If you watch The Office, you'd probably agree that Michael [Steve Carrell] is so funny because he doesn't know that he's breaking the rules. It's a part of the show that hearkens back [or maybe for you, even presently] to the problems of sexual harassment, cultural ignorance, and self-centeredness [come to think of it, a time much like the 80's].
Switching gears, I always thought Birmingham, AL had a lot of problems - especially with the Municipal government. Everything there seemed a sham and the problems of the city seemed to be far from those who were in authority.
Switching gears again - Gene and La move to Philadelphia. Statistically, a safer city than Birmingham [to the senses, it's a much harder place however]. Gene begins to hear of the disdain of the current mayor and the hope of a new leader moving up through the ranks. Gene sees why folks are so upset with the way things are now.
You see, our mayor now [John Street] seems to be the personification of Michael Scott [in a slightly larger, darker, and lighter haired way]. When the new iPhone hit the streets, John Street was one of the first in line to get one...because he had been in line since 3:30am [at that point too, the Philly murder rate exceeded 200 - but taking into consideration that the city has 1.4mil people, your chances aren't that great of being one of those 200, especially if you're reading this now]. You can listen to NPR's story on Street's time in line here. Listen particularly closely for the talking points where he becomes defensive.
5 Days ago, our mayor decided to spend a day in a wheel chair. However, according to Street, this isn't the first time that he's done this. You can read an article here [as well as watch a video]. My favorite quote is, "I'm having today a sensitivity experience. I'm going to be in this wheelchair all day. This is not the first time I've done this..."
In times like this, it's hard to submit to the command of respecting the authority that has been placed over me - seriously.
6 comments:
Thanks for the link, Gene! This is really funny, (but, of course, not really funny) about your mayor. What a d.a.
Man I love the Office. Mike would probably be just as likely a candidate for President as anyone else right now.
Amanda - no prob. To me, it is both funny [ha - ha like] and endemic to my city - people just don't seem to care about what's important, but there is an air of change.
Collin - We certainly have a rock-star like culture; very interesting to think about what our presidents were like pre-fast as light media and post-fast as light media - they were fat, unattractive, and [for the most part] pretty intelligent. Now, they're all rockstars, movie idols, and television icons.
i want to read that article about the mayor spending time in a wheel chair. i wonder what people that actually depend on wheel chairs everyday thought about this.
Heather - You should read the article:-). I can tell you more about what I think, though I don't depend on a wheel chair...
I think "laden" was in reference to the # of links in your post, but in that picture, John Street sure does bear some resemblance to Bin Laden
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