, right?
You would be wrong.
What does it mean to be conservative? Merriam-Webster defines it as such:
“1: preservative 2 a: of or relating to a philosophy of conservatism bcapitalized : of or constituting a political party professing the principles of conservatism: as (1): of or constituting a party of the United Kingdom advocating support of established institutions (2): progressive conservative 3 a: tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions : traditional b: marked by moderation or caution <a conservative estimate> c: marked by or relating to traditional norms of taste, elegance, style, or manners 4: of, relating to, or practicing Conservative Judaism”
We can ignore 4, for obvious reasons, even though we do have a large conservative and Orthodox Jewish population. I bolded the definitions that I feel are the best descriptors. Conservatives are cautious about change. This is why I maintain that housepets and children (I might be redundant there) are absolutely conservative. Conservatives do not trust change for change’s sake. If change needs to happen, it needs to be careful, deliberate and not to be rushed into heedlessly. Conservatives are reactionary: that is why they wait until change NEEDS to happen before instigating it, because unnecessary change can cause more problems than it fixes (Carter overthrowing the Shah of Iran is an example of this. We got rid of a moderately corrupt government and replaced it with a crazy, radical corrupt government. Hello, Ahmadinejad!)
Conservatives? They like things to stay the way they are unless they have to change. If the status quo works, why mess with it. Don’t fix what ain’t broke! Even then, they will probably dislike it, and will probably resist change despite all evidence that it needs to happen. If you’re really honest with yourself, you’ll realize you’re the same way in your day to day life. I know that if someone takes your parking space or disrupts your morning schedule, your whole day is thrown off. YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE. I’M LOOKING AT YOU, ROOMMATE.
Gee, does that sound like anyone in Pittsburgh?
- Remember when Kennywood was sold to a Spanish company? Remember how Pittsburghers near and far screamed doom and gloom and pulled at their hair and rent their clothes? Remember how they were convinced it was never going to be the same because MY GAWD THE OWNERS ARE DIFFERENT?
Guess what. It’s not a giant taco stand. In fact, NOTHING HAS CHANGED. Potato Patch fries are still there, the rides are just as awesome, and I bet everyone has forgotten that it’s not owned by the original families.
- Remember when the Rooney brothers started talking about selling the Steelers? Remember how Pittsburghers near and far reacted the same way they did to Kennywood being sold? Oh wait, that’s happening RIGHT NOW. Hair being pulled, clothes being rent. Doom, gloom, blah-di-blah.
Guess what. The Steelers will still be just as awesome. If they aren’t awesome, it won’t be the owners fault. Frankly, not having ownership become a battle between the many, MANY grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the prolific Rooneys is better for the organization. Less in-fighting, more Super Bowl rings. I think all Pittsburghers can support that idea.
- Remember how Pittsburgh hasn’t elected a Republican since 1926?** Let’s be straight here. Pittsburgh city government is hopelessly corrupt. The finances are awful, the debt is huge, and the services are non-existent despite all that money. Lord Lukey Pants likes to do fun things like use police SUVs acquired via Homeland Security funds for his own personal use, use public funds to pay for his entertainment, and then play the hero when he ‘chooses’ to go to the Stanley cup games on his own buck. They supposedly consolidated the Row offices 2 years ago but nothing has changed. We would be better off standing at the Point, throwing twenties into the Ohio. Why is it so corrupt? Because the Democrats know they have no competition. They can get in there, do whatever they want, steal Pittsburghers blind and STILL GET REELECTED.
This is not a dis on Democrats, per se. If the Republicans had been in office for that long, the same situation would be here. Hell, if the Anarchists were in office for that long, NOTHING WOULD BE DIFFERENT. Governments work best when you don’t allow it to do anything. That can only happen when you have an equal amount of opposition on every side. Pittsburgh does not have that.
Why, you ask, does Pittsburgh not have any political opposition? Because Pittsburghers are conservative to a fault! (Yes, I did just say that). They vote Democrat because thats what their daddies did. Their daddies voted Democrat, because thats what their daddies did. Despite all evidence showing that the Pittsburgh Democratic party is hampering this city, and may in fact, have been part of the decline in the past 40 years, Pittsburghers still vote for them, because change is evil and to be avoided at any cost. The real election happens in the primaries; the actual election is a mere coronation of the Chosen Democrat.
The next time I hear a Pittsburgher try to tell me he’s a liberal, I’m going to laugh my skinny ass off. I’m more liberal than all of you, and I read the Trib! ON THE T! IN FRONT OF OTHER PEOPLE!
**Seriously, click that link to the list of Pittsburgh mayors. Go look at Joseph Barker, mayor from 1850-1851. He ran as an Anti-Catholic (in Pittsburgh? Really? He would be startled and horrified by the number of Catholic churches all over Western PA now): “elected while serving a year in jail after protesting the Catholic Church, he was illiterate but popular during a xenophobic time in the nation. Uniquely he is probably the only mayor in history to meet his death by “train decapitation”.”
That, my friends, is hilarious. And I wish they would provide a schematic to explain what exactly that means.
Reading Material for the Weekend:
You might not find this funny. But you would be wrong.
If by ‘depression’ she means ‘Munchausen’s By Proxy’, she would be right.
I am at home this week.
Home usually involves a lot of delicious, home-cooked meals, because my parents spoil me rotten in the form of food. College dorm food did not sit well with me, oddly enough. Mostly because I was totally spoiled with fine culinary dining growing up.
Home also involves some riding in the Mini. I have been driving her around a lot, actually. Boy, can that little car go!
Home definitely involves a lot of sleeping. I have slept in Olympic amounts. And when I wake up, home-made waffles are waiting for me. Take note, young grasshoppers: going far away from home for college means that your parents REALLY appreciate you when you are home for small bits of time. They show this appreciation in wonderful ways, like fresh waffles. Yum.
So, anyways, since being home, I’ve come to the definite realization that my parents are a bunch of granola-crunchy hippies.
Case in point(s):
1. They have joined a co-op. This co-op involves them paying some amount of money to said co-op farm (local). Once a week, said co-op farm delivers $20 worth of locally grown, certified organic veggies to a yoga studio up the street for them to pick up. This goes on for 15 weeks throughout this summer.
2. My mother drives a mini-cooper, to try to cut down on gas mileage, limit the amount of money she’s handing to oil companies, and to protect the environment.
3. They will not eat anything that is not whole grain. It must be whole grain. This includes pasta.
4. They buy most of their produce/meat/cheese/etc at the local farmer’s market (we have an excellent one. If you’re from the area, you totally know what I’m talking about), because they are firm believers in buying locally, especially food stuffs. Most of the fresh food they eat comes from no more than 2 counties away. Talk about decreasing your carbon footprint.
5. They sit in the dark, in a cold house, with only the dog for entertainment, using as little water/electricity/heat as possible. Ok, that’s a lie. But they have been stringent on water/electricity/heat usage for as long as I can remember. The horrors that befall the child who leaves a light on in a room from which he has left! THE HORRORS.
6. Last summer, instead of going to Wal-Mart and buying new plastic, outdoor chairs to replace the tattered, dirty ones she already had, she went to Wal-Mart and bought special spray paint designed specifically for repainting plastic. And then she repainted the plastic. Because the idea of getting rid of something perfectly good was abhorrent.
7. They have those reusable cloth grocery bags. And the plastic bags they get occasionally? They recycle those in the form of pooperscoopers for the dog, and actually recycle the rest.
8. For that matter, they recycle everything they can possibly recycle, religiously.
9. They wash their clothes on cold, and use the dryer as little as possible. In the summer, they dry everything, including their skivvies, on a line in the back yard.
10. My mom went to a composting seminar last year, and won a free composter. She now composts in the back yard.
Funny enough? They do this out of cheapness, and they have been doing these kinds of things for as long as I can remember. As long as I can remember is way longer than the current yuppie fad of “green initiatives”.
In fact, they are among the most conservative people I know (conservative in the traditional sense of the word. If you don’t know the difference between true conservativism and neo-con, you don’t read enough, and you should probably go find out. Go on. Google “William F. Buckley”. You can do it!).
The root of conservativism is conservation. Anybody who tells you any different is lying to you, is pushing an agenda, or is mis-informed (probably by someone who is lying and pushing an agenda).
(Conservatives are also cheap. Conveniently, “green initiatives” have a funny by-product called “saving money”. If going green ends up costing you more money, you are not doing it right at all.)
potpie.wordpress.com 