US & THEM

Like most of us in the media biz, I was surprised by the Trump victory. Even so, there had been this nagging feeling in the back of my pea brain that told me not to call the election until the votes were counted. No one, including me, believed there was enough resistance in the sparsely populated hinterlands to defeat the Comeback Clintons. Oops.

In 1992, their theme song was Fleetwood Mac’s Don’t stop Thinkin’ About Tomorrow, but this time they were thinking too far ahead and not focusing on today. Rural America was tired of being marginalized and left out of the Obama recovery, and was so desperate to be heard they chose the loudest, most obnoxious voice they could find.

It reminded me of my time as a repo man in rural Washington state, and in particular, a story I chronicled in my graphic novel, Scablands. My friends Duane and Donna were taking me to a gathering of the Blue Ribbon Coalition, a “wise use” organization. It was in November of 1990 and we arrived at…but I’ll let the story tell itself…

us-and-them-one032us-and-them-two033us-and-them-three034us-and-them-four035us-and-them-five036us-and-them-six037us-and-them-seven038us-and-them-eight039Scablands can be purchased at lulu.com codeword: Scablands. And yes, I know there’s a typo on page three. The missing word is “acquainted.”

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5 Responses to US & THEM

  1. Greg Goodknight says:

    RL, this takes forever to download… even with 6Mbps ADSL

  2. Judith Lowry says:

    Hi Bob,

    You know I called this one.
    I’m in Susanville, my hometown and a big Trump town.
    I love it anyway, redneck and backwoods as it is, with the prisons and all, it also has some very smart, forward thinking people.

    The brewery on Main Street is going up for sale.
    Anyone who loves nature more than culture and wants to open a beer business in a beautifully restored saloon in an historic uptown, the old “Pioneer”, might be a go0d fit.

    Lassen Ale Works is moving to the bottom of town onto the site of an old lumber mill. L.A.W. wants a more beer garden environment to take advantage of Susanville’s beautiful summer nights and they have expanded their brewing.
    That leaves the Pio empty.
    It will probably sell quickly, given the history, the beauty of the restoration and the tanks in place ready to go.
    Just thought I would spread the word in Nevada County in case anyone is looking for an adventure.

    It’s about 33 degrees outside this morning.
    Winter has definitely come to Lassen County.

    • rl crabb says:

      Yes, I talked to someone at Nisenan Heritage Day who was shocked that an Indian she talked to voted for Trump. There will be many such revelations in the days to come. There needs to be an understanding between “us” and “them” if we are to survive this period of our history.
      Enjoy your visit to the north country, and return to us safely, Judith.

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