Obviously, the intention is to ridicule this individual for his "ghetto" air conditioning. Yet such impulsive belittling underscores the unpragmatic notion of class. Clearly, many of our purchases are motivated not by practical use or product quality, but rather by what the product says about our social status. There's a reason why Macs have a conspicuous symbol on each computer, iPod users wear the unique headphones, and Polo recently enlarged their logo. We likely care more about the social benefits of what we use than if they actually work.
And how do we react to those intrepid souls steadfastly eschewing the rat race? We disparage them because our own status depends on the wholesale subservience of others to this external system of worth. So the guy profiled above becomes a target of condemnation despite likely possessing astounding technical skill and ingenuity. Assuming this little air conditioning set up works, this man should be lauded for his workmanship and talent. But unfortunately, instead we fawn over the man with the classy Porsche as he weakly grovels for social approval.
[Note: Some interlopers accuse this blog and its peers of anti-prole bias. I assure you I harbor no such ill will to upstanding individuals of this class. The problem: Most people who have "prole" jobs exhibit lower class behavior and thus the latter, which is worthy of my detest, gets conflated with the former, which surely is not.]
12 comments:
I object to this setup because it's impreactical. For the cost of the generator he probably could have bought a decent used car with functioning air conditioning. Of course with this setup he can still use the generator while he's not driving, but still. Or why does he not a DC to AC inverter for the car and use that? Although those might not have enough amperage.
Or, just roll down the windows. I have been through a few summers in the south in a car without air conditioning and it wasn't that bad.
The huge Polo pony is an example of prole drift.
Thrasymachus - very practical alternatives you list. But often mechanically inclined guys with a streak of ingenuity like to rig stuff up for the fun itself, and to show off.
That repair has sonya sotomayor and elena kagan written all over it.....why im sure those two represenative normal Americanos could perform a similar rig-job in just minutes as they both strike me as just immersed in yankee ingenuity and practicality......
5 months till November? The GOP should not let Kagan cake-walk. Every loony thing she ever supported should be brought out, held up to the light, and used to embarass the Democrats. She hasn't left a judicial or written record, because she's been preparing to be a stealth nominee for years. I say Obama is weak, and the GOP doesn't have to confirm anybody till November or even past that. Pat Leahey has been a monkey wrench on the judicial committee for years, and its time for a little payback. Make that fat, short, leprechan-looking, 5-o'clock shadow, Isle-of-lesbos-devotee defend every wacky thing she ever supported.....just for the malicious fun of it--just like the Democrats do to our nominees.
This making a technical solution just because you can, and doing in a powerful showy way, it's typical guy stuff. It's not all about efficiency and elegance, but technical prowess with the junk at hand (MacGyver, A-Team anyone?), applying powerful elements in his solution, and he gains beer-and-pizza-technocrat status points here.
The real problem is that he's raised the center of gravity, and moved it to the right. The car is more vulnerable to rolling when making sharp left turns.
Some interlopers accuse this blog and its peers of anti-prole bias.
How insensitive! For the record, we prefer the term Redneck-Americans.
Get a clue!
I object to this setup because it's impreactical.
So do I, but that's not why that picture has gone viral. People laugh not because the guy is impractical, but because he's a low-life prole who doesn't know that he's supposed to drive a foreign made hybrid. And on top of that, no one EVER notes just how technically impressive that rig-job is.
Plus, I agree with PA. It's just damn cool. Building something with your own hands (though I have little experience) can be just as fulfilling as intellectual activity.
why im sure those two represenative normal Americanos could perform a similar rig-job in just minutes as they both strike me as just immersed in yankee ingenuity and practicality
I don't think one's "American-ess" should be defined by his technical skill.
Make that fat, short, leprechan-looking, 5-o'clock shadow, Isle-of-lesbos-devotee
Very petty, but yes, she's a big government ideologue.
I mostly agree wit you, One. It definitely is impractical. Not only is it more likely to tip on a sharp turn, but it makes for quite the blind spot when merging from the left lane into the right.
And don't even get me started on the giant polo logo. One of my friends' girlfriends bought him one of those shirts and was roundly ridiculed for it. He hasn't worn it since. What would that qualify as? I guess the giant logo is also a way of distinguishing class; ostentation isn't classy.
Jay Leno regularly ridicules lower class White guys (used this photo too IIRC) as "White Trash." Since that's my own family's background, its basically the inbred, fairly gay, comedy writing staff (see Ross the Gay Intern) ridiculing ordinary White folks.
I like Macs, but I recall when they were the underdog. Don't forget THAT part of America -- rooting for the underdog because most Americans are the underdog.
Now I mostly (outside this machine) use Linux, bonus points for not being a status symbol and overpriced.
I'll tell you what's wrong with the Lincoln:
1. The airflow from the window unit is going to be all wrong. It's not going to go to the front passenger seat where it's really needed.
2. The right rear passenger seat is probably unusable. It is certainly difficult to access.
3. How the hell is anyone going to get into the trunk?
If the "inventor" was really good, he would have put the generator on a hitch mount (behind the trunk), and used an electric motor under the hood to drive the A/C compressor (perhaps separated from the engine's accessory drive system). Voila, A/C when the car's engine is off, no impact on interior space, and a much cleaner scheme overall. Of course, nobody would have understood what was going on from looking at it, so nobody would have taken a picture of it which went viral.
What the picture actually says is "this guy has a Lincoln, a generator and a window A/C, but not enough money to get his car A/C fixed. He's a fucking loser."
"5 months till November? The GOP should not let Kagan cake-walk. Every loony thing she ever supported should be brought out, held up to the light, and used to embarass the Democrats. She hasn't left a judicial or written record, because she's been preparing to be a stealth nominee for years. I say Obama is weak, and the GOP doesn't have to confirm anybody till November or even past that. Pat Leahey has been a monkey wrench on the judicial committee for years, and its time for a little payback. Make that fat, short, leprechan-looking, 5-o'clock shadow, Isle-of-lesbos-devotee defend every wacky thing she ever supported.."
Why are you so against Kagan? She is white, with a high IQ and smarter than the dumb religious types and gun toters. Seems to me she should be celebrated or at least given a fair hearing, and I detect a touch of jealously because she may be so much smarter than certain commenters. And why do you ridicule her appearance? She is no worse on the chubby side than the rednecks we see in Walmart. Leave her alone. Our tent is big enough to add Jews.
A nation that can produce many people with enough ingenuity and drive to make silly things like this is going to be a prosperous nation. This thing is not exactly practical, yes. In fact, it is kind of stupid from the engineering point of view - but I can't stop admiring the guys who make such things.
Nobody here remembers car mp3 players made out of old Pentium desktops? That was during the era when encoding an mp3 took an order of magnitude longer than real time and many years before commercial players hit the shelves.
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