[Accrs] ACCRS Opening Day
Alameda County Central Railroad Society
accrs at mail.accrs.org
Sun Jun 17 14:28:34 PDT 2018
I agree with Phil. He has a point and it's only one person whining
about it. PC is something for which I have little regard.
Gary Lewis
On 6/17/2018 8:56 AM, Alameda County Central Railroad Society wrote:
> Message From: Phil Edholm pedholm at pkeconsulting.com
>
>
>
>
>
> Unreal
>
> Perhaps, it would be good to explain that the word “hobo”within our
> modeling and layout is used in the historical context of the 1930s and
> the great depression when unemployed males (they were very few
> females) rode the rails seeking work ,not a reference to today’s
> homeless. Hobos, by definition, had a specific relationship to the
> railroad and the country during the depression. Using any other term
> would essentially hide that aspect of the depression and equate them
> to today’s homelessness, which is, in the Bay Area, as much a lack of
> housing as it is a lack of employment or income assistance. Hobos were
> driven to the rails by a lack of work, they were not bums nor were
> they on any form of assistance. The fact that they were virtually all
> males is a very important point to make about the differences between
> hobos and today’s homeless or unsheltered, today children are 25% of
> the homeless and there are almost as many women as men. At the height
> of the depression there were over a million hobos, and they were 99%
> male. They were not homeless in that they were seeking work by
> following the rails and living nomadically, and many actually had
> homes and families they left to try to find work. In that vein
> Bedouin herders who follow the herd are also homeless. Only if the
> only definition of home is a fixed location. Rather than changing the
> term, we should use the opportunity to inform about history and the
> differences between the hobos of the 30s and the challenges of the
> unsheltered in 2918. In the 30s their was no social assistance so
> the only way to make money to eat was to leave your family to try to
> find work. In fact, the hobos were a large part of the drive for the
> New Deal, Social Security, WPA, etc. The WPA was established to
> create work in response to that unemployment including the hobos.
>
> Let’s not acquiesce to the absurdity of the PC police when they are
> wrong and just uneducated. Use their ignorance to educate.
>
> BTW, I am sure that person that complained totally missed the real
> social-economic commentary of the entire piece. Look at the
> juxtaposition of the three vignettes in the scene; the hobo camp at
> the bottom level, the Pirates of Emerson in the middle and the
> climbers high above everyone else. The message of the poor (the hobos
> in the lower level),the middle class (volume attendance at the Pirates
> reprinting the entertainments of the masses), and the wealthy pursuing
> more expensive individual recreational pursuits is actually a
> commentary on the structure of society and how wealth is allocated
> between classes (deliberate). So the hobo camp and their plight is
> actually part of a deeper commentary on society and how different
> classes live and are treated by our socio-economic structure.
>
> Finally, if that person comes back, please let them know that if they
> talk to me they need to use the phrase “folicularly challenged” (FC)
> as I am deeply offended if someone uses the “bald” word around me as
> it is clearly only used in society when intended to be highly
> offensive to people unfortunately impacted by hair loss. If I even
> hear “thinning on top” I am thrown into near suicidal depression.
> Please be very conscious of offending those of us that are FC. There
> are many more of us than the homeless, and we are impacted by a curse
> that we have no personal responsibility for. Society needs to stop
> treating hair loss as a treatable choice and give the FC the respect
> and consideration we deserve. We are not FC by choice, we are the
> victims of this scourge on humanity.
>
> Seriously?
>
> Phil Edholm
> PKE Consulting
> Office 925 264 9420
> Cell 408 832 5618
>
> On Jun 17, 2018, at 6:19 AM, Alameda County Central Railroad Society
> <accrs at mail.accrs.org <mailto:accrs at mail.accrs.org>> wrote:
>
>> Message From: Andrew Herrera czephyr1949 at gmail.com
>> <mailto:czephyr1949 at gmail.com>
>>
>>
>>
>> Maybe we can replace the word 'Hobo' with the 'Unsheltered'.
>>
>> Andy H.
>>
>> On Sat, Jun 16, 2018 at 9:10 AM, Alameda County Central Railroad
>> Society <accrs at mail.accrs.org <mailto:accrs at mail.accrs.org>> wrote:
>>
>> Message From: Joel Clark clark.joel.a at gmail.com
>> <mailto:clark.joel.a at gmail.com>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Gentlemen,
>>
>> We had a good opening day. Thought I would share a few things.
>>
>> The scavenger hunt cards were an excellent idea. That really got
>> the kids engaged and they loved it. That said we will need more
>> of those printed out and more pencils, as we go through them
>> pretty quick. Lets consider putting some at the back door because
>> some people got to the front and wished we had them at the back.
>>
>> Some kids submitted them to me fully filled out and asked if
>> there was a prize. I let them have at the donated magazines/tyco
>> box, but ongoing maybe we can get some ribbons from the fair or
>> something like the other exhibits give out.
>>
>> I took Dick's advice to talk to everyone possible while on the
>> chair. It was good advice, we got some good engagement and
>> contacts. When I told some about our tenuous situation staying in
>> the building they said "oh no I will send a letter to the fair"
>> so that's good PR we need.
>>
>> Also, one person I talked to was from the county housing
>> department and took offense to the use of the word "hobo" on the
>> scavenger hunt, as it reflects badly on our region's homeless.
>> Perhaps we can just call it "campfire." Now, I'm sure many of you
>> have different opinions on the matter and that's fine, I'm just
>> reporting what was said to me.
>>
>> Electrically there were a few hiccups but they were repaired. All
>> should be good for coming weeks.
>>
>> Thanks!
>> -Joel
>>
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