Australian labor unions reverse a trend

Hi Joe,

As I was reading your Deer Hunting with Jesus over Christmas I was reminded of a joke map of the US that appeared on the internet after Dubya was elected the first time. The blue areas, strips and pockets on the East and West Coasts were labelled the "USA" while the large red area in between was labelled "Dumbfuckistan".

Your book really highlighted the disconnect between the middle class left in the US (and I suspect elsewhere in the world) and working class people. While the left seemed happy to be making jokes at their expense, the right was busy connecting, having the conversation and winning the support; and from what you say, they are still doing it.

It was also happening here in Australia, but fortunately union membership remained high enough to reverse the trend. In our recent elections the grass roots union campaign of targeting marginal seats. Wearing out shoe leather, doorknocking and talking to people worked and Labor would not have won without it.

It began with the movement actually talking to its own and finding out that 30% of union members (and by extension their families and other acquaintances) actually voted for the conservative party! It was the first time this had been done. Guess who was contacted first in the campaign. It was certainly a relief when Labor won despite the most vicious anti union campaign in memory.

Australia does not have a gun culture and ownership is low. So for me the most challenging chapter of your book was on guns and gun ownership and the US gun ownership culture.

While I am vehemently anti private gun ownership I found myself (looking at the US context) being persuaded by your arguments. How does the conversation start about gun violence, licensing and control without acknowledging that culture, and engaging sensible and law abiding gun owners?

Although I have to say the para-military gun nuts are a weird and scary bunch.

Your book was a great read and I too am happy Australia was settled by convicts and not puritans.

Cheers

Raffaele
Adelaide, South Australia

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Raffaele,

Any thinking liberal American liberal should be envious of your national condition. Our unions have been gutted and the leadership of what's left are members of the political power elite, not advocates for the working man.

I'd love to see a good old fashioned door knocking campaign conducted by tens of thousands of freedom loving liberals. But they are all waiting for permission from God, or perhaps the ghost of Roosevelt, I dunno. And besides, most of them are afraid to go into the neighborhoods where they could do the most good.

Beyond that, I doubt they'd be very well received as they ride up to the yards on their expensive bikes, spandex bike shorts (well, mebbe a good looking woman would) and dorky helmets. As my late friend Virgil the heavy equipment operator once said, "I used to think them bicycle people was queers. Now I know they is just queer."

Seriously though, there are thinking, progressive people scattered throughout even the reddest working class neighborhoods. Respected as neighbors and fellow workers. Liberal organizations should have sense enough to hire them to canvas and conduct a campaign if information and influence. As it is now, they are too damned busy earning a living.

In art and labor,

Joe