[Vwdiesel] Snobbery and Car Fixing

[Harmon Seaver]

  It's not just a matter of it being "uncool." I'm not sure you really grasp
just how far down that road the US has already gone. If times really get tough,
and it sure looks like they will, and sooner not later, one heck of a lot of
people in this country will starve or become victims of looters/raiders, etc.
Most people today not only cannot fix their vehicle, they also haven't the
slightest clue on where and how to feed themselves if the 7/11 and Piggly Wiggly
run out of stock.
  Now that the WTO has mandated that the US stop all farm subsidies, it won't be
all that long before a whole lot of farmers go tits up when crop prices aren't
high enough to feed their chemical dependancy, and the majority of food gets
shipped in from the third world. We already import more food than we
export. Even now it wouldn't take much to disrupt the food distribution system,
most US cities only have enough food to last 3 days at most. 



On Wed, Jun 16, 2004 at 01:54:01AM -0400, Val Christian wrote:
> Some of us have had an offline conversation about how it's 
> "uncool" to work on cars.  In many circles it is.  Trust me.
> 
> As I was thinking about it this evening, it occured to me
> what happened in WW II.  Pictures of German tanks, broke
> on the battle field, with the TC, and Gunner sitting outside
> having a smoke, while they wait for the mechanics to arrive.
> 
> I recall a tank warfare historian talking to us at Ft. Knox
> about how a differentiating factor between the German and US
> forces during WW II was that the yanks would try to fix just
> about anything.  The Germans wouldn't.  If it was broke, it
> was the mechanic's job to fix the tank.  And we'll wait until
> he can get here and do it.
> 
> I've been told stories and seen pictures of a bunch of young
> soldiers pulling an engine from a jeep, using a tree in the field.
> Many young men in the 40's knew something about things mechanical.
> 
> When we give up the flexibility and knowledge base and willingness 
> to understand and fix things, we are loosing far more strategically
> than we may realize.
> 
> Val
> 
> 
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-- 
Harmon Seaver	
CyberShamanix
http://www.cybershamanix.com
Hoka hey!