Ahhh the Main Line
I had a meeting in center city today with a client whose family has owned the same business for 204 years. That's pretty amazing, considering there is only a 1 in 1000 chance that a family business will make it through four generations (my client is the fifth generation).
So we were waiting around in a board room when I noticed a commemmerative copy of the Philadelphia Public Ledger, a paper that ran in Philly from 1846 to 1942. The paper was dated June 2, 1902, the day my client's business began operations. I started leafing through and was pretty amused by some of the ads and stories of the day. Then I found the 'Help Wanted' section. Here's a few ditties:
Wanted:
Girl, protestant, white, general housekeeping. No lice.
Girl, protestant, general housekeeping. No negroes need apply.
Man, negro, mill worker. No whites need apply.
You get the picture. This went on for two full pages. My quick glance noticed nearly every position available was segregated by race (and most were for unskilled labor, especially that of a servant nature in the Main Line). This didn't come as a surprise to me as much as it clarified the current state of America. It's never been better, people! Wake up. Quit complaining. Only in a country this great can people complain of their 'freedoms' being stripped.
Our generation has never had to deal with any type of adversity. What's the worst thing that has happened, domestically, within the past 30 years? The stock market decline of 2001-2003? 911? The gas crisis in the 70s? Boo-freakin-hoo. Terrible things, yes, but national devastation? Please. Read about the dust bowl, the crash of '29, the Civil war, or the draft in the 60s. Oh, that's right. I'm sorry. I forgot that you were forced to stand in a soup lines as a result of your precious 401(k) dropping 50%. Bunch of babies.
Get real, you pack of hipster doofuses. Quit creating conflicts that aren't there just so you can have a soapbox to stand on.
Time for a $2.99 Acme hoagie. (Not so bad, really).
So we were waiting around in a board room when I noticed a commemmerative copy of the Philadelphia Public Ledger, a paper that ran in Philly from 1846 to 1942. The paper was dated June 2, 1902, the day my client's business began operations. I started leafing through and was pretty amused by some of the ads and stories of the day. Then I found the 'Help Wanted' section. Here's a few ditties:
Wanted:
Girl, protestant, white, general housekeeping. No lice.
Girl, protestant, general housekeeping. No negroes need apply.
Man, negro, mill worker. No whites need apply.
You get the picture. This went on for two full pages. My quick glance noticed nearly every position available was segregated by race (and most were for unskilled labor, especially that of a servant nature in the Main Line). This didn't come as a surprise to me as much as it clarified the current state of America. It's never been better, people! Wake up. Quit complaining. Only in a country this great can people complain of their 'freedoms' being stripped.
Our generation has never had to deal with any type of adversity. What's the worst thing that has happened, domestically, within the past 30 years? The stock market decline of 2001-2003? 911? The gas crisis in the 70s? Boo-freakin-hoo. Terrible things, yes, but national devastation? Please. Read about the dust bowl, the crash of '29, the Civil war, or the draft in the 60s. Oh, that's right. I'm sorry. I forgot that you were forced to stand in a soup lines as a result of your precious 401(k) dropping 50%. Bunch of babies.
Get real, you pack of hipster doofuses. Quit creating conflicts that aren't there just so you can have a soapbox to stand on.
Time for a $2.99 Acme hoagie. (Not so bad, really).
posted by JP at 1:35 PM
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