Bari - two thoughts, after first offering thanks and congratulations on the success of the Free Press.
First, much like the very gifted interns I interview for our law firm's internships, these young women and men are accomplished and gifted. They are also - at least from appearances - all from successful families. Have you ever considere…
Bari - two thoughts, after first offering thanks and congratulations on the success of the Free Press.
First, much like the very gifted interns I interview for our law firm's internships, these young women and men are accomplished and gifted. They are also - at least from appearances - all from successful families. Have you ever considered a hard scrabble kid from Appalachia or the rural South or Midwest for the internship program? Just a thought. Might loosen up your urban sensibilities a bit.
Second, consider turning loose young Ms. Anthony. Anyone who has the guts to take on the Soviet group think at a Ivy League re-education camp and call out such stupidity is someone to "keep an eye on." But all the interns seem bright and talented. Perhaps try this daily exercise with them - read the lead editorial from the NY Times. Get rid of any that don't howl with laughter and derision.
Bruce, I agree completely. I was most impressed with the young ex-ballerina. Her essay regarding the Princeton Ballet Club’s ridiculous, incoherent adoption of DEI and forced compliance was hard-hitting, incisive, and courageous. She will be some one to watch.
Channeling Richard Nixon, let me say this about that: I was one of those hardscrabble kids from Appalachia, and while it had its moments, that "lived experience," as they say nowadays, was a double-edged sword. As I look back, I cannot recall all the numbers of times I embarrassed myself - always the prickly ex coal miner, picking fights that I didn't need to pick, not fitting in with my colleagues, clearly an outsider in my class and proud of it, deficient in general knowledge, deficient in cultural information. On the plus side, when the psych professors told us that parents had no right to ask their children to take care of them, we had a knock-down drag-out fight in front of the whole class and I never backed down. That Appalachian "raisin'" made me very comfortable with who I was and with what was right and wrong.
So these interns' "privileged" backgrounds have tremendous advantages - I would submit, far more than disadvantages, and certainly in some ways a leg-up on the Working Class Hero upbringing. Let's hope they can leverage those advantages into knowledgeable adulthoods.
The working class background doesn't necessarily limit one to a specific region. Many working class kids from Queens or Long Island have vastly different upbringings and opportunities than kids from wealthier towns. All I was pointing out was that a resume padded with "accomplishments" that are due more to parental wealth and guidance needs a more careful examination and a net cast more widely is bound to bring in better fish.
Bruce! May be a first in my reading, but as a former working class kid from Queens, state university educated, etc. I totally agree with you! I often think that most of the chatter at FP is too focused on political divides that are sustained (by elites on both sides of the aisle) to keep us all from focusing one of the real threats to our country, growing disparity in wealth — the classic haves and have nots, and when the have nots eventually decide it to just take it from the haves. Best regards, Steve
Bari - two thoughts, after first offering thanks and congratulations on the success of the Free Press.
First, much like the very gifted interns I interview for our law firm's internships, these young women and men are accomplished and gifted. They are also - at least from appearances - all from successful families. Have you ever considered a hard scrabble kid from Appalachia or the rural South or Midwest for the internship program? Just a thought. Might loosen up your urban sensibilities a bit.
Second, consider turning loose young Ms. Anthony. Anyone who has the guts to take on the Soviet group think at a Ivy League re-education camp and call out such stupidity is someone to "keep an eye on." But all the interns seem bright and talented. Perhaps try this daily exercise with them - read the lead editorial from the NY Times. Get rid of any that don't howl with laughter and derision.
You bring an excellent point - it's about class - too often these people are from wealthy backgrounds rather than working class.
Bruce, I agree completely. I was most impressed with the young ex-ballerina. Her essay regarding the Princeton Ballet Club’s ridiculous, incoherent adoption of DEI and forced compliance was hard-hitting, incisive, and courageous. She will be some one to watch.
The DEI thugs are anything but inclusive.
Channeling Richard Nixon, let me say this about that: I was one of those hardscrabble kids from Appalachia, and while it had its moments, that "lived experience," as they say nowadays, was a double-edged sword. As I look back, I cannot recall all the numbers of times I embarrassed myself - always the prickly ex coal miner, picking fights that I didn't need to pick, not fitting in with my colleagues, clearly an outsider in my class and proud of it, deficient in general knowledge, deficient in cultural information. On the plus side, when the psych professors told us that parents had no right to ask their children to take care of them, we had a knock-down drag-out fight in front of the whole class and I never backed down. That Appalachian "raisin'" made me very comfortable with who I was and with what was right and wrong.
So these interns' "privileged" backgrounds have tremendous advantages - I would submit, far more than disadvantages, and certainly in some ways a leg-up on the Working Class Hero upbringing. Let's hope they can leverage those advantages into knowledgeable adulthoods.
The working class background doesn't necessarily limit one to a specific region. Many working class kids from Queens or Long Island have vastly different upbringings and opportunities than kids from wealthier towns. All I was pointing out was that a resume padded with "accomplishments" that are due more to parental wealth and guidance needs a more careful examination and a net cast more widely is bound to bring in better fish.
Understood.
Bruce! May be a first in my reading, but as a former working class kid from Queens, state university educated, etc. I totally agree with you! I often think that most of the chatter at FP is too focused on political divides that are sustained (by elites on both sides of the aisle) to keep us all from focusing one of the real threats to our country, growing disparity in wealth — the classic haves and have nots, and when the have nots eventually decide it to just take it from the haves. Best regards, Steve